Youngstown school board approves Jennings as superintendent with start date in July

The Youngstown Board of Education hired Youngstown City Schools CEO Justin Jennings as the city schools superintendent at Tuesday’s board meeting.

The vote at the meeting was 4-3, a district spokesperson said, with board members Tiffany Patterson, the Rev. Kenneth Donaldson, Dawn Turnage and Juanita Walker favoring Jennings as superintendent. Board members Brenda Kimble, Tina Svetkovich and Jerome Williams voted against Jennings.

There had been speculation that Jennings was leaving the school district to work for Akron Public Schools as the new assistant superintendent and chief of leadership and learning. Jennings, in a news release last month, said his commitment to serving Youngstown city students remains.

“My willingness and wanting to stay and be the [Youngstown City Schools] superintendent have not changed,” he said last month. “I’ve made this decision because my heart is here.”

The spokesperson said Jennings will start as the superintendent on July 1. A contract is still under negotiation.

This story was originally published February 23, 2022 at 2:49 PM.