PART 1 OF A MULTI-PART SERIES: AN EDUCATORS' "POLITICAL BATTLE, ROYALE?" CANTON CITY SCHOOLS, STARK ESC & THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION?

UPDATED AT 12:05 P.M.

POLITICAL INTRIGUE

GALORE!!!

DISCLAIMER:  Yours truly's wife is an elected member of the Stark County Educational Service Center.  The views expressed in this blog in no way are a statement of her views on the Allison controversy.

The Stark County Political Report has known about the rift between the Canton City Schools (CCS) and the Stark County Educational Service Center (ESC) for sometime on what yours truly labels as "the Allison matter" (Allison) over whether or not the ESC was going to be reimbursed for putting Canton superintendent of schools Adrian Allison's wife Krista on the ESC payroll in order to make her hiring and working at least indirectly for Adrian legal.

Last night in a contentious session, the CCS Board of Education voted 3 to 2 to reimburse the ESC some $237,000 for amounts paid to Allison's wife for her work for the CCS but as an employee of the ESC.

A significant aspect of the reimbursement is that it was approved "as a moral obligation."

The arrangement is somewhat like (in that there was no formal contractual arrangement) one between the cities of Alliance and Massillon with Stark County officials over the rate that the cities would be paying for the housing of prisoners at the Stark County jail in exchange for law enforcement officials getting behind a county levy effort.

The understanding was based on "verbal" assurances.

You have got to be kidding, no!

Government officials dealing with taxpayer dollars without formal, written agreements.

Wow!

Administrative officials at the ESC need to address these questions posed by Stark County auditor Harold to the SCPR, to wit:

[P]erhaps also a question for the ESC Board on why they allowed this debt to grow so large?  [over an two year or so span]


I have all the records and was told in February/March this would be addressed at/around the time Mr. Morgan retired.  

And Mr. Nero's [ass't superintendent of CCS since July, 2014] comment about "just coming to our attention" is disingenuous at best.  

Interestingly, the primary if not the entire origin of the controversial Allison spouse hiring came to the SCPR from either Harold (a one time candidate for a slot on the ESC board) and/or reports in The Repository and not spouse and ESC board member Mary.

So it is somewhat ironic that Harold, who is one of the chief critics of how former ESC superintendent Larry Morgan administered the Service Center, came within 249 votes of being one of Morgan's five bosses along with, of course, one Mary J. Olson.

Harold, who is currently #2 on the SCPR "Top 10 List" of effective Stark County elected officials, has since his election in 2012 been at odds with Morgan in his role as the ESC's chief administrator over the valuation of key Stark County real estate which is the fundamental base of revenues for Stark's 17 school districts.

One battle that stands out is the one written about by the SCPR which involved the valuation by the Stark County auditor's office of the Huntington Bank and adjacent properties on Market Avenue in downtown Canton purchased in recent years by a corporation by the name of Amerimar (prior blog LINK).

A repeated point of criticism of Morgan's managemetnt of the ESC by Harold (and other county officials) is the ESC's huge positive balance of about $100 millon carryover from year to year in the ESC's balance sheet.

Morgan, who manages the ESC's health care program in a manner which many think is "state of the art" and which the Ohio Department of Education has taken an interest in in emulating, says that the payouts for catastrophic medical events beneficiaries is the primary reason for the very large positive balance.

The SCPR does agree with Harold and others who criticize the $100 million plus balance in that there needs to be an audit by qualified financial people to determine whether or not that Morgan's point of actuarial responsibility dictates such a large carryover.

The is no doubt about it.

Compared to 1914 when the Stark ESC (then the county board of education), large amounts of federal/Ohio/Stark County tax dollars processing through the ESC annual budget in now the order of the day.

And by all means readers of this blog should read in its entirety (LINK) entire 2013-2014 SCESC Annual Report.

Let's pause just a moment and define "the Allison matter" which is high level expression of a process whereby the Stark ESC hires and pays for various educational officials to work in/for Stark's 17 school districts.

The ESC should be thought of as a resource center which - used to - provide many "free" educational services to Stark local and city school districts.

Such is no longer the case.

With State of Ohio education and local government reduced funding, ESCs across Ohio (including, of course, Stark County) are under increasing pressure to change their fiscal model to one where districts benefiting from ESC services now have to pay for them.

Which means, of course, that the Stark ESC could ill-afford to absorb an approximate $237,000 loss in funding the hire of Canton City Schools superintendent Adrian Allison's wife (Krista) from her job at the Ohio Department of Education from whence, naturally, her husband came when the CCS hired Adrian in November 2012.

And, nowadays, the SCPR has learned, ESCs across Ohio have to - according to a State of Ohio structural setup - compete with one on another for the business of individual school districts.

So such constitutes the chief reason that "the Allison matter" has become such a huge, huge, huge controversy.

Ohio law prohibits relatives working for relatives which made it dicey (from the perspective of many local observers) indeed when the decision was made by Morgan to recommend to the ESC board that ESC hire.

To the SCPR, the decision was beyond "dicey" and while complying with "the letter of the law" was in yours truly a violation of "the spirit of the law."

The Ohio General Assembly needs to pass legislation prohibiting "work-arounds" like these.

The SCPR has complained long, hard and frequently about how frequently relatives of key Stark County political subdivision elected officials show up on some other "of the same political party" elected officials payroll.

And yet prime Stark County Ohio General Assembly delegation members Slesnick, Hagan, Oelslager and Schuring have not lifted one finger to make work-arounds illegal as a matter of Ohio law.

After all, any one of them may going forward or perhaps in the past has needed a helping hand like that invoked in the Allision case and others that the SCPR has written about over the past eight years, no?

This phenomenon is one of a growing list of why day-in, day-out Stark Countians along with many other Ohioans and Americans find appeal in a simplistic Donald Trump-esque approach (i.e. fix things on my say so or the snap of my fingers) and are increasingly cynical about the motivations of all too many of our public officials.

The Report believes that there are other Stark County officialdom players other than Harold and Morgan and the ESC board in the political intrigue that envelops "the Allison matter" and the bigger picture of how Stark County local and city school districts are staffed.

And, to repeat, "the insider" problem appears to be systemic at all levels of the Stark County political subdivision level that ought to make the Stark County taxpayers to wince more than just a bit.

In "the Allison matter" in the SCPR's assessment is that "the other players" include:

• the CCS Board of Education(BOE), 
• its treasurer Jeff Gruber, 
• BOE president John Rinaldi, and 
• candidates for the CCS BOE in November's election including, in particular and, perhaps, primarily former board member Eric Resnick 
• SCPR Note:  Resnick lost out in 2013 (SCPR Blog LINK) in a bitter political feud of an election to Rinaldi.

In ensuing parts of this series, the SCPR continues to unfold "the politics at play" in the operation of the CCS and other Stark County city and local school districts in relation to the Stark County Education Service Center and the staffing of those districts.

A CASE STUDY: WHO WILL PAY FOR STARK CO SCHOOLS? VOLUME 1

On October 21, 2013, the Stark County Political Report did a blog on the battle between the Canton City School District and a company by the name of Amerimar with respect to a fight between the two over who is going pay real property tax on Canton's major office building complex; namely, The Huntington Bank (Huntington).

The Amerimar/Canton City Schools battle is a microcosm of the on going battle between Stark County "individual" property owners and taxpayers "in general" as to who is going to foot the bill for funding Stark County's schools.

In March, 2013 the Canton City Schools (CCS) filed a complaint on the valuation/tax appraisal by the Stark County Auditor's office on Huntington.

Accordingly, the Stark County Board of Revision (a division of the Stark County auditor's office) sent notices (three in all) to Amerimar notifying the company of the CCS complaints.

In preparing the October 21 blog, the SCPR put together this estimated analysis of the taxes stake.

By The Report's calculation, the CCS has about $130,000 at stake over and above what Amerimar is conceding in terms of property tax increase.

In November, 2013 the Board of Revision sided with the CCS and send Amerimar this notice: (again, one of three notices)

Consequently, on December 16, 2013, this:

So the battle is on in the courts as to whom will pay the taxes that the Board of Revision is saying is owing for Real Property Tax Year 2012 and, of course, ensuing tax years.

While this case is only one case, the SCPR thinks it is emblematic of the rather large overall fight between individual property owners and Stark County school districts over whether the county assessed tax bill is to be borne by the "individual" property owner or spread out over "all" taxpayers in a given school district.

And most real property taxes are for schools.

Witness this SCPR extract from a rate schedule published by Stark County treasurer Alex Zumbar.

The Report has embarked on an investigation of the factors that the  Stark County taxpaying public should focus upon in coming to an opinion on how the Board of Revision functions and whether or not a proper balance is struck between individual property owners and the county's school districts.

While the SCPR will fan out to cover nearly every one of the 17 school districts that seem to be involved in the process of challenging individual real property valuations for real property tax purposes, the main focus will be on the Amerimar/CCS legal fight.

As this blog is written, each side has written a brief.

In ensuing blogs the SCPR will touch on the keystone legal issues that the court will decide and bring other battles (including videotapes of proceedings) taking place at the Board of Revision level.

One thing that is readily apparently is that the Stark County auditor's office Board of Revision is doing an exceptional job in processing valuation of complaints.

Do not look for a headline like this one to be appearing in Stark County media:

And a sampling of school districts and the costs absorbed.  (LINK to entire list)

Using the Amerimar/CCS case as an example, the Stark County auditor's office came to a decision in the case within an eight-month timeframe.

Given the number of complaints filed and other work handled by the Stark County Board of Revision, the SCPR thinks an eight month administrative process is quite acceptable.

Each week from here on out, The Report will be reporting/analyzing on the particulars of the Amerimar/CCS case and on the many other cases pending before the Board of Revision.

After all, YOUR TAX DOLLARS are at stake!

CANTON CITY SCHOOLS (CCS): "$12.075 MILLION OR FIGHT" WITH HUNTINGTON BANK BUILDING OWNER AMERIMAR!. MANY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN CCS TAX REVENUES MAY BE AT STAKE!

Eventually (1846 - The Oregon Treaty) the United States government settled its claims to the Oregon Territory boundary claims at the 49th Parallel; not 54 degrees, 40 minutes as the 1844 presidential election slogan "54-40 or Fight" with the British, once again, would have had the U.S. do.

A boundary fight of sorts has been underway in Stark County for some time now. 

But this version is in financial terms:  "$8.9 Million or Fight."  However, the local fight does have a land aspect to it.

It has taken the form of many of Stark's school districts challenging valuations of Stark County properties for property tax purposes

A few months ago, Stark County auditor Alan Harold, made reference with a "fight of sorts" going on between the auditor's office and Stark County Educational Service Center superintendent on the auditor's office valuations of properties.  (Note:  my wife, Mary, is a member of the SCESC Governing Board).

Harold made an oblique reference to the fight in casual conversation.

A leading figure in the fight is SCESC and Canton City Schools attorney Mary Jo Shannon Slick.

We all know that public school funding is always tottering on the edge of survival -  witness the series of cases DeRolph v. State of Ohio (1991 through 2003).

The Ohio Supreme Court seemed poised take the Ohio Legislature to task, to wit:

March 24, 1997. The Ohio Supreme Court issues an opinion holding that the current funding system is unconstitutional and orders a "complete, systematic overhaul" of the system with enactment required within 12 months by March 24, 1998. The Court remands the case to the trial court to conduct a hearing and issue findings as to whether the anticipated remedial legislation satisfies the mandates of the Ohio Supreme Court.(DeRolph I) (Source:  Bricker & Eckler website)

Eventually, Ohio's "court of last resort" decided it had no stomach for this fight in granting a Writ of Prohibition on any additional litigation on the case within Ohio jurisprudence even though the court's 1997 has never been implemented.

Consequently, Ohio's public schools have been in a survival mode ever since.

Accordingly, you are seeing more and more "wars" like Morgan's being waged across Ohio.

The latest battle being fought is over the valuation of the Huntington Bank Building, it land and its "across the street" parking garage.

The SCPR has done its own analysis of the financial issues at stake.

Currently, the CCS gets nearly all of the $152,116 (2012 auditor billings) that Canton's tax rate of 84.065154 generates. (source of data:  Stark County auditor's website)

By The Report's calculation, the CCS has about $130,000 at stake over and above what Amerimar is conceding in terms of property tax increase.

The auditor's valuation of the Huntington property was valued at $5.03 millon (buidling, garage and land) for 2012 property tax purposes.

However, on January 18, 2013 the bank building property sold (from Canton Investments LLC et al) to Amerimar for $8.9 million and the garage for $3.175 for a total of $12.075 million.

So $12.075 millon is a lot more than $5.03 million, no?

Of course, the Canton City Schools were going to want a change in the valuation on the official records of the Stark County auditor's office for the purpose of the schools' desperately needed finances, no?

And, predictably, the CCS under Shannon-Slick's guidance, filed for a re-valuation with the Stark County auditor's office Board of Revision.

And, also predictably, Amerimar filed a counter re-evaluation.

The CCS wants the $12.075 million 2013 sale to be the base for valuation purposes.

Not being stupid and piggish by insisting that the $5.03 valuation base (pre-2013-sale) be retained,  the Amerimar folks were willing to see an increase in the property taxes increase and became pro-active in advocating for a $7.74 million valuation base.

Or, on second thought, maybe Amerimar did come across as being stupid and piggish?

After all, the new owner did not - in its $7.74 proposal - even split the difference ($3.87 million) between $4.335 million and $12.075 million which would put a "in the middle" compromise figure at $8.9 millon which coincidentally matches the purchase price of $8.9 for the bank building alone.

To the SCPR's way of thinking, $8.9 million would be "the starting point" of any negotiations between the CCS and Amerimar.

And it was totally insulting (as reported by Matt Rink of The Repository on Friday, Plaza owner, Canton school district disagree over tax bill) that Amerimar had the audacity to say that it apparently overpaid $4.335 million

• ($12.075 million - $7.74 million [i.e. the 2013 sale price minus what Amerimar says the property is now worth)

on the property.

Companies, like people, do make bad deals for themselves.

But one has to believe that Amerimar did its due diligence in making the purchase and did not include $4.335 above and beyond the $7.74 million on what seems to be a ridiculous standard (as reported by Rink), to wit:

In a counter complaint to the board of revisions, an attorney for Amerimar said the sales price was based on future economic growth, particularly from the oil and gas industry, but that current conditions do not support the higher valuation.  

"Based on future economic growth" sounds like a "hope and a prayer" to the SCPR and falls under the category of: "Who is going to believe this story" even if it could be established as being true?

Also, a part of the Amerimar strategy of getting a lower valuation than the sale price is the lure to Canton city officials (to get the Healy administration involved on its behalf) that it might be interested in buying (again, "in the future," the nearby McKinley Grand Hotel.

• Note:  McKinley Grand officials say there have been no discussions for about a year.  (see quote below)

The McKinley Grand allusion is an interesting factor in this whole saga as an enticement by Amerimar to gain the involvement of Canton mayor William J. Healy, II.

Remember now, for some time now Mayor Healy has been promoting his "Four Pillars" (Safety, Education, Neighborhoods and Jobs).

So you would think, wouldn't you? that Healy would come out squarely for the CCS version of what the valuation should be.

Well, not so quick.

The SCPR thinks Healy is "at heart" a "corporatist Democrat," notwithstanding his "of late" embrace by Stark County's organized labor given his track record of wining and dining companies across the globe in his quest to bring jobs to Canton and, also, his having a great degree of pride in having attained a MBA from the Stern School of Business of New York University.

He does play the "left of center - for the people" rhetorical game with politically-inclined locals and the unions, but in the estimate of The Report, this is quintessential Healy political bamboozling at its finest.

So the SCPR is not surprised (reading between the lines) for Healy to come out in Amerimar's favor to the detriment of the finances of Canton's pillar of Healy's Pillar; namely, Education.

Inherent contradictions are nothing new to Healy.  He has made being unaccountable for his statements and actions a "political" art form which is unequaled by any other Stark County politician.

For a refresher from Rink's article on Healy administration responses, here goes:

• Amerimar, which has eyed the nearby McKinley Grand Hotel, has tried to involve Canton officials in the matter. Fonda Williams, chief of staff for Mayor William J. Healy II, placed a phone call to school Treasurer Jeff Gruber recently to relay the developer’s requests. (emphasis added by SCPR)
• Williams said Amerimar officials have asked for the city’s help with their tax bill.
  
   “They had no idea (tax bill) was going up that high,” Williams said. “They were asking if the schools could lower their demand.”
  The city, he said, has been “quietly helping them,” referring to calls he placed to Gruber about the matter, Williams believes the dispute could impact Amerimar’s interest in the McKinley Grand Hotel, however, hotel officials said last month that there have not been any discussions about a sale of the hotel in more than a year. (emphasis added)
• “The request has not come to my desk from Amerimar,” he said. “...We’ve called school officials and said, ‘Is there any break you can give them?’ But to no avail.” (emphasis added)

Three cheers for the Canton City Schools!!!

Finally, there is the matter of the Harold's auditor office (the Board of Revision) dragging its feet on making a decision.

According to Rink, the competing valuation complaints went to decision on October 1.

So what is the delay?

Is there some more politicking going on?

To the SCPR this is an "open and shut case" for the Canton City Schools at the $12.075 million figure.

Everyday Stark Countians are pretty much held to the recent "sales" figures in terms of valuation determinations of the auditor's office.

Under "proving your case" on the auditor website, guess what the #1 criterion is on valuation determinations?

You've got it:  "a recent sale of the property."

Here it is October 21, 2013.

So isn't the question that Canton schools' taxpayers ought to be asking the Stark County Board of Revision members:

Is January 18, 2013 recent enough??????????????????

"HE'S BACK?" HEALY RUNNING THE CANTON CITY SCHOOLS THROUGH McIlWAIN, RESNICK & ALLEN?

On September 8, 2010 the SCPR did a blog on political intrigue that is apparently in the process of happening with the Canton City Schools Board of Education (BOE).

Apparently, the Wizard of Oz (Canton Mayor William J. Healy, II) has restarted his political magic show with the re-appointment of Wilbur Allen, III as the replacement of James Carman, Jr., on the BOE on November 1st.  Allen had been appointed on June 14th but it turns out that the appointment had to be re-done because interviews were done at an illegal meeting on the 10th in that the media had not been notified as required by Ohio's Open Meetings law.

 Of course, if the Healy magic vis-a-vis the Canton schools is anything like the spell he has cast over Canton city government, then the schools, already in a trouble both academically and financially (over the longer term), are in for harder times than ever.

Whereas King Midas (of Greek mythology) turned everything he touched into gold, King William of Canton tarnishes nearly everything he touches.  As if he hasn't negated Canton enough, he turns his attention to the schools through the personages of Allen (a Healy administration employee with historical connections to McIlwain through a community activist organization - Coming Together), Nadine McIlwain and Eric Resnick.

On November 1st, board member Jennifer Keaton voted no, saying:  " ... I do not feel confident with the process.”

Really?

Certainly, the BOE got all of its noticing done correctly the second time around with Allen.

What could she be talking about?

Could it be that Keaton suspects that same thing that the SCPR senses?  A de facto takeover of the Canton City Schools by Hizzoner William J. Healy, II?

If such is the case, then all The Report can say is that Pastor Wilbur Allen, III should be offering up prayers Sunday after Sunday after Sunday:  "Lord have mercy on the Canton City Schools!!!"

GO OR NO GO ON LEVY ISSUE IN CANTON? FIRST TEST FOR NEW BOARD MEMBER ERIC RESNICK?

 

 REVISED:  01/29/2010 AT 11:45 AM


The SCPR was struck with the vigor that newly elected Canton City Schools Board of Education (CCS - BOE) member Eric Resnick came out for a levy - in the campaign - for an expired seat on the CCS - BOE.


Usually, candidates run from any talk about putting a tax issue on a ballot.

Watch Resnick at a campaign appearance tout a new tax:





Eric Resnick is the exception to the rule in just about everything he does in the context of public dialogue.


So now that Resnick is on the CCS - BOE,  discussion have begun on whether or not to put an issue on the May, 2010  ballot.


A source to the SCPR is projecting that there are three votes for not putting an issue on the primary ballot and two for placing it before CCS voters.


A renewed discussion is in the offing for the CCS - BOE as an agenda item for the Board's February 8th meeting.


The SCPR believes a tax issue is a particularly hard sell because of the recent revelation that the Canton City Schools failed to apply for a Race to the Top  grant from the federal government through the Ohio Department of Education (ODE).  Race to the Top is a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act federal stimulus money infusion into the U.S. economy.


You can bet that Resnick is working furiously behind the scenes to line up the necessary minimum three votes (minimum) to get a tax issue before Canton City Schools voters.  It is known, of course, that Resnick is aggressively for a tax whereas board member and former president Richard Milligan is opposed.


That leaves McIllwain (president), Carman, Jr, and Keaton for Resnick to lobby for at least two of the three total votes needed.


If Resnick is successful in rounding up the necessary three votes, then he faces the prospect that the vote will have a side factor of being a referendum on whether or not he made the correct call for his personal political future.


A landslide defeat for a tax issue would not bode well for his chance to get re-elected for a full term come November, 2011.  On the other hand, if a tax issue passes, then he will be in a good position to be elected to a full term.

THE CANTON PROFESSIONAL EDUCATORS' ASSOCIATION IS COSTING CANTON CITY SCHOOLS AS MUCH AS $3 MILLION?

 UPDATE:  01/20/2010

The SCPR spoke with CPEA president Pam Jackson yesterday afternoon.

President Jackson takes exception to Canton City Schools (CCS) Board of Education member Carman.

She says she met with CCS superintendent Michele Evans on January 8, 2010 and that the two mutually concluded that there was not enough known about the requirements of Race to the Top that they felt comfortable applying for a grant.

Jackson said that if Ohio as a state does not qualify for funding in the first go around (applications just concluded), then Ohio (as well as CCS) will have another opportunity in June to reapply.  However, she said, if Ohio does qualify (to be known in April), then CCS will not have a second opportunity.

The SCPR has yet to make contact with Superintendent Evans.

ORIGINAL POST

Two sources are telling the SCPR that the Canton Professional Educators' Association (CPEA, teachers' union) is the roadblock to Canton City Schools getting up to $3 million in a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top school excellence financial assistance program.

The SCPR has one source from the teachers' side saying that "No, it is not a unilateral teachers' decision, but that it is a joint enterprise of the president of the CPEA (Pam Jackson) and the superintendent of Canton City Schools.

Here is a copy of an email sent by The Report to Canton City Schools Board of Education member James Carman:

 And, here is Carman's response:

Why would the CPEA not cooperate?

According to an Akron Beacon Journal editorial of Sunday:

[Race to the Top grants] "might require changes in how teachers are evaluated, compensated or assigned to buildings and classes in relation to student performance."

The Report received a copy of an article detailing a fight brewing in New York over whether or not to apply for up to $700 million in Race to the Top grants.

The basis of the fight?

The Race to the Top grant might require New York to allow more charter schools and create a structure of merit pay.  (January 19, 2010,  Wall Street Journal, New York Fights over Schools ... , Jacob Gershman and Barbara Martinez)

This Wall Street Journal piece describes the Race to the Top program this way:

[President] Obama's embrace of school choice and higher teacher standards has won him rare praise from conservatives and reflects a broader shift among Democrats nationally in the face of increased frustration among educators and parents with public-school performance.

Well, you can count the SCPR as among those frustrated with public school performance.

And, it is not only urban schools.  In Stark County, Stark's premier districts Jackon, Lake and North Canton are experiencing college remediation rates of 35% and higher.

Back to the CPEA.

Here is Canton Professional Educators' Association statement of its mission on its website:

MISSION STATEMENT

The Canton Professional Educators' Association initiates and supports positive changes in the public school system, promotes the educational profession, and actively serves as an advocate for its members. (emphasis added).

 Hmm?


What's the saying?


Talk is cheap?

WHO IS RUNNING 16 OUT OF 17 STARK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICTS? LOCAL TEACHER UNIONS?

According to an Akron Beacon Journal (ABJ) editorial yesterday (Out of the race) some $400 million in grants are available to Ohio schools under a federal stimulus program put together by the U.S. Department of Education which the department titled Race to the Top.

The editorial named the Canton City Schools as one of three urban school districts which did not apply for a grant.

These grants are designed to deal with: (source - The Ed Watch blog)

• supporting advances in standards and assessments, 
• state data systems, 
• teacher distribution, and 
• assistance to struggling schools

 The ABJ editorial says that only 40% of Ohio school districts have applied.

One source (a retired educator and former Stark County union leader) told the SCPR that he knows of only one school district that applied for a Race to the Top grant (Canton Local aka Canton South).

So for Stark County the rate of application is about 16%, far below the unacceptably low 40% for all of Ohio.

Why are the application rates so low?

Again, according to the ABJ editorial, it is local teacher unions; not statewide unions such as the Ohie Education Association and the Ohio Federation of Teachers.

Here is how the ABJ editorial writer summarized the objections:

[Race to the Top grants] "might require changes in how teachers are evaluated, compensated or assigned to buildings and classes in relation to student performance."

The SCPR asked Canton City Schools board member James Carmen why Canton City Schools did not participate in the Race to the Top grant application process.  Here is his response:

In order to participate in the race to the top grant each school district in Ohio had to sign off on a memorandum of understanding which described how the state would implement the grant if funded.

The signatures required were the superintendent, the school board president and the president of your local teacher's union.

The board passed a resolution at our Jan (sic) meeting instructing the board president to sign off and the superintendent agreed to sign off.

Unfortunately the Canton Professional Educators Assoc. was not comfortable with how the grant was to be implemented and their president would not sign off.  As a result, we were not able to apply.

The SCPR tried to get in touch with Pam Jackson, who is president of the Canton Professional Educators Association which is the bargaining agent for teachers in the Canton City Schools, for a response to Carmen's version of events,  but was unable to reach her.

However, a source close to Jackson (emphasizing he was not speaking for the union or for Jackson) says that his understanding is that the decision "not to apply" was a joint decision by the CPEA and the superintendent of Canton City Schools.

The SCPR asks this question:  What difference does it make?
 
Whether it is a joint decision or one that the union vetoed by not being willing to sign on, the fact of the matter is that Canton has not applied for sorely needed funds.

New board member Eric Resnick during his campaign forthrightly said that Canton schools need to ask for a new levy and soon.

How will the failure to apply for Race to the Top grants affect voter willingness to approve a new levy?

If the Canton decision is a joint enterprise between the superintendent and the union, then both have some explaining to do to Canton taxpayers.

If Carmen is correct and it was the union which scuttled the application process, then Pam Jackson has some explaining to do to Canton taxpayers.

And while we are into the "explaining mode," how about the other 15 Stark County school districts?

Northwest and Fairless are both on financial life support, why haven't they applied?

Why haven't the remaining 13?

Is it because the teachers unions are running most of Stark County's school districts?

SCPR "ELECTION 2009 SERIES" (VOL 17): CANTON CITY SCHOOLS - "UNEXPIRED TERM"

Congratulations to Messers Duff, Resnick and Smith,  candidates for the Canton City Schools (CCS) Board of Education.

Each managed to pretty much ignore the the question posed by the Neighborhood Associates Votes Empower (NAVE) moderator on the October 14th candidates night.

Readers can see what the SCPR means in viewing the videos of each included at the end of this blog.

One doesn't expect local school board candidates to do what veteran politicians do: i.e. either ignore an undesired question altogether and just talk banalities (family history, et cetera or make it into a predetermined question of their own making).

Each candidate did the latter on the 14th.

Such is problematical to consumers of Canton City schools education.  Will the successful candidate listen to and answer "head-on," the questions of his constituents?

In the judgment of the SCPR, the field of Duff, Resnick and Smith is not a distinguished field of candidates.  But Resnick and Duff show some promise.   William Smith and his "fresh face" promotion is too much of a risk for Canton voters to take.

Resnick gets high marks for persisting in talking about whet most politicians do not like to talk about:  raising taxes.

The SCPR believes that Resnick is correct and courageous in calling for Canton voters to be given the option to solve their $3.8 million deficit (by 2010) with a local levy increase. 

One problem The Report has with Resnick being on the board is his having filed (2005) and completed (2008) a bankruptcy.  (Canton Repository, October 10, 2009, Finances a concern in Canton Board of Education race, Denise Sautters)

People can have "unplanned" events (the 60% pay drop) happen to them, but the question the SCPR has is:  why didn't Resnick have a sufficient "rainy day fund" to weather the financial foul weather?

Here you have Resnick calling for a increase in revenue for a school system that has not managed its finances well.  Add to that a board member who has demonstrated a lack of personal foresight.  Is this a good combination?

While Resnick appears to have a better grasp of key issues facing the Canton City Schools (hence the SCPR recommendation among a field of weak candidates), Duff may, end up in the mind of a majority of Canton voters as being the better choice, perhaps, because Resnick did not go far enough in his personal financial troubles explanation.

Why is the Resnick follow-on missing?

Likely because the lack of foresight was a failure in judgment by Resnick and there is no explanation.

If there were, Resnick certainly would have shared it.  His bringing the Chapter 13 filing up on his own, shows a person of some political skill trying to get out in front of a problem and putting the best "spin" on a negative situation.

Will he have learned from his personal experience, if elected?  He says yes.

That is one of the judgments Canton voters will have to make on Resnick.
 
The SCPR is impressed with the citizen activism as described by incumbent Ron Duff in his answer to The Rep's candidate questionnaire.  His persistence with Ohio Schools Facility Commission to stop the closing of Souers is impressive.

Such is a "grassroots" demonstration of collecting citizens into an effective political action force. Tough times lie ahead for the Canton City Schools and having a Ron Duff on the board could be a terrific asset to the CCS in being able to connect with the day-in, day-out citizens of Canton.

Here is the video of all three candidates.

WHY DON'T ALL STARK CO SCHOOLS VALUE GOD? SCPR COMPARES STARK'S 16 OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS ' MISSION STATEMENTS TO LAKE: TODAY CANTON CITY

A couple of Lake Township residents contacted the Freedom from Religion Foundation with complaints about a part of Lake Local School's Mission Statement. Lake is the home district of the SCPR and three Olson children graduated from Lake and the Mrs. served on the Lake Board of Education twice.

The first thing that occurred to yours truly is how the mission statements of Stark's other 16 school districts compare to Lake's.

Today we compare Lake"s controversial statement to that of the Canton City schools.

No mention of God in Canton City schools statement of Mission, Vision and Beliefs.

Why not?

AN EXCEPTION TO THE RULE!

As a rule public school board members and do not respond to media requests for answers to questions.

Since yours truly has been blogging on Stark County political issues and education issues, the "blow-off" rate by Stark County board members and officials they hire to run the public institutions has been very high.

One of this is not James Carmen, Jr., president of the Canton City Schools Board of Education.

So he is an "exception" to the rule and is a model for all Stark County education officials to follow.

Board members and school officials across Stark County wonder why they have troubles getting public participation and public financial support. It is no mystery to the SCPR. Far too many board members and school administrators - over many years now - have "blown off" the public. Now the chickens are coming home to roost.

Only the likes of James Carman, Jr. and his accessibility/openess offer any hope to reversing the public negativity. But it is going to be a long road back even if they were to adopt the Caman model today.

A reader of the SCPR asked yours truly to get some answers on a matter of concern on a neighborhood issue involving the Canton City Schools and the former Lehman High School/Junior High School building.

Here is the question:

... [Regarding Lehman] the "new" building was sold to the public with a "plan" for the use of the old building. But, neither the school district nor the city have done anything with the old building except let it sit there and decay, with the decay spreading to the neighborhood. The CCS and the city both say that no one will buy it....but what methods have they used to try and sell it? Even if they sold it for $1.00 it would be used by someone else, and the neighborhood would improve. Let them sell it on ebay or something creative like that!

Here is Canton City Schools board president James Carmen, Jr's answer (bulleted by the SCPR for structural clarity):

• Unfortunately as for the public being told there was a plan for the old building when construction of the new building was announced, I have to apologize and admit I don't know what that plan would have been.
  
• The district wide renovation project that was done in partnership with the Ohio School Facilities Committee was planned in 1999 and begun shortly there after.
  
• The plan was done in partnership with the OSFC, the school district's administration and the board of education. Since that time the OSFC has gone through many configurations and the district has had four different superintendents, two business managers and there is currently no board member serving that was on the board at the time.
  
• If there was some sort of plan for the building established at the time it has apparently been lost through the transitions.
  
• Honestly, I am not sure why there was not money allocated for the demolition of the old building as was the case with several of our other buildings (Cedar Elem, Worley Elem and Belden Elem just to name a few). My only guess would be that Lehman Middle School was, up until 1976, Lehman High School and several influential citizens are alumni from that building which may have made the idea of demolition unattractive at the time.
  
• .... What I do know, is that we currently have a decaying building that we are responsible for and we need to either find a use for the building or find money for demolition. Currently we are exploring both options. Demolition is estimated to cost in excess of $1 million and the district currently does not have the funds available for such a project. The district has also been working with local developers to try and find someone interested in renovating the building (early estimates on renovation have ranged from $10 to $15 million), to date we have been unsuccessful in our efforts. In the meantime, we have met with both the Lehman neighborhood association and the Lehman alumni association to combine our efforts to find a use for the site. We have also taken steps to better secure the building to hopefully stop future vandalism.
  
• As for your emailer's suggestion to randomly sell the building on ebay for $1.00, that is actually something we have promised the neighborhood association we would not do. Whether the building is renovated or torn down there is a hefty price tag associated with it and we do not want to turn the building over to a private individual that does not have the means to do something with the property. If a private individual is holding the building, the neighbors have very little say, if we continue to hold the property the neighbors can have more input in what happens to it. They also can hold us accountable if they do not feel it is being maintained properly, which they have recently done.
  
• The district was not doing a good job in maintaining the property and we have committed to the neighbors that we will do a better job.
  
• ... we are working to do something with the property as soon as possible and we are doing everything we can to keep it from being a problem for the neighborhood.

To the SCPR, this is a splendid example of being accountable!

DISCUSSION; DOES CANTON SCHOOL BOARD REEK OF POLITICS?

Republican and Jackson High School graduate Ron Duff was appointed to take Democrat John Rinaldi's place on the Canton City Schools Board of Education this week.

His chief sponsor was Democrat Jennifer Keaton.

To the STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report), it doesn't seem to be a political party thing.

But a least one other application for the position claims "foul ball."

Long term Democratic political activist Eric Resnick in a comment to a Repository story on the appointment points out that sitting board member Jennifer Keaton calls Duff her friend. So much a friend that Duff used Keaton as a reference (information reported in The Rep's story) Resnick also rumors that Duff ran Keaton's campaign when she ran successfully for the board.

Board member Nadine McIlwain complained that the board missed a chance to appoint a male African-American who she believed to be well qualified for the position and she voted NO on the Duff appointment.

The Report is very familiar with school board politics. It is no surprise to see dissent arise on this selection.

As The Report sees it, personal friendship should not have been a factor at all in choosing Rinaldi's successor. Indeed, if Keaton has the close association as appears, then she should have abstained from the voting - at the very least. And, she should not have been part of the deliberations in which she apparently convinced other board members that her friend should get the job.

Perhaps McIlwain makes the most persuasive point that a predominantly African-American school district that a qualified African-Amercan male would be the logical choice. Even Keaton saw the wisdom of McIlwain position initially.

Only this week Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama chastised African-American fathers for being absent from the home and not affording their children that all important parental role model.

On the surface McIlwain's candidate seems to make more sense for Canton.

What changed Keaton's mind? Is there more to this story?

The Report thinks there is and is not at all convinced, despite Keaton's protestations to the contrary, that "friendship" was not the main criterion used to select Duff.

Was Ron Duff the best selection for the Canton City Schools Board of Education?