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2 school board members ask for censure, resignation of a third member
Panel votes not to censure Vice President Michael Murphy
YOUNGSTOWN
Battles between members of the Youngstown Board of Education over whether Vice President Michael Murphy – recently charged with a misdemeanor related to his position with the Youngstown Water Department – should resign from his position dominated the board’s meeting Tuesday night.
Murphy was one of 26 Youngstown Water Department employees found by the Ohio Attorney General’s office to have falsified credentials, which allowed them to collect higher salaries from the city.
Board member Jackie Adair was the first to broach the subject, using her allotted five minutes for discussion to call for Murphy to step down.
Krish Mohip, the CEO of Youngstown City Schools, and Brenda Kimble, school board president, questioned Adair’s decision to discuss Murphy’s situation during a board of education meeting.
“It’s not just about academics for a school board. We used to be responsible for the finances of this district,” Adair said.
“It’s past time to stop turning a blind eye to corruption.”
After the discussion period, board member Dario Hunter introduced a motion to censure Murphy, which included a call for him to resign from the board.
During discussion of the motion, Hunter railed against corruption in the city and eventually brought up Mayor John A. McNally’s misdemeanor convictions during the Oakhill criminal-conspiracy case.
This set off a heated exchange with board member Ronald Shadd, who called Hunter an “obstructionist and a contrarian” and argued his inclusion of the mayor in the discussion was irrelevant to Murphy’s situation.
Mohip threatened to have the men removed if they didn’t calm down, to which Hunter replied, “Do it.”
The board voted to reject the motion to censure Murphy 3-4. Adair, Hunter and board member Corrine Sanderson voted yes on the measure.
Murphy will remain in his position.
The board’s official statement on the issues was made available after the meeting.
“The misdemeanor charge, guilty plea and conviction of one school board member does not affect that member’s right to serve. As such, we will leave the matter to the courts,” the statement said.
The meeting was not all vitriol and rhetoric, however.
Megan Mercado – a mother who enrolled her son at Rayen Early College Middle School and saw her son’s reading level improve by three grade levels as a result – gave a positive review of the district and said she was rooting for the city school system.
Hunter and Shadd asked for Mohip to begin providing regular reports concerning academic progress and after-school program availability.