- Wow. It’s not often we get to welcome brand new media outlets to the family. But the closure of the Youngstown Vindicator really did bring out the next tier of journalistic endeavors, didn’t it? Too bad that online-only outlet Mahoning Matters had to step in this pile of doo-doo as its first big foray into education. Specifically: the insanity that seems to surround the idea of creating a charter boarding school in the area. (Mahoning Matters.com, 10/22/19)
- I am pretty sure the majority of the insanity mentioned above stems from the fact that a version of this plan was originally championed by former Youngstown Schools CEO Krish Mohip. (Another large chunk came from the Devil Facebook, I imagine). Doesn’t matter that he is gone or who else might be supportive of it. Ditto for the entire CEO/ADC paradigm that currently runs Youngstown City Schools. But wait! Perhaps there is hope on the horizon for these inveterate haters. Vindy.com—direct spiritual successor to the late, lamented Vindicator—reports that after all of folks’ efforts large and small to cripple, hamstring, and outright stop the “state takeover” of Youngstown Schools, the biggest day of all is finally at hand: a hearing on the constitutionality of HB 70 before the state Supreme Court. (Vindy.com, 10/22/19) That’s right. Likely as you are reading this, the Ohio Supreme Court is in the process of hearing arguments on the constitutionality of the process by which HB 70 was enacted (the ADC parts, not the wraparound services parts, you know) back in 2015. As we have noted before, this hearing is being held out in the hinterlands of Ohio, in a high school auditorium, as part of the Supremes’ education outreach program. It is intended to give young people throughout the state a better idea of what goes on in the judicial branch of government. Given the performative nature of the haters’ 4:30 am bus boarding (covered by all the local news stations, natch), the history of this entire sorry “resistance”, and the stated intentions of the group for today, those kids attending the hearing should be in for quite a circus. (WKBN-TV, Youngstown, 10/23/19)
- Meanwhile, also as you read this, the current CEO of Youngstown City Schools is quietly doing his job trying to boost the educational attainment of the district’s young people against what sound like some difficult systemic obstacles. (Vindy.com, 10/23/19)
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