State takeovers, fall procedures topics at local representative's virtual town hall

Education stakeholders joined Rep. Joe Miller, D-Amherst, for a virtual town hall Thursday to discuss reopening schools during a pandemic and the continued state control of Lorain Schools and two other districts. Representatives from Lorain Schools joined other education advocates for the conversation. Lorain Schools, along with Youngstown and East Cleveland, are still under a state takeover — despite promises from legislators a year ago that this would not be the case, Lorain Academic Distress Commission member Steve Cawthon noted. While decisions to return to the classroom are being left up to local control, the same power is not available to the elected school boards in those state-controlled districts, he said. Representatives from the Ohio Education Association, Ohio Federation of Teachers, Ohio School Board Association, Buckeye Association of School Administrators and Ohio Association of School Business Officials all agreed with Cawthon. Members of those organizations have often supported reforms to the state takeover model in the Ohio House and Senate. Darold Johnson, Ohio Federation of Teachers legislative and political action director, worked with legislators to introduce House Bill 70 — originally a bill to provide wraparound services, before it was hastily amended in the Senate in 2015. "House Bill 70 is colonialism," he said. "It's robbing African Americans of the right to self-determine what happens in their schools. It says that we don't trust Black families to make decisions about what's happening in school." Returning to school in the fall In the midst of a pandemic, conversation turned to the needs of districts across the state with the new school year just weeks away. Miller asked questions submitted via email by constituents — including how do educators and administrators send students back into environments where they run a higher risk of exposure to the virus than compared to staying at home? Lorain Schools CEO Jeff Graham said school administrators are not health professionals, and at least in his district, are working with Lorain County Public Health to weigh students' needs for going back to school that are beyond the academics teachers provide. "Keep in mind when children aren't coming to school, they're exposed to other dangers and other risks that we can't ignore," he said. "… Our children have special needs that we have to meet. Whether they're mental health needs, whether they're needs that come as a result of trauma … students with disabilities, social-emotional needs, food needs. There are a number of reasons why kids come to school other than learning math, science, social studies and reading." Lorain School Board President Mark Ballard pointed to a lack of guidance from the state — with individual plans from Ohio's more than 600 districts varying wildly without concrete directions from Columbus. For example, Lorain Schools is moving forward with things like football practice with safeguards in place, while other districts are eliminating the sport altogether to avoid close contact between students. "Some of our decisions are troubling me because we know it's important but is it really important at this time," he said. Jeff Wensing, OEA vice president, said its members don't want to have to choose between a paycheck and the lives of their students, families or themselves. COVID-19 highlights equity issues, including those affecting students of color, he said. Remote learning takes technology and internet access, all of which takes money. Johnson noted there are talks of another round of federal funding moving through Congress. The HEROES Act would bring more than $2 billion in coronavirus relief to the state, almost half of that earmarked for education. In closing, Miller asked how districts can impress on the families they serve the importance of their child wearing a mask and following "expected behaviors." Lorain County is one of a dozen Level 3 counties in the state, meaning masks are mandatory in public spaces. Kevin Miller, BASA director of Governmental Relations, said there will be no right answers, and not every question will be answered before the start of the year, but the attitude starts at home. The livestream was a part of the 2020 Ohio Promise town hall series organized by House Democrats. To watch the video, visit Miller's Facebook page. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.