Sunday, May 15, 2016
By Sean Barron
YOUNGSTOWN
The Youngstown chapter of the NAACP does not generally support the state taking over the management and operations of school districts, but when it comes to fixing the Youngstown City Schools, such a move is necessary, the head of the local organization contends.
State intervention is needed to correct the district’s “17 years of failure,” George Freeman Jr., chapter president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said during a news conference Saturday at East High School on Bennington Avenue on the East Side.
Freeman was referring to House Bill 70, also known as the Youngstown Plan, which replaced the academic distress commission in place since 2010 with a five-member panel. The new commission is tasked with appointing a chief executive officer to operate and manage the schools. The commission hopes to have a CEO in place next month.
Also at the gathering were officials with the state and national NAACP chapters, along with local school board members.
Concurring with Freeman was Jimma McWilson, NAACP vice president, who said he does not favor a CEO running the district but feels the board of education failed to work through the system to eliminate the need for the ADC.
He added he also hoped to develop strategies to prevent additional takeovers across Ohio.
“The only way to stop a state takeover is to do what you’re supposed to do,” such as ensuring every student gets a quality education, McWilson said of the school board.
Freeman also took issue with what he said was a shortage of math books for students to take home. He added the district has placed a greater emphasis on technology and stopped ordering books three or four years ago, something board President Brenda Kimble denied.
“All Youngstown City Schools students have math books. They’ve always had math books to take home,” she contended.
Kimble also expressed her opposition to HB 70, saying such legislation negates local control of the schools and takes away voting rights.
“Our children aren’t for sale. ... We’re there for the students,” she added.
Many school districts such as Youngstown would do well to continue with efforts to garner additional input and support from parents, ministers, teachers and others in the community, said Ophelia Averitt, the national NAACP board of directors’ membership chairwoman.
The Ohio NAACP has met with people across the state and is looking at disparities within school systems, including Youngstown, noted Sybil Edwards-McNabb, Ohio NAACP state conference president.
“We oppose anything that takes away from [students] having a quality education,” Edwards-McNabb said.