The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Education reform needed now, president says
Now is the time to plan for local control in struggling school districts even as Ohioans take urgent actions to slow the spread of novel coronavirus, said Lorain Schools board President Mark Ballard.
In an open letter March 21, Ballard explained why the last full week of March may be the best time for state legislators to repeal the law governing schools with an Ohio “academic distress” rating.
That law, known as House Bill 70, has become a household phrase in Lorain city and county as a state-appointed Academic Distress Commission oversees local teachers, school administrators, parents, students and the school board in guiding education.
“The state of Ohio and our nation are facing unprecedented times,” Ballard said.
COVID-19 is dominating public discourse for now and the foreseeable future, so meaningful education reform could be on hold for 2020, he said.
Without state action soon, Lorain City Schools could lose time for the local school board to plan improvements needed in the classrooms, buildings and policies of the district, he said.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called off school effective March 17, although some districts sent their students home in the days before that.
Now, the Ohio Department of Education “has bigger problems than focusing on helping those districts under state control – it has already been announced that schools may not return this school year and state testing has been suspended,” Ballard said.
The lack of state testing is fair in light of the international crisis Ohio and the world are facing, Ballard said.
“However, there’s also a very practical problem with that for a place like Lorain – we’ve effectively lost another year of potential growth that could have led to a return to local control,” he said.
Last year, Lorain City Schools received a “D” grade “and the scores were moving in the right direction,” Ballard said.
“To be eligible for local control, we needed to receive a C,” he added.
In recent months, the Ohio State Board of Education, Ohio Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Sen. Peggy Lehner and Ohio Superintendent Paolo DeMaria “have all acknowledged that HB 70 isn’t working,” Ballard said.
In the new reality, to have Lorain have to work through the elected board of education and the Academic Distress Commission, in coordination with the Ohio Department of Education, “puts unnecessary burdens on the district at a time that we need to be nimble and focused on how to educate our kids in the new realities,” Ballard said.
“There is no benefit to continuing ADC oversight – since the new CEO came in, the Board of Education has been more empowered and the district is effectively exercising local control anyway,” Ballard said. “To ignore the problems with HB70 and to leave Lorain in limbo, after working in good faith for years under this oppressive law, is not fair to the community or the kids.
“Many believe that the legislature will not look at substantive changes, other than those related to coronavirus, until next year,” Ballard said. “That means this week is the only chance for us to regain local control, find a permanent superintendent, and keep the district moving forward.”