Schools commission chair asks for supporting data; Mohip explains delays

YOUNGSTOWN

The chairman of the Youngstown City Schools Academic Distress Commission told district CEO Krish Mohip he needs more data to support decisions.

“We need to start to draw on firm data moving forward,” Brian Benyo said Thursday as Mohip and his senior leadership team presented district updates to the commission.

The presentation covered each of the five goals in Mohip’s strategic plan: academic achievement; supporting the whole child; parent, family and community involvement; a world-class workforce; and operations, budgeting and accountability.

Although Mohip discussed what is needed to achieve goals and what the district is doing to become more successful, not every presentation included numerical results.

The challenge, Mohip told the commission, is timing.

“I was not able to be put in the CEO position until June and it did slow us down in some areas,” Mohip said. “I wasn’t really able to see how the schools work when they are in session.”

Other challenges to his start included the sometimes adversarial school board, reorganization of many district functions, lack of parental involvement and the difficulty of change in general.

Mohip said the district is moving beyond its challenges with the help of a strong leadership team and sustainable teaching practices.

Read more of his remarks in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.