The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Board to negotiate treasurer contract
School leaders said they will continue inquiries about the best way to guide education in Lorain.
On Feb. 10, Lorain City Schools board of education members Mark Ballard, Bill Sturgill, Yvonne Johnson, Courtney Nazario and Timothy Williams held a meeting split up by Interim CEO Greg Ring’s final public listening session.
In official action, the board of education voted 5-0 for a motion to suspend the search process and negotiate with Interim Treasurer Tia Kearney for a contract to become district treasurer.
Ballard, Sturgill, Johnson, Nazario and Williams also voted 5-0 for a temporary contract with former Treasurer Joshua Hill to consult with Kearney on drafting the district’s next five-year financial forecast.
Ring also reported various actions he is undertaking as chief executive officer, including spending $173,880 for new laptop computers for second-grade students. The computers will replace iPad tablets used by students, Ring said.
When the school board voted to go into executive session, Ring emerged at 6 p.m. for his third public listening session.
The meeting was held at General Johnnie Wilson Middle School; earlier sessions were at Longfellow and Southview middle schools.
About 50 people were present as parents voiced concerns about issues ranging from reading instruction materials to planning public events.
One parent said her son’s class, with 27 students and one teacher at Toni Morrison Elementary, was too large. Ring agreed the figure was high and the exception, not the rule, in the district, which generally has class sizes in the teens.
That parent also said she feels the stress that comes down from the administration to teachers, to students, then to Lorain homes is too high. She also asked for more Spanish-language school notices for parents.
Standards based grading, a method that replaces letter grades with numbers on a scale of 1 to 5, still prompts a number of questions and complaints.
Ring said he intends to form two study committees, one for grades kindergarten to five and the other for grades six to eight, to examine whether and how Lorain Schools can use that method effectively.
That will happen before the end of the school year and be in place when the next CEO moves into position, Ring said. Whoever is leader of Lorain City Schools, the district cannot wait until August to implement a grading system for the upcoming year.
Working with the Lorain County Educational Service Center, the district will hire new wellness counselors to coordinate “wraparound” social services for students who need them, Ring said.
Ring said he intends to publish a report based on the community and in-school listening sessions.