Hardy walks back claim on pay

Letter saying employees might not be paid was not meant to induce fear, CEO says

A letter claiming Lorain City Schools teachers and support staff would not be paid, was not meant to induce unnecessary fear among employees, said CEO David Hardy Jr.

Meanwhile, state Rep. Joe Miller, and Amherst Democrat, has filed a public records request with a demand for school records and accountability in the administration.

The chairman of the Lorain Academic Distress Commission also shared a copy of the evaluation form it used to create the first part of Hardy’s job performance review.

The latest developments happened Aug. 28 as Lorain Schools leaders, elected officials and the community in general continue to wrangle over control of Lorain Schools.

On Aug. 26, Hardy issued a letter to staff arguing a school board lawsuit over the status of Treasurer Joshua Hill’s contract could prevent the district from processing payroll for almost 900 workers.

“The people of Lorain deserve to know how their money is being spent.” — State Representative Joe Miller

Hardy followed that with an Aug. 28 letter stating he wanted school employees to be alerted to “a potential crisis on the horizon.”

He said he is working closely with people in the legal system, the school board “and those impacted by the potential payroll stoppage.”

“Through these efforts, we have collectively been able to work closer towards a place of mediation between the multiple sides entangled in the school board’s lawsuit,” Hardy said. “We have submitted our request for mediation to the Ohio Supreme Court’s Government Conflict Resolution Services, and are currently waiting for all parties involved to go on record in agreement, so we can begin the process of finding a new treasurer for the district.

“Through this collaboration, I will continue to work to ensure that this process moves quickly, in your best interests. I want us to be able to move forward with a remedied treasurer situation so that all 900 employees will receive payment, on time, Sept. 13.”

Hardy said he is hopeful the district can go “back in the place where we were when we began this school year, a mere week ago: With a collective focus, from us all, on the education of our community’s (students).”

As for the lawsuit, the Lorain Schools Board of Education filed the case to retain Hill, who was tapped to become treasurer of South Euclid Lyndhurst Schools.

The case is pending at

Lorain County Common Pleas Court.

Early on Aug. 28, Lorain Schools Board President Mark Ballard issued a statement that the Board vehemently disputed Hardy’s claim about employee pay.

“This is yet another scare tactic and fabrication from Mr. Hardy, designed to deflect blame for his failures,” Ballard said.

Miller request

Miller joined the call for Lorain Schools to release information regarding its finances and administrative decisions.

He made the request “in response to the district’s failure to fulfill previous records requests made by members of the public.”

“The people of Lorain deserve to know how their money is being spent,” Miller said. “We have heard numerous troubling reports about financial decisions under district CEO David

Hardy, including shifting funds away from classrooms and towards new administrative ‘chief’ positions.

“If Hardy is as proud of his record as he claims to be, there should be no issue with sharing those details publicly.” Miller said he is seeking:

• Listing of administrators who were hired and fired

• Contracts, including salaries, entered into with administrators

• Contracts entered into with vendors

• Documentation of legal fees paid by the district

• Documentation of reimbursement of expenses for administrators

• Evaluations for administrators, including Hardy

Lorain Schools was placed under state control in 2015, when the Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 70.

Hardy was appointed in 2017.

Miller, a high school government teacher, introduced House Bill 154 to restore local control to Lorain, Youngstown and East Cleveland, which also are state-controlled districts.

The Ohio House approved the bill and is awaiting further consideration in the Ohio Senate.

Evaluation

The Lorain Academic Distress Commission met Aug. 27 to discuss the evaluation for Hardy.

Over the two-year period, the Lorain Academic Distress Commission evaluation scale of the CEO has averaged to be “Developing,” said Randall Sampson, commission chairman.

The evaluation is one component of the process, as the district continues to progress out of academic emergency, Sampson said.

He also noted it was the first evaluation of a Lorain chief executive officer or superintendent in more than a decade.

In the evaluation process, Lorain Academic Distress Commission members rated Hardy in five areas:

• Leadership, governance and communication

• Curriculum and instruction

• Human resources and professional development

• Student supports

• Fiscal management The ratings were averaged from scores based on criteria used by the Ohio Department of Education superintendent evaluation process and the ODE state support review process, Sampson said.

The scores range from 4 being effective, 3 being skilled, 2 being developing and 1 being ineffective, he said.

Hardy

Miller