Gadfly Bites 1/10/20 – Stunning

1. We start today with some excellent news (IMO, naturally). The Ohio Supreme Court sided with the residents of the village of Hills and Dales who are petitioning to have their property rezoned to another school district. That petition can continue on in the proper process. It ain’t over yet, but this is a significant step forward for those folks. (Gongwer Ohio, 1/9/20)
    
2. Here’s another story which I fear could end up in court. Bridgeport Exempted Village Schools is looking for a new spot for its football stadium, as the old one was flooded out one too many times and had to be demolished. Their preferred location is currently a thriving shopping plaza owned by a 95-year-old dynamo who doesn’t want to sell. He has thus far been unswayed by money or the prospect of an eminent domain proceeding. And he seems pretty stubborn if you ask me. Tread carefully, Bridgeportians. (WTOV-TV, Steubenville, 1/8/20)
   
   

3. Something is going to change regarding the governance of Youngstown City Schools; that much is sure. Either the elected board will be eliminated or it will resume authority. Legislation notwithstanding, I personally feel that the Hills and Dales ruling, as noted above, might give us a preview of what that change might be. However, the current district CEO is hedging his bets, saying he is trying to plan for either version of change by trying to build more cooperation and collaboration between his administration and the are-they-still-there board. But, as you might expect, the board president is feeling her oats (“I believe what has changed is the success we’ve had in getting the court to delay the appointment of a new board under HB 70, until the Supreme Court rules on the complaint about the law,” she told Vindy.com. “They did not expect us to be here, so they thought they could ignore us.”) and is not impressed by the CEO’s efforts. But perhaps the CEO and the board can bond over their shared hatred for vouchers. (Vindy.com, 1/8/20)
    
4. Speaking of the not-actually-broken-but-actually-working-just-like-it’s-supposed-to EdChoice voucher program, legislative “action” to “fix” it is promised “soon”. (Gongwer Ohio, 1/9/20)
   
   

5. Following up on two stories from Wednesday’s Bites: Here is another look at Dayton’s attendance data for the first semester of this year, with some additional analysis from Jeremy Kelley. It is, as I suspected, quite a bit less rosy than the initial reporting. (Dayton Daily News, 1/10/20) Editors at the Dispatch opined on the impending sale of five surplus school buildings by Columbus City Schools, including a positive assessment of the idea that charters could buy and locate in them. (Columbus Dispatch, 1/10/20)
    
6. The state this week released its most recent evaluation of how things are progressing in Lorain City Schools under its Academic Distress Commission. Here is a harshly slanted take on the results. (Elyria Chronicle, 1/9/20) A much fairer version can be found here. (Morning Journal, 1/10/20) If only these same folks had given thus much scrutiny to what was going on in the district before academic distress. You know, when it was actually and actively failing? And why, I ask you (again, for the umpteenth time), does state fiscal oversight of districts not elicit the same kind of response from…well, everyone? For example, try reading this piece covering the most recent meeting of the commission currently in control of Coventry Local Schools’ financial apparatus and replacing all the fiscal terms with academic ones. These “outsiders”, appointed by the state, were even in charge of approving a teachers’ contract. Why is it not the same reaction as to an ADC? (Akron.com, 1/10/20)
   
   

7. Here’s a feel-good story about grants received by Boardman Local Schools teachers to facilitate “outside-the-box” education (think, wobble chairs and galoshes) Taking a look at ODE’s website, you know what would really be outside the box? A good report card for the district. Hope someone is funding that. (Business Journal Daily, 1/10/20)
    
8. “Right now, graduation for us is a challenge, and we are reacting far too late. We are waiting until students are juniors and sometimes seniors before we react.” This stunning (to me, at least) confession comes from Dr. Jeff Graham, superintendent of Canton City Schools, while  explaining why he wants to spend some money on an assessment of the district’s six (?!) “non-traditional” school options available for students “who need an alternative to the traditional classroom or who are at risk of not graduating.” These include online and hybrid options. Not only is this the same guy who was supe at Lorain—and who was busily expanding such non-traditional options (off site of the brand new Lorain High School, if you’ll recall) before he was so rudely interrupted the CEO-style ADC took over—but he and his current board unironically followed up this discussion with a resolution opposing EdChoice. Stunning indeed. (Canton Repository, 1/8/20)

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