Ring to cut positions created by Hardy

Lorain City Schools interim CEO Greg Ring will eliminate 45 positions that former CEO David Hardy Jr. created.

“Since becoming CEO of the Lorain City School District, under the provisions of (House Bill) 70, I have spent a great deal of time learning about what is working and what is not working with the plan to improve student outcomes,” Ring said, in a news release issued March 10. “In addition, I have had to consider the five-year forecast which shows a substantial deficit by the 20212022 school year.

“Based on my review of these two factors, I have decided that a reorganization of the administrative staff is necessary to both save money and to achieve better educational outcomes.”

Effective July 31, the following administrative positions are being eliminated: all chief positions, all dean positions, some director positions and other specific administrative positions, Ring said.

“We will be returning to a more traditional administrative model which will include assistant principals, school principals and curriculum support personnel,” he said. “A full list of the new positions and their job descriptions will be made

available in the near future.

“In all, we will be eliminating approximately 45 administrative positions and establishing about 25 new (more traditional) positions. None of these reductions are about personal job performance.”

Lorain Schools has about 90 administrators, based on a study by the Ohio Department of Education.

That is more than the average of about 50 administrators in comparable school districts and the state average of about 20 administrators per district, according to the state figures.

Lorain Schools administrators earn an average of

$95,781; that figure is larger than average administrator salaries for similar district and the state average, according to the state figures.

The restructuring is important for Lorain Schools to tighten the belt and not spend more money than the district is bringing in, Ring said.

The personnel shuffling also deals with professional licensure, he said.

“A lot of the current (administrators), particularly the deans, do not have fiveyear professional licensure to be an administrator,” Ring said. “That’s something I feel very strongly our administrators should have.”

It also is a concern among teachers and parents of Lorain Schools, Ring said.

They have expressed the expectation for appropriate licenses for the building leaders, Ring said, and he agreed.

Those administrators whose positions are being eliminated, if appropriately licensed, will have the opportunity to apply for the new positions and hopefully return to employment in Lorain, Ring said.

The restructuring will not necessarily lead to the turnover of the entire administrative staff.

Ring said he anticipates some of the licensed administrators will apply for jobs within the district.

“We look forward to a lot of those folks coming back into those new positions,” he said.

None of the personnel changes will take place until the next school year, so the changes are not expected to cause any disruption to student learning in classrooms, Ring said.

“Thank you for your patience and understanding as we move through this administrative reorganization process,” he said.

“A lot of the current (administrators), particularly the deans, do not have fiveyear professional licensure to be an administrator. That’s something I feel very strongly our administrators should have.” — Lorain City Schools interim CEO Greg Ring