School Board makes right move on levy

The Lorain City Schools Board of Education made the right call to ask voters to consider a renewal levy that will raise more than $3.12 million for the district, but only if Lorain Schools CEO David Hardy Jr. resigns.

During an emergency meeting Aug. 1, Lorain Schools Board members Mark Ballard, Bill Sturgill, Yvonne Johnson, Courtney Nazario and Timothy Williams voted 5-0 to file the necessary paperwork to seek a seven-year, 5.15-mill levy on the Nov. 5 ballot.

The deadline to file is Aug. 7 at the Lorain County Board of Elections.

However, board members will meet again to discuss conditions for withdrawing the issue before the election if Hardy is still there.

And it’s very clear the main condition of the levy was Hardy’s leadership and a lack of accountability for spending taxpayer dollars.

Hardy, who was hired by the Lorain Academic Distress Commission to improve Lorain Schools, has done very little to work with the Board of Education.

Instead, Hardy has alienated the Board of Education and some community members.

Sturgill, Williams and Nazario said they would support the levy, but would tell voters to say no if Hardy still is at the helm on Election Day.

In a statement issued after the meeting, Ballard ripped Hardy and House Bill 70, the state law governing how appointed academic distress commissions oversee struggling districts.

Ballard is on point when he said Lorain has been through enough with the controversial and flawed HB 70.

He went on to say reducing funding for Lorain students while the adults try to figure out the best path out of this mess helps no one.

Ballard continued, “However, the Board of Education will not stand for CEO Hardy continuing to spend our money without oversight and without concern for Lorain’s future. I am told that there is agreement with the major stakeholders, including members of the existing Academic Distress Commission, that CEO Hardy’s leadership will end soon. David Hardy must go. He is not a leader and cannot right this ship. We look forward to his departure so those of us who actually care about the future of Lorain can work to recover from his tenure.”

After the meeting, Hardy, in his typical fashion, said he will stay focused on Lorain students, not “political drama.”

Hardy said he is there for the students, but he still would not say he would try to work with the Board of Education.

Well, if Hardy is truly there for the students, he should resign so the district can have a chance to get the necessary funds through the levy to continue to educate the students.

Hardy said at some point, he hopes the community and state at large see this is not about bettering the youngsters.

He said this reality saddens him but only deepens his conviction to stay focused on making sure his resilient team of people walk into their building every day and operate with that same conviction. More Hardy rhetoric.

HB 70 and Hardy’s my way or no way style is not working in Lorain.

Actually, Hardy’s leadership brought out the imperfections of HB 70.

You can’t take away local control and not have people rebel.

If Hardy decides to stay, then he and the state should figure out how to fund Lorain Schools.

But, if Hardy decides to remain CEO, it could be short lived because the state finally has taken notice of the Lorain Schools situation.

We’ve said the HB 70 law was not fair to Lorain, Youngstown and East Cleveland school districts because it took away local control.

Last month, state lawmakers passed a two-year Ohio budget with a moratorium on putting more struggling school districts under state control through academic distress commissions.

It was unclear when state lawmakers could take action.

The Ohio Senate is expected to take up and debate HB 70 and vote on House Bill 154, legislation co-authored by state Rep. Joe Miller, an Amherst Democrat.

Also, the Ohio Supreme Court set oral arguments in an appeal Oct. 23 over HB 70.

The Youngstown City School District Board of Education filed the appeal, which is seeking to reverse HB 70.

Meanwhile, Ballard responded to schools supporters who attended the Aug. 1 meeting by telling them to go full steam ahead and campaign for the passage of the levy.

If Hardy truly wants to help the students and see the district improve, academically and financially, he should leave.

Hardy didn’t create the academic distress in Lorain Schools.

But by not resigning, Hardy could help to put the district in financial distress.