CEO directs removal of creationism from Youngstown science curriculum

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By Denise Dick

denise_dick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

City schools CEO Krish Mohip did with one memo what no one else in the district has been able to do since May: eliminate creationism from the curriculum.

Dario Hunter, school board member, said he notified the American Civil Liberties Union in Cleveland about creationism in the curriculum after his multiple attempts to get a resolution to remove the materials added to the school board meeting agenda.

More than three months ago, the Jerusalem Post and The Daily Beast published articles about a video included in the district’s science curriculum.

The video espouses creationism, also called Intelligent Design, and was made by Harun Yahya, who, according to the two publications, is a Holocaust-denying Islamic sex-cult leader.

“I just told them to remove it from the science curriculum,” said Mohip, city schools chief executive officer.

Creationism is the belief that the universe was created by a divine entity. Evolution, the accepted scientific theory, says life has evolved from earlier organisms.

All district curriculum should align with state standards, Mohip said. He decided to remove the video and all materials related to creationism from the curriculum after district lawyers researched the issue.

The video had been removed, but other references to creationism remained.

Last May, district officials said the video was part of the biology curriculum as a way for students to view resources and determine their validity or reliability.

“This is an example of what the CEO can do that the school board has been unable to do,” Hunter said.

He believes his attempts to get the creationism references removed were rejected by the majority of school board members because some school board members are motivated by their own agendas and personal interests rather than what’s best for the district’s students and their education.

The inclusion of the materials violates the law, Hunter said.

His contact to the ACLU prompted an investigation.

Hunter said the ACLU notified him Friday that the issue had been resolved and the material removed.

The ACLU couldn’t be reached to comment.