EXCLUSIVE | Newly elected Youngstown school board member backs out

YOUNGSTOWN — A recently elected Youngstown City Schools Board member has declined her seat.

Barbara Brothers of Fifth Avenue said those who believe the school district can be successful are "outnumbered" on the current board and "out-trumpeted by certain leaders in the community," she wrote in a letter to schools CEO Justin Jennings and board President Brenda Kimble, which she also shared with Mahoning Matters.

Brothers, a former member of the district's Academic Distress Commission and Youngstown State University dean emeritus, was one of four school board members elected in November, along with Kimble, Tiffany Patterson and Juanita Walker. Outgoing board member Dario Hunter lost his seat in that race.

Brothers told Mahoning Matters she made the decision after attending board meetings as an onlooker.

"Our present board accepts that the Youngstown City Schools are failing," Brothers wrote, previously calling the failure of public schools a "myth."

"They say it is not the Youngstown City School Board's fault and we should look elsewhere to place the blame: the Academic Distress Commission; the leaders, whether labelled superintendent or CEO; or the teachers," she continued. "Others in the community want to blame the parents. Neither the board or their community supporters question the system itself and therefore do not provide leadership in how to address the needs of our students to improve their education and quality of life."

Like all the board's November electees, Brothers opposes House Bill 70, also referred to as the "Youngstown Plan," which allowed for a state takeover of the school's administration, as well as a city reappointment of the seven-person board should state performance metrics fail to improve.

That reappointment process was initiated earlier this year, though delayed in the county court after the current school board filed an injunction to delay it. Both parties agreed to await a Supreme Court ruling on HB 70's constitutionality, and are scheduled to reconvene in April, court records show.

Brothers said though she believes the city schools' board should be elected, she wouldn't reassume her seat even if the state's high court changes or dismantles HB 70.

She said even with the board's three newcomers, it wouldn't be enough to "change the tone and do positive things for the students in the district."

Brothers added she feels the meetings she attended didn't have enough public presence.

"If the community wants to change the narrative, they need to show up at the board meetings," she told Mahoning Matters.

Neither Kimble nor Jennings could immediately be reached for comment Monday.

You can read Brothers' full letter below:

This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 6:46 PM with the headline "EXCLUSIVE | Newly elected Youngstown school board member backs out."