State budget won’t end state takeover of troubled school districts

Staff report

COLUMBUS

The Republican-led Ohio Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday voted to advance the state’s two-year operating budget for a full Senate vote without a provision to end state takeovers of troubled school districts, including Youngstown City Schools.

According to state Sen. Teresa Fedor, D-Toledo, the budget draft contains sweeping policy changes to K-12 education, but it continues the controversial state policy of school takeovers.

Fedor expressed her concern with the changes and called for the final version of the budget to include language addressing what she called the state’s current “flawed system” of school district takeovers.

The House-passed version of the budget included the language of House Bill 154, a bipartisan school takeover fix. This proposal makes whole the Youngstown, East Cleveland and Lorain school districts, which are already under state control, Fedor said. It also provides a plan to assist other struggling school districts.

HB 154 sought to overturn HB 70, called the Youngstown Plan that was signed into law by Gov. John Kasich in July 2015. It enabled a state-appointed academic distress commission to hire Krish Mohip to lead the Youngstown school district. The bill gave Mohip complete operational, managerial and instructional control.

Mohip leaves at the end of the month. He will be replaced by Justin Jennings.

“It is time to reverse this state overreach,” Fedor said. “Senate Republicans have removed a critical part of our state budget, and we’re running out of time to do the right thing. Without a provision ending school takeovers, I am not sure this budget will garner my vote.”

It is anticipated the full Senate will vote on the state’s budget bill today. Senate and House members will then meet to negotiate a final version of the bill by June 30.

State Sen. Michael Rulli of Salem, D-33rd, was unavailable for comment Wednesday night.

“Right now, there are children in three Ohio school districts whose academic futures are in jeopardy because of school takeovers,” Fedor said. “Lawmakers, educators and families widely recognize that we need a different, community-centered approach to help struggling school districts. The longer we wait to implement a solution, the more children we leave behind.”