Commission, board disagree

Chair asks school district to freeze hiring, spending

The chair of the Lorain Academic Distress Commission and president of the Lorain City School Board exchanged letters disagreeing over hiring and finances.

At issue are up to 25 positions that need to be filled for the next school year.

On June 20, Academic Distress Commission Chair Tony Richardson sent a letter to School Board President Tim Williams asking for no spending and no hiring until a chief executive officer is appointed by the commission.

“As you know, the Commission (sic) is in the process of fulfilling its statutory directive of searching for, and ultimately hiring, a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to assume operational, managerial, and instructional responsibility for the District, including fiscal and budgetary matters,”

“We are looking forward to working together to give Lorain students the best future possible.”

— Academic Distress Commission Chair Tony Richardson

Richardson wrote. “The CEO shall serve at the pleasure of the Commission.

“In the interim, we have a duty to examine the District’s (sic) operations to ensure resources are appropriately and wisely allocated in order to prepare the District for the collaborative work with the CEO. While the search is ongoing, we do not believe it is in the District’s, and ultimately the students,’ best interests to expend District funds or make personnel decisions that could have a lasting effect on the District, so that the incoming CEO will have the most stable and solid platform to begin his or her work with the District.”

Richardson continued, “We ask that the District understand this concern is rooted in the desire for this Commission to have the tools and resources to do its best work for Lorain students. We hope that you receive this in the collaborative spirit that it is offered. We are looking forward to working together to give Lorain students the best future possible.”

Williams replied that to the board’s understanding, the CEO will not be in place for at least another month or more.

Also, after July 10, a school employee cannot leave a position without specific permission from the school board of the district the employee is leaving, he said.

“Quite frankly, we were shocked and dismayed to receive this letter, without discussion or context, after months of what we believed was a collaborative process to build a partnership for the good of our students and families,” Williams wrote in a reply letter. “As you know, the Academic Distress Commission legislation was controversial at the time of enactment, with only one vote difference between passage and failure.

“We saw how the legislation impacted the Youngstown community and that the continued acrimony causes harm to the community which must trickle down to the students in the district. We as the Lorain community chose to take a different path.”

The district collaborated with the previous distress commission, and partnered with the community to create wraparound services for children, Williams’ letter related.

“We implemented individual monitoring for our students to make sure they were not falling behind,” he wrote. “And we engaged our community in ways never before seen in Lorain.

“We did this in good faith because we knew that it was urgent, that the state mandates, whether we agreed with them or not, were coming, and we chose to collaborate instead of fight.”

The board expected to extend the same courtesy to the new commission and the CEO, Williams wrote. And school officials worked to calm parents and unify the community thinking the district could work with the state and new commission.

“Instead of returning the respect and courtesy of building a partnership, your letter clearly outlines that you intend to dictate to our district and our staff how to run our district and that you apparently intend to upset all that we have worked so hard to accomplish in anticipation of the impending CEO,” Williams wrote. “Further, your assertion that, ‘We ask that the District understand this concern is rooted in the desire for this Commission to have the tools and resources to do its best work for Lorain students’ is not only offensive and erroneous — but foolish.

“Because if you understood how public education works, you would understand that instituting a hiring and spending freeze at this time will dramatically harm our students and families — and undercut all that we achieve.”

Richardson indicated by text message, “No comment is warranted.”

Lorain City Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeff Graham said he last heard 23 positions are open, including many teaching positions.

Filling them is routine for starting a new school year. And for the almost two years Graham said he has been in the district, a distress commission has never asked for such positions not to be filled.

The special education department underwent much change in the last two years, from separate programs to inclusion in regular education classrooms.

But now, 13 teaching positions are open in the special education department, Graham said.

Also, Dr. Kim Monachino, executive director of student services for Lorain Schools, accepted a position with Ohio Department of Education, he said, so her position is open.

Kelly Postiy, assistant director of student services, returns to the classroom, Graham said, and Denise McConville returns to a position of school psychologist.

“We lost a lot of people in that department,” Graham said. “We will have one person returning who was there last year in administration. Plus we’re short 13 teachers who chose to teach other things.

“We obviously can’t not fill those positions.”

Williams wrote stopping progress to wait for a CEO was not the intention of the legislation or the direction the Ohio Department of Education seeks for students.

“We will likely never know the true fallout from your letter and your approach of attempting to exercise authority the Academic Distress Commission doesn’t have and creating an acrimonious relationship with the very people you need to achieve progress,” Williams wrote. “What is obvious from the letter is that after 18 months of attempting to collaborate with the state, you have made it clear that we still have a great deal of work to do as we build trust and confidence moving forward and maintain our focus on our students and their families.

“In summary, we will continue to make decisions necessary to prepare for the opening of school. In addition, we welcome the opportunity to strengthen our relationship as this is in the best interest of the children and families of Lorain.”

“In summary, we will continue to make decisions necessary to prepare for the opening of school. In addition, we welcome the opportunity to strengthen our relationship as this is in the best interest of the children and families of Lorain.”

— School Board President Tim Williams