Youngstown schools CEO stirs interest with hirings

By any standard, the hiring by a public school system of three individuals earning six-figure salaries would raise eyebrows.

But when the system is one that was in state-declared fiscal emergency in the recent past and is now in the throes of academic turmoil, more than eyebrows are raised. The question triggered by the hirings can be expressed in one word: Why?

Because, says Krish Mohip, the chief executive officer of the troubled Youngstown City School District, it’s about building a strong leadership team.

Mohip, the first CEO of a public school system in Ohio, has been on the job since last June and is moving quickly and aggressively to pull the urban district out of its academic tailspin.

“I have assembled a team of extremely talented senior leaders that never before have come to work in one [Mahoning] Valley district,” Mohip told Vindicator reporter Amanda Tonoli recently. “This senior leadership team is committed to our kids and prepared to do whatever it takes to help them succeed.”

While the academic success of the students is a praiseworthy goal – the district is now under state academic watch after being placed in emergency in 2011 – the cost of achieving it can’t be ignored.

Mohip has hired six people in leadership positions with a combined annual salary of $500,000.

Of special interest to the taxpayers are the following: Greg Slemons as chief financial officer on a 12-month contract at a yearly salary of $133,000; John LaPlante, chief information officer, on a 12-month contract paying $123,000; Joe Nohra, former superintendent of the Struthers City Schools District, chief of operations, on a 12-month contract at a salary of $115,000; and Pat Lowry, who was on area Congressman Tim Ryan’s staff, director of strategic initiatives on a 12-month contract with an annual salary of $75,000.

Academic performance

There’s no argument that one of the worst academic performing school districts in Ohio needs talented individuals to guide it to success. But, interest is piqued when they are paid so much more than what the average Youngstown district resident earns.

The median income of a family of four in the city is $24,000.

We are willing to give CEO Mohip the benefit of the doubt when he says he must have the best and the brightest to achieve the goals in the three-year academic recovery plan he submitted late last year to the Youngstown City School District Academic Distress Commission.

The commission has statutory oversight of the system. One of its most important responsibilities is the hiring of the chief executive officer.

The panel has given Mohip a three-year contract with the expectation that he will bring about the district’s academic recovery.

That’s a tall order, but the CEO personally set the bar high when he publicly announced late last year that he is aiming for 100 percent graduation of the 2018 senior class.

“Why wouldn’t you aim for that?” Mohip asked, in an interview with The Vindicator. “How do I look at myself and say, ‘I’m OK with 90 percent graduation?’ How am I OK with saying ‘It’s OK if 10 percent of our kids don’t graduate?’”

Our reaction to those comments was predictable: Mohip will have to do a lot of heavy lifting to meet that goal.

Given the recent sordid history of the Youngstown school system, he well knows that every decision he makes will be met with criticism from some school board members who have been stripped of all their powers and with skepticism from some residents.

But, fair-minded people should be willing to give him a chance to turn things around.

It is noteworthy that the Youngstown Education Association supports Mohip’s creation of a strong leadership team, but the union also raises an important point.

“Whether this team will warrant the high salaries that are being paid remains to be seen,” said Paula Valentini, YEA vice president. “With that said, it is the responsibility of this district’s teachers to implement the academic initiatives to benefit our children, yet we are one of the lowest-paid groups of educators in the county. It’s important to remember that this will make it difficult to attract new teachers to our district in the future.”