UPDATE | Lawmakers continue fight to repeal the Youngstown Plan

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to include a statement by state Rep. Al Cutrona who says he’s already involved with the legislation.]

COLUMBUS — State Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan, D-Youngstown, says she will co-sponsor legislation during this General Assembly to end the Youngstown Plan and restore local control to school districts.

Lepore-Hagan also called on other Mahoning Valley delegation members, including state Rep. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield — who says he’s sponsoring the bill — and state Sen. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, to join her in supporting legislation to repeal House Bill 70, also known as the Youngstown Plan, and remove unelected Academic Distress Commissions that have controlled public school systems in Youngstown, East Cleveland and Lorain for more than five years.

“We must liberate the thousands of kids who are trapped in a failed, malevolent experiment that crushes their dreams, wastes their talents and jeopardizes their futures,” Lepore-Hagan said in a news release. “We must eradicate the Youngstown Plan, restore local control of public education and adopt proven solutions that will strengthen public education in struggling districts.”

Lepore-Hagan said she will co-sponsor a reintroduction of HB 154, which would repeal HB 70, dissolve the existing ADCs, restore local control of the affected school systems and call for the funding and implementation of “wrap-around” services addressing socio-economic factors. HB 154 passed the Ohio House by a bipartisan margin of 83-12 on May 1, 2019, but was stonewalled in the Senate.

Cutrona is a sponsor, a House Majority spokesperson said Tuesday, the day after Lepore-Hagan’s release.

“Rep. Joe Miller [of Amherst, D-56th] and I are spearheading this initiative, as we are taking direct action to work on introducing this significant legislation very soon,” Cutrona said in a statement. “The bill will restore local control for our schools and benefit our children as it repeals and replaces the flawed Academic Distress Commissions.

The bills have yet to be assigned numbers for the 134th General Assembly.

Lepore-Hagan said she also intends to support legislation introduced by Reps. Kent Smith, D-Euclid, and Gayle Manning, R-North Ridgeville, dissolving the existing ADCs and preventing the establishment of new ones. Cutrona is also attached to the bill as a co-sponsor, a spokesperson said.

Lepore-Hagan said she is also backing a reintroduction of HB 159, which would direct the state auditor to conduct a performance audit of the school systems run by ADCs.

HB 159 was originally introduced last General Assembly. A performance audit would, for the first time, provide an in-depth analysis of expenditures made by the commissions and CEOs who exercise control over the Youngstown, Lorain and East Cleveland public schools.

This story was originally published January 26, 2021 at 2:45 PM.