Colaluca takes aim at ‘small group’ of Austintown detractors

By Justin Wier

jwier@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

A defiant Vince Colaluca had a message to opponents who want him to leave Austintown but who also may have kept him from getting a new job.

“There’s a small group that thinks they’re the voice of the community,” Colaluca said. “But really the voice is 30,000 people, not a small group of people.”

His comments were aimed at those behind a Facebook page titled “Flip the Austintown Board of Education.” Many of its supporters were among 2,000 residents who signed a petition asking the board to vote against Colaluca’s contract extension in December.

That movement was cited by many parents, students and staff members who showed up at Thursday’s meeting of the Mentor Board of Education to protest naming Colaluca that district’s new superintendent. The crowd of about 200 influenced the board, which voted against hiring Colaluca Thursday night.

A press release issued less than 24 hours before the vote stated that the Mentor Board of Education was “pleased to announce” that Colaluca, superintendent of Austintown schools, would be the district’s new superintendent. “It is an honor and privilege to serve the Mentor Public Schools as your superintendent,” Colaluca was quoted as saying in the release.

On Friday, Colaluca said the Mentor board told him his critics are the only reason he didn’t get the job in Mentor.

“No question about it,” he said. “It was the negative people in Austintown.”

Now he will remain in Austintown, at least for the near future.

In December, the Austintown school board voted to extend Colaluca’s contract through August 2020. Colaluca cited the support of David Ritchie, who has been on the board for 50 years, as evidence that he is respected. He also touted his clean personnel file.

Harold Porter, the only Austintown board member to vote against the contract extension, agreed that news of complaints about Colaluca’s time in Austintown made its way north.

“They posted every article about him on social media up in Mentor,” Porter said.

Colaluca said he heard that some Austintown residents even reached out to those in Mentor.

A petition was created on Change.org titled “Urge Mentor School Board to Vote NO on Appointing Colaluca to be the new Superintendent.”

“Based on reports of his history in his current school district, bringing him to Mentor is not conducive to the legacy [the current superintendent] will be leaving,” a post accompanying the petition reads. It also urges community members to call members of the board and encourage them to vote against Colaluca.

The petition garnered 280 likes in a day. One comment reads, “It only took minutes of Googling his name to see he is highly political and controversial.”

Virginia Jeschelnig, president of the Mentor Board of Education, did not respond to multiple interview requests from The Vindicator. She told the News-Herald the board felt the “gravity” of the community input.

While Porter has been aligned with the vocal group of those who oppose Colaluca’s leadership, he still sounded positive after hearing Colaluca would remain in the district for the time being.

“We’re going to have to make the best of what we have and try to make a more positive future,” he said.

Colaluca said he wasn’t leaving Austintown because of the negativity; he just saw an opportunity for his career and his family in Mentor.

Shortly after Thursday’s vote, he told The Vindicator, “I’m in a great place [in Austintown]. We’ve got a great board and a great community.”