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School board again challenges CEO’s authority
YOUNGSTOWN
Another challenge to Youngs-town School District CEO Krish Mohip’s authority may be on the way.
During the board of education meeting Tuesday evening, board member Corrine Sanderson presented a resolution that would result in the board no longer recognizing Mohip’s authority.
The resolution argues the CEO position, established under House Bill 70, is unconstitutional and that the powers granted to the CEO have been abused.
Sanderson said Mohip’s lack of a concrete budget for the upcoming fiscal year, recent bevy of administration hires with salaries largely upward of $100,000, and unsatisfactory communication with the board factored into why she introduced the resolution.
The measure was ultimately tabled for a future meeting to give the board time to seek legal counsel regarding its language and content.
Board members Jackie Adair and Michael Murphy both requested more time to review the resolution, with Murphy likening Sanderson’s swift attempt at passage to “ramming it down our throats.”
Sanderson wasn’t without support. Board member Dario Hunter backed the resolution and initially argued against stalling the measure’s passage.
“How can we claim to a court that the position is unconstitutional but then not claim the same thing to the public?” Hunter said.
He was referencing a lawsuit filed in August 2015 that similarly asserted the position of CEO was unconstitutional under the federal and Ohio constitutions. The lawsuit is ongoing.
Despite the resolution’s strong language, most of the positions called for in the measure were already present among the board.
“So we aren’t recognizing his authority,” Adair said. “I basically didn’t in the first place.”
Sanderson said the resolution was meant to restore the board’s ability to pass policy measures and to give the board the ability to curb Mohip’s spending.
She said the position of district treasurer was under the purview of the board, meaning the board could use the treasurer to block spending by Mohip that they deemed extravagant.
District spokeswoman Denise Dick said this reading of authority was incorrect.
“They don’t have that authority,” she said. “[Mohip] has complete authority of managerial issues and hiring, which would include a treasurer. They have no authority over district employees.”
Regardless of the resolution, the board has other complaints about recent interactions with Mohip. As Sanderson noted, the board wants to see a budget and to be made aware of district spending.
Dick said Mohip was working on a budget, which would be finished “very soon.”
The board was also critical of Mohip attributing an action in an earlier document to “the Board of Education” without actually seeking the input or action of board members. Dick agreed the language wasn’t accurate and said in the future the district would consider alternate language.