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Give the school model a chance

State officials – along with the community in Youngstown – have an opportunity to establish a model for turning around failing schools in Ohio. It should not be thrown away.

During the summer, legislators fed up with decades of unfulfilled pledges of education reform in Youngstown quietly passed what amounts to an earth-shattering change. In effect, it permits a state takeover of the city’s schools. Final decisions would not be made by the local board of education or superintendent, but instead by an outside chief executive appointed to the post.

At times during the past few weeks, it has seemed as if the outcry over the state takeover topped anything heard previously in regard to the school system’s dismal performance. Local control through a demonstrably dysfunctional system is being defended, even to the extent of a lawsuit filed in an attempt to overturn the state plan.

How bad are Youngstown schools? During the most recent evaluation, the district met not a single one of the state’s indicators of education quality. Not one.

Youngstown’s education establishment annually spends $13,114 per pupil for that. Just 62.8 percent of spending is for classroom instruction. That ranks Youngstown 47th out of 48 comparable districts.

For comparison purposes, consider Steubenville City schools. That system met 79.2 percent of state indicators, while spending just $7,943 per pupil each year.

A few legislators, concerned about opposition to the state plan in Youngstown, have drafted a bill placing some curbs on the new chief executive’s power.

Among them are reasonable measures, such as requiring a public hearing to be held before any school can be closed.

But other sections of the bill could hamper the chief executive’s ability to achieve real reform. For example, the official would have to delay certain actions, including replacing school staff members, for a year.

Lawmakers should pass a bill refining their earlier action. But putting heavy new reins on the chief executive could be a major mistake. It could mean Youngstown schools continue to operate under the old rulers, just with new names on its letterhead.

That would be a mistake. Youngstown schools need to be improved. Other failing school districts need help, too. Let’s not wreck the model for reform before work to construct it has begun.

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