School board wants information from CEO before levy

Lorain school board members say they don’t have a clear picture of what is going on with finances and staff in Lorain City Schools.

Meanwhile, the board members voted to join Youngstown and state school officials challenging the law that governs Ohio school districts designated in academic distress by the state Education Department.

Lorain school board members Tony Dimacchia, Mark Ballard, Yvonne Johnson, Bill Sturgill and Tim Williams held their regular meeting Aug. 6.

Responding to audience inquiries and in their own discussion, the board members said they are awaiting information about a possible budget carryover of $16 million or more.

The discussion came partly as a follow-up to the board meeting of July 16. Treasurer Joshua Hill, who also serves as chief strategy and innovation officer for the district, reported a budget carryover of about $16 million.

The figure represents the best carryover since 2001, Sturgill said in that meeting, but Hill cautioned that the money goes out quickly in Lorain schools’ general fund budget of $120 million.

“That could be gone in the drop of a hat,” Hill said at the time.

The budget came up again in discussion Aug. 6, although Hill was not present at that meeting.

On July 31, Dimacchia made a public records request to Hill asking for the financial data “that explains, supports and shows how the district has found the $16 million surplus as mentioned in last board meeting.”

“Please include any and all communication to any and all staff involved in those financial conversations,”

Dimacchia wrote. “Please include all text, emails and hard copies of any data as it pertains to this financial issue.”

Speaking in the Aug. 6 meeting, Ballard, Sturgill, Williams and Johnson agreed they have questions about what happened in Lorain schools’ financial numbers that led to the carryover.

“That’s why you make the request,” Dimacchia said.

“We’re all thoroughly confused in the same boat,” Williams said.

The financial information could have repercussions in the community.

For several months, the school board members publicly have stated they do not have enough financial information to decide to place a $3 million renewal levy up for a citywide vote.

On July 16, one speaker, Julie Garcia, said she would have a hard time supporting a renewal levy when the district has a $16 million carryover.

As for Dimacchia’s latest public records request, the school board president also asked Hill for records relating to how the board creates its meeting agendas. Dimacchia repeated his April 5 request for information about the turnaround principals hired to lead Lorain’s schoolhouses for 2018-2019..

Meanwhile, the school

board members said they heard of at least three Lorain school administrators who were informed in late June that they would not be brought back for the upcoming school year.

In the past, the board members said they tried to give advance notice to teachers and administrators if their jobs were to be cut or contracts not renewed so they would have adequate time to find other jobs. Williams called the timing “insensitive,” although most likely legally allowed.

The board also voted to join the Ohio School Boards Association Legal Assistance Fund in asking the Ohio Supreme Court to consider the legality of House Bill 70, which governs Ohio school districts in the state’s “academic distress” category.

There will be no cost for Lorain schools to join the legal challenge, the school board members said.

The High Court may take up the legal challenge that Youngstown City Schools has launched, arguing that House Bill 70 is unconstitutional.

So far that district, which also is in the academic distress ranking, has been unsuccessful in its fight to challenge the state law.

For information visit a website at www. lorainschools.org.