Budget amendment would return Lorain Schools to local control

Lorain Schools could see a way out of state control by the end of September. The proposal, included in the most recent budget omnibus bill, would release only Lorain Schools from state control. It passed out of the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday afternoon in a vote of 9-3, falling along party lines, and heads to the Senate for a full vote. State Sen. Nathan Manning, R-North Ridgeville, introduced the amendment Wednesday and said he didn't foresee an issue passing it out of the Senate, admitting it's not the No. 1 issue in House Bill 33. "I think Lorain is certainly heading in the right direction," Manning said. "The data shows that, and I think they will continue to do so after being fully removed." Lorain Schools is one of three under state control, along with Youngstown and East Cleveland. Under Manning's proposal, Youngstown and East Cleveland would remain under the state's purview, working toward meeting benchmarks to make their way back to local control. The benchmarks are part of Ohio Department of Education-approved Academic Improvement Plans to exit Academic Distress, a pathway passed in the last biennial budget. Under that system, each district must meet certain statistical goals — such as lowering chronic absenteeism or raising the number of students reading at grade level — by 2025 to be returned to local control. While working toward those goals, the state continues to pay each schools' superintendents salaries and local school boards' power is reinstated. Under the current system, if any of the three districts fail to meet a majority of their benchmarks by 2027 — after two, one-year extensions — they will fall back under the Academic Distress model established by House Bill 70 in 2015. That law, originally dubbed the "Youngstown Plan" paved the way for nearly all-powerful, state-appointed CEOs to run chronically failing schools, usurping much of the power held by school boards in the process. Lorain Schools has been under some form of state control since 2013 and fell under House Bill 70 in late 2016. In a news release, Superintendent Jeff Graham thanked everyone who had supported the district, noting Lorain Schools has made progress on its most recent report cards. "If passed, this will truly be a community victory," he said. Manning said he would be open to having Youngstown and East Cleveland included in the legislation, as long as it doesn't have a negative impact on Lorain. "If it's something that the governor could end up vetoing, I wouldn't be supportive," he said. "… I would be fine with all three school districts coming out as long as they try to continue to improve their situation." Lorain School Board President Courtney Nazario said in the news release the district is on a solid path to move forward. "We are Lorain Strong and appreciate the Senate's support of returning our district to self-governance," she said. The presidents of the Youngstown and East Cleveland school boards could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Manning's amendment would also spare Lorain Schools from a required performance audit. Under Ohio House Bill 110, which gave Lorain, Youngstown and East Cleveland schools a pathway out of academic distress, each district is required to receive a performance audit from the auditor of the state by June 30, 2025. This is not the first time Manning has tried to release just Lorain from under the state's thumb, having introduced several bills throughout his tenure to do so. In 2019, the language added to the budget to give a pathway back to local control was Manning's, originally crafted for just Lorain before Youngstown and East Cleveland were added. The state legislature must pass the budget by June 30. If Manning's amendment stays in HB33, it would go into effect 90 days after it's signed by the governor. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.