Alumni want role in picking superintendent

Alumni of Ohio's public school for deaf children think the state has been ignoring the group and has needlessly rushed the search for the school's next superintendent.

The outcry by former students and supporters of the Ohio School for the Deaf was effective, and the state extended the application deadline by two weeks, until Sept. 15.

The Ohio Department of Education, which oversees the school, originally asked its hired search firm, the Ohio School Boards

Association, to start the superintendent search in early August, with a deadline of Friday .

“As the school year is already underway, it is necessary to begin the search and interview candidates as soon as possible,” Education Department spokeswoman Brittany Halpin said last week by email. “OSBA will be conducting a public town hall ( date TBD), which will allow members of the public, including alumni, parents and community members, to ask questions and offer input on the selection of the superintendent.”

The town hall for the public has not be scheduled, said Cheryl Ryan of the Ohio School Boards Association.

Ryan said some alumni attended focus groups over the past few weeks. “They turned out in relatively small numbers, but they were passionate,” she said.

Far more people — around 60 — turned out Saturday at the Columbus Colony, a Westerville residential community designed for the deaf, to discuss the school’s recent revolving door of superintendents and other concerns.

Alumni Association President Darrell Doudt took the stage and signed that he had learned secondhand that the job had been posted online, even after the alumni association had sent letters asking to be involved in the search. None was answered.

Doudt referred to a list of the superintendents since the school opened in 1929. Until 2010, the school had had only four, who averaged 20 years in the role. Then came the next three.

“Hired,” Doudt signed and pointed to the name of interim Superintendent Scott Schaller, who was there from 2010 to 2011. “Gone,” he signed emphatically.

Janet Gordon, 2011- 2013: “Hired. ... Gone,” Doug Lowery, from 2013 until July of this year: “Hired. ... Gone!”

Others took to the stage to share what they’d like to see, including smaller student- to- teacher ratios at the school.

The group compiled a wish list on a large pad of paper; the list included having the application deadline extended and not having an interim superintendent or, if one is necessary, having the appointee in the position for a limited time.

They ask that the next superintendent understand deaf culture and be fluent in American Sign Language. They want that superintendent to have more say over state funding. And they want better communication with the legislature.

The job posting says special consideration will be given to the candidate with “demonstrated ability in the administration of programs for students who are deaf or hard of hearing; fluency in American Sign Language such as minimum of Intermediate rating on the Sign Language Proficiency Interview ( SLPI); and/ or specific ability and knowledge relevant to working with the blind, deaf and multiple disabilities.”

Doudt shared a letter with The Dispatch that he said he sent to Tess Elshoff, president of the State Board of Education. He discussed the superintendent position and a concern about declining resources for the school.

“We have been hearing about long waitlists for our deaf and hard-of-hearing youth and the elimination of faculty, staff and support- staff positions,” Doudt wrote.

When contacted, Elshoff said she never received the letter and didn’t want to comment until she knew more.

Total funding for the Deaf School in fiscal year 2008 was about $12.2 million; funding in fiscal year 2018 is just under $ 12 million, according to statebudget documents.

The Education Department’s Halpin said the state’s share of the funding has increased slightly over the decade.

“The school has access to fewer federal dollars in 2018 than 2008; however, those services have not been eliminated — they have been transferred to another agency,” Halpin said in an email.

The school, at 500 Morse Road on the North Side, serves about 200 deaf and hearing- impaired students up to age 22 from all over Ohio. About 90 students live in dorms on campus during the week. The staff holds social activities for them and teaches independent living skills.