Statewide Stories of the Day

Language for Cleveland school reform bill finalized at last minute (Plain Dealer)

COLUMBUS - The Cleveland schools reform plan, supposedly a done deal just before Memorial Day weekend, was barely finished in time for today's planned vote. At the close of business Monday, the final legislation due to be voted on by both the Ohio House and Senate education committees still wasn't written -- 17 days after Republican Gov. John Kasich joined Democratic Mayor Frank Jackson and others in a celebratory press conference. Read more...

Deal struck on Kasich’s schools bill (Dispatch)

Special charter schools for gifted children are out, and there will be no exemption from Ohio’s school-closure law for failing dropout-recovery charter schools under an agreement reached by state legislators on Gov. John Kasich’s sweeping education bill. The House and Senate are expected to pass Senate Bill 316 this week after legislators and the administration reached a compromise on competing versions of the proposal. Read more...

Local Issues

Youngstown school district must get handle on finances (Vindicator)

When the president of the Youngstown Board of Education used the word “yet” in talking about the district’s finances — “We’re not out of the woods yet” — we wondered if he was indulging in a bit of wishful thinking. Lock P. Beachum has been around public education in the city for many years, having served as an educator — he retired as principal of East High School — and a board member for more than a decade, which means nothing surprises him. However, the system’s ongoing financial turmoil has Beachum baffled. Read more...

Newark school board ends 'pickup' of administrator retirement costs (Newark Advocate)

NEWARK - Newark City Schools no longer will pay its administrators' share of retirement costs, beginning with their next contracts. Board members approved a resolution Monday to adjust administrators' pay during the next contract cycle to get rid of the district payment of their share of retirement -- commonly known as a "pickup" and a "pickup-on-the-pickup." "The pickup-on-the-pickup is a political hot button," Board President Bev Niccum said. "We want to move away from it." Read more...