Ward Reduction Charter Amendment Literature

[Towntalk]

What is desperately needed is a mass public meeting demanding action on the part of the state BOE in which the Mayor and a committee of parents of students are involved along with our state representative and senator.
1. DEMAND THE MASS RESIGNATION OF THE ENTIRE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
2. DEMAND THE RESIGNATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT AND HIS ASSISTANTS.
3. PLACE THE YCSD UNDER COMPLETE STATE CONTROL UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THE SYSTEM CAN SHOW MAJOR PROGRESS.
4. IF IT IS POSSABLE, PLACE TERM LIMITS ON MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF 2 TWO YEAR TERMS PERIOD. THEY COULD NEVER SEEK RE-ELECTION LATER ON. PEOPLE ARE USING THIS POSITION AS A STEPPING STONE TO OTHER OFFICES AND THIS HAS GOT TO STOP RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW.
The reason why our school system is in the sorry state it's in is because we do not interagate candidates for seats on the BOE like we do candidates for other offices and to that end we are as much to blame as the board members.

AS MUCH TIME SHOULD BE GIVEN TO CANDIDATES FOR THE BOE AS ARE GIVEN TO CITY COUNCIL AND IF THEY DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE PRE-ELECTION MEETINGS THEN THEY SHOULD NEVER BE ELECTED.

[AllanY2525]

I think it might be best if the state would just shut down the Youngstown CSD and start
from scratch.  Hire new teachers, new administrators, etc and start from ground zero.

I fail to understand why the city schools cannot get their SH*T together.  The city has built
new buildings, done major rehab on some others (Chaney), etc so the physical facilities cannot
be in too bad of shape.

Why isn't anyone taking teachers and administrators on a tour of other school systems that are
working well, and showing them what they are doing differently.  It blows my mind to read that
even the so-called "Academic Distress Commission" is failing to get the job done.

Parents should sign some kind of agreement if their child is failing, or causing problems for
the staff and/or other students.  Either their kids straighten up, or they will be permanently
expelled from the system. 

Signing the agreement should be made a condition of attendance at any of the city's public schools.

I don't know if it is legal for the schools to demand this of parents and students, but it should be.

WHY can't anyone simply identify the points of failure and come up with some reasonable plan
of action to address the current sorry state of the city's schools? 

[Towntalk]

Advice to my friend westsider

[northside lurker]

OK, so how does that affect the three neighborhoods in question?

Even if they secede from Youngstown, they remain in the YCSD, until the state BOE changes the boundaries.

Doesn't Boardman have Open Enrollment?

No.

if the state board thought that the children could get a better education through the Boardman School System, they could do anything.

Yes, and why hasn't the state BOE done anything so far?  There has been talk of disbanding the YCSD altogether, for some time now.  Why hasn't the state BOE done that, and then redraw the neighboring districts' boundaries to encompass Youngstown neighborhoods?  I'm not saying the state BOE wouldn't change the boundaries, I'm just making it clear that it won't happen simply because these areas seceded from Youngstown.

[Towntalk]

OK, so how does that affect the three neighborhoods in question?
Doesn't Boardman have Open Enrollment?
I stand by what I said, and nothing nor anyone will change my mind.
These three neighborhoods are three of the best kept areas of the entire city ... including the West Side (4th Ward area). Only the south western portion of the 5th Ward can be compared to these neighborhoods. Unfortunately other portions of the 7th Ward, as beactiful as they are have the misfortune to be north of Midlothian Blvd. and battle that would take place would be monumental.
As to Paul C. Bunn Elementry School, why couldn't the Boardman B of E take over that school since it's located in Boardman. Given the fact that the Youngstown City Schools are worthless failures, if the state board thought that the children could get a better education through the Boardman School System, they could do anything.

[northside lurker]

The property owners in those three neighborhoods have everything to gain, and nothing to lose except a corrupt government that does absolutely nothing for them, and besides all three are surrounded on three sides by Boardman and Struthers so it would be a perfect fit, and their children would have a far better education than what the failed Youngstown schools could ever offer them. The Youngstown school system will never get any better than what it is right now, but it will keep getting worse, until the state is forced to take over complete control, and run the whole system out of Columbus.

I felt the need to log in, to point out that the underlined statement is incorrect.  School district boundaries are independent from municipal boundaries.  There is a small part of Boardman that is in the YCSD.  How are their property values?  That would be an indicator of what could be expected for these neighborhoods, if they were to secede from Youngstown back to Boardman.

[Towntalk]

The property owners in those three neighborhoods have everything to gain, and nothing to lose except a corrupt government that does absolutely nothing for them, and besides all three are surrounded on three sides by Boardman and Struthers so it would be a perfect fit, and their children would have a far better education than what the failed Youngstown schools could ever offer them. The Youngstown school system will never get any better than what it is right now, but it will keep getting worse, until the state is forced to take over complete control, and run the whole system out of Columbus.

[AllanY2525]

The city would be losing a lot if these subdivisions were to "secede from the union" and
become part of Boardman Township.

I wait to see the day when the city can literally start closing off dead, empty neighborhoods,
removing  the streets, the sidewalks, and putting the trees back in.

[Towntalk]

They were/are against anything and everything that doesn't benefit them ... they want 100% control of everything.

[iwasthere]

The city leaders and the anti reductions grp should reread and revisit the 2010 plan mission statement.

[Towntalk]

Some of the positives about being annexed back to Boardman would be an increase in property values ... a 100% better school system ... no longer having to put up with the political games that are played in Youngstown.
If this could happen, it would make the north side of Midlothian Blvd. the city limits.

[Towntalk]

9. Cottage Grove

Cottage Grove, annexed in 1929, grew along the Youngstown & Southern Railroad line. Stops along the line, such as at Midlothian Boulevard,

developed as neighborhood commercial nodes to serve disembarking commuters that resided in the middle class neighborhood that developed

in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s between South Avenue and Market Street. Much of the commuter rail look of this corridor still remains

although passengers haven't ridden the line for over fifty years.

10. Pleasant Grove

Pleasant Grove is immediately south of Cottage Grove and also bisected by the old Youngstown and Southern rail line. Like Cottage Grove,

Pleasant Grove also came into the City in 1929, but unlike its northern neighbor, was originally part of Boardman Township. In general,

Pleasant Grove, though still middle class and developed during the same time frame, exhibits a more upscale level of housing than Cottage

Grove. At its southern limit and along its boulevards, the housing was upper middle class. Th e real estate market remains relatively strong in

the Pleasant Grove neighborhood.

11. Brownlee Woods

Th e core of Brownlee Woods straddles Sheridan Boulevard. Th e original development along Sheridan was upper-middle class fading to

middle class with distance from the boulevard. Annexed in 1929 from Boardman Township, the initial development was constructed during

the same period as Cottage Grove and Pleasant Grove. Brownlee Woods was built out with post war Cape Cod style housing in the 1950s

and 1960s, and remains as one of Youngstown's economically viable neighborhoods.

[Peggy Gurney]

ahha, I did not know that.   
Thanks.

[Towntalk]

Remember that in 1929 Boardman was mainly a farming area as opposed to what it is today.

[Towntalk]

They were annexed into the city in 1929.