Hardy should meet with mayor, board

Lorain City Schools CEO David Hardy Jr.’s decision to not accept an invitation to meet with Lorain Mayor Chase Ritenauer and members of the Lorain City Schools board and Lorain Academic Distress Commission to work on district issues is disturbing.

On Feb. 13, Ritenauer sent his letter hoping to convene the educational summit for 5 p.m. Feb. 26 at Lorain High School.

Ritenauer said the time is now for this important faceto-face meeting and delaying any longer jeopardizes Lorain Schools, both now, and into the future.

The mayor said email chains, name calling in the newspaper and town hall meetings by one party will not suffice, and he’s right.

Since at least February 2018, board members have said they have received little, if any, formal communication from Hardy on plans to get Lorain Schools out of the state’s “academic distress” rating.

Ritenauer pointed out Hardy has near complete authority under state House Bill 70, which governs Lorain Schools, but the school board retains the power to place a levy or a bond issue on the ballot.

For that reason alone, Hardy should meet with the people who control some aspect of funding.

Ritenauer said, “To me, this makes clear the importance of the Lorain City Schools Board and the need for the board to be at the table for decision making. Likewise, if information is provided and a true commitment is made to include the school board, the board should not delay in placing a levy renewal on the November ballot.”

But, Hardy wrongly rejected Ritenauer’s invitation.

In a letter to the Titan community, Hardy declined Ritenauer’s invite, citing his confidence in his communication with Schools Board president Mark Ballard as being the strongest and most consistent communication between him and any sitting board member during his tenure.

Hardy wrote, “As the work that remains is of the utmost importance - and commands the attention of all parties involved in the decision making process - I believe it is in the best interest of our district, and its children, that any discussions pertaining to our future are reserved to be heard by a full Academic Distress Commission.”

Hardy added that he looked forward to continued collaboration with the school board through Ballard.

But Ballard said Hardy’s response has instead created confusion.

Starting late Feb. 13, Ballard responded to the correspondence that went public earlier that day.

And on Feb. 14, Ballard requested a meeting with Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Paolo DeMaria and his key staff that oversee the Lorain Academic Distress Commission to discuss communicating with the state and how to move the district forward with the board of education.

Who can blame Ballard for seeking the meeting with the state because of what Hardy is doing?

Ballard said he interprets a reference from Hardy in his newsletter that he only will have individual conversations with Ballard and not the other elected board members.

Ballard makes it clear he will not speak with Hardy on the behalf of the board, and that the board and community are unified with Ritenauer in their approach to serve Lorain children and families.

It seems as though Hardy does not want help from others in pulling the district out of academic distress.

It’s as if: If he doesn’t come up with the idea, he won’t support it.

Lorain City Schools is a public institution, not a private enterprise, and Hardy needs to grasp that notion.

What he’s doing is not good for the community, and taxpayers should speak up.

We’ve called out Hardy before on some of his decisions like his ill-advised plan to move the Lorain High School graduation in May to the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, which is at least 30 miles away from Lorain, or telling parents that if test scores don’t improve, Lorain Schools could become a charter system.

And not meeting with the people who can advise and help him is a bad decision.

The mayor and the school board did not put Lorain Schools in academic distress.

As the chief executive of the International City, Ritenauer wants what’s best for Lorain Schools as a way to attract people to the area.

And Ritenauer also was correct to ask Hardy for updates on the status of public records requests made by the school board and new Academic Distress Commission member Diane Conibear-Xander on a variety of issues.

Hardy has made some questionable decisions in the past.

Hopefully, he’ll reconsider and agree to the meeting.