Meranto named interim city schools superintendent

July 4, 2017 at 12:05a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Better board relations is what both Brenda Kimble, Youngstown Board of Education president, and newly appointed interim superintendent Joseph Meranto said they want for the future.

Meranto, executive director of Choffin Career and Technical Center, will replace Stephen Stohla, who served as interim superintendent since July 2015.

Stohla’s contract was not renewed.

Meranto’s current salary, $115,000, will remain unchanged.

Kimble, although happy for Meranto in his new position, said she will have a watchful eye.

“Mr. Mohip told me the reason he wanted Meranto was because he saw the community had trust in Meranto,” she said.

Kimble added that CEO Krish Mohip told her he would have Meranto attend all board meetings and keep the board well-informed in all district operations.

“If he does otherwise, and Mr. Meranto does not come to those board meetings and is not communicating with the board, the community will have a different outlook on Mr. Meranto,” Kimble said. “The board will be holding him accountable.”

Meranto said he is excited to serve the district in a “broader capacity.”

“I’m really looking forward to getting started and working with all the great employees of Youngstown – with Krish and the team and the board so we can move this district even farther than we did this year,” he said.

In the email Mohip sent to the district in which he stated he was appointing Meranto, he said he is in the process of finding a permanent superintendent and hopes to have that person by mid-July.

“I am working collaboratively with the board of education. However, I will make the final decision,” he said in an email. “In the short term, I have asked Joe Meranto to serve as the interim superintendent and he has accepted. Meranto has extensive experience working in public education as both teacher and administrator.”

Choffin and Mahoning County Career and Technical Center are in an agreement in which they will share administrative services while Meranto serves as interim superintendent.