East Cleveland Politician Urges End To State Takeover Of Schools

EAST CLEVELAND, OH — Longtime State Representative Kent Smith, whose district includes East Cleveland, urged fellow lawmakers to stop state takeover of public schools this week. Smith sent a letter to the House Bill (HB) 9 conference committee asking them to remove East Cleveland from state control.

“The, ‘Columbus know best’ approach to local governance of East Cleveland, Lorain, and Youngstown school districts has made things worse, not better. I call upon the HB 9 conference committee to remove all three districts from ADC control and restore democracy in those three communities,” Rep. Smith said.

Smith, a Democrat, noted that House Bill 9 was passed in the Senate, but with a provision which only restored local control to the Lorain Schools, not East Cleveland or Youngstown.

Prior to state takeover, Smith argued, East Cleveland Schools were gradually improving. All of the district's elementary schools received a grade of A, B or C on their value-added/progress metrics. The district also saw marked improvement in 15 of 21 metrics monitored by the state.

These improvements come despite the unique disadvantages faced by East Cleveland students: the average household median income in the city is less than $20,000 (the state average is nearly $70,000), and more than a fourth of East Cleveland students are part of the Special Education program.

"As you move into conference committee, please consider removing not just Lorain, but also East Cleveland and Youngstown from state control," Smith said in a letter to the committee.