Youngstown BOE to offer plan to Senate education committee

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown Board of Education members discussed Tuesday the draft of a plan they intend to present in testimony today in Columbus before the Ohio Senate’s education committee.

The state board of education asked the local board to come up with a plan if House Bill 70, known as the Youngstown Plan, is repealed, board President Brenda Kimble noted.

In July 2015, Gov. John Kasich signed into law HB 70, which allowed a state-appointed academic distress commission to hire a CEO to lead the district with complete instructional, managerial and operational control, with the goal of improving academic performance.

The draft plan will eventually include input from teachers, administrators, parents and other stakeholders, and will be further discussed and tweaked at future meetings, Kimble stressed. In addition, between 15 and 20 people, including board members, parents and teachers, will testify today in support of House Bill 154, which would in essence repeal HB 70 and restore local control with state oversight, Kimble continued.

At one point during the sometimes heated meeting Tuesday, board members Dario Hunter and Ronald Shadd sparred, with Hunter saying the plan fails to meet students’ specific needs and lacks transformative strategies for turning around the district. It also should seek outside expertise to address complex educational goals and challenges, he said.

Shadd countered by saying the core of the draft plan is in line with HB 154. “You aim high and work to get something done,” Shadd added.

Board member Jackie Adair complained that much of the draft “is too nebulous” and should focus more on academics and what will benefit students and less on state law as it relates to the district.

Board member Tina Cvetkovich, who has a background in social work, said the plan needs more input from teachers and school officials, many of whom deal daily with students who come to school hungry, have major problems at home or are suffering from some form of trauma, all of which make it nearly impossible for them to learn in the classroom.

Also during the session, Superintendent Joseph Meranto discussed the numerous steps the Cincinnati School District has implemented to help it become more successful over the past five years. The Youngstown City Schools should use that as a blueprint for moving forward, regardless of whether HB 70 is repealed, he said.

For example, community learning centers that provide tutoring, mentoring and other vital wrap-around services are in 44 of Cincinnati’s 63 schools, he noted. In addition, that district has 700 partnerships with a variety of entities, none of which are being paid by the district, Meranto explained.

Faith-based and other partners have made it possible for the Cincinnati schools to also offer special services to children about to start kindergarten.

“We should try this in the Youngstown City Schools,” Meranto said. “We have nothing to lose.”