After 16 years under various forms of state supervision, the Youngstown City School District is making a determined push to regain local control. District leaders argue that recent academic progress justifies ending the state's intervention, even as they fall short of specific benchmarks set by an Academic Improvement Plan. The debate has now moved to the Ohio Statehouse, where new legislation could chart a different path for the state's last district under this type of oversight.
The district finds itself at a critical crossroads. Having completed the initial three years of its improvement plan without consistently hitting state-mandated targets, Youngstown faces the possibility of returning to a CEO-led model that was previously unpopular with the community. Officials are now backing bills in the Ohio House and Senate that would dissolve the oversight commission entirely, placing faith in a new, locally-driven approach to school improvement.
Key Takeaways
- Youngstown is Ohio's last school district operating under an Academic Distress Commission, a form of state oversight in place for 16 years.
- The district has shown improvement in areas like graduation rates but has not met the required percentage of benchmarks in its Academic Improvement Plan.
- Superintendent Jeremy J. Batchelor and local lawmakers are advocating for legislation (SB 322 and HB 610) to dissolve the commission and restore local control.
- Critics of state takeovers argue they often fail to address community-specific issues and lack sufficient resources, while proponents believe state accountability is necessary for struggling districts.
A Long Road Under State Watch
For nearly two decades, the Youngstown City School District has operated under the shadow of state control. This supervision has evolved, taking the form of academic distress commissions and state-appointed CEOs who held authority over the locally elected school board. The current arrangement is an Academic Improvement Plan, a three-year program designed to transition the district back to local governance.
This plan provided a temporary reprieve, restoring power to the local board and superintendent. However, the initial three-year period has concluded, and the district did not meet the required 51% of its 24 benchmarks in the last two years. While it met 16 benchmarks in the 2022-2023 school year, that number dropped to nine in 2023-2024 and six in 2024-2025.
State law permits up to two one-year extensions, and Youngstown has applied for its first. If the district cannot meet the plan's goals by the end of the 2026-2027 school year, control would revert to the academic distress commission and a CEO, a scenario district leaders are actively working to prevent.
"To me, our body of work should stand for itself," said Youngstown Superintendent Jeremy J. Batchelor. "We should not be the lone district in academic distress. In my opinion, we are no longer the lowest-performing school district in the state of Ohio."
The Debate Over State Intervention
The effectiveness of state takeovers is a contentious issue across Ohio. Experiences in other districts, such as Lorain and East Cleveland, offer different perspectives. The General Assembly dissolved Lorain's commission in 2023 following improved performance, and East Cleveland successfully exited state oversight in late 2023 after meeting its plan's benchmarks.
Proponents of state intervention, like Aaron Churchill of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, argue that it provides necessary pressure and accountability. He points to Youngstown's proficiency scores as evidence that more work is needed.
Proficiency Gaps
According to district data, Youngstown's students have not met several key academic benchmarks. For example, a state test benchmark for third-grade English required 46% of students to be proficient, but only 34% achieved that level. Similarly, in math for grades 3-5, just 22.61% of students were proficient, compared to a benchmark of 33%.
Churchill believes these figures justify continued state action. "Our students in every part of the state deserve a great education," he stated. "I think that additional pressure from the state and oversight from the state can really help make sure students are getting what they deserve."
The Local Perspective
Conversely, critics argue that state-led reforms often ignore local context and can be disruptive. In Youngstown, the CEO-led era saw the closure of a specialized STEM school, a reduction in foreign language courses, and significant staff turnover. Ohio Education Association President Jeff Wensing noted that when the state imposes changes, the local community's voice is often lost.
Many educators believe that challenges like poverty, chronic absenteeism, and mental health needs, often referred to as "wraparound services," must be addressed before academic performance can truly improve. Yet, no extra state funding for these services was provided to Youngstown, Lorain, or East Cleveland when their commissions were established.
Socioeconomic Factors in Performance
There is a strong correlation between a school district's wealth and its performance on state report cards. An analysis of Ohio school data consistently shows that the wealthiest districts tend to perform the best, while the poorest often struggle. This suggests that academic outcomes are deeply connected to the economic status of the community a school serves.
A Legislative Path Forward
Frustrated with the existing framework, Youngstown officials are placing their hopes in new legislation. Senate Bill 322, sponsored by state Sen. Al Cutrona, and House Bill 610, sponsored by Reps. Juanita Brent and Lauren McNally, would both dissolve the Youngstown Academic Distress Commission.
Instead of top-down oversight, SB 322 proposes a building-level approach. Schools receiving low ratings on the state report card would form student support teams composed of administrators, teachers, parents, and state representatives. These teams would develop tailored improvement plans to be followed until the school achieves a higher rating.
"I think it’s essential that we stick with local control," said Sen. Cutrona. "I think the local people know best how to handle their schools. We’ve seen dramatic improvement in Youngstown."
Signs of Progress Amidst Challenges
Despite not meeting all benchmarks, Youngstown has made measurable gains. The district’s four-year high school graduation rate is a key example. It rose from 79.4% for the class of 2018 to 86.4% for the class of 2025.
Superintendent Batchelor attributes this success to a focused effort on post-graduation pathways, helping students prepare for college, technical careers, or the military starting from the ninth grade. However, these improvements still fell short of the ambitious, annually increasing targets in the Academic Improvement Plan.
- 2023 Target: 90% graduation rate. Actual: 84.3%
- 2024 Target: 91.5% graduation rate. Actual: 85.9%
- 2025 Target: 93% graduation rate. Actual: 86.4%
This illustrates the central dilemma for Youngstown: the district is improving, but not fast enough to satisfy the state's rigid formula. As lawmakers consider a new path, the future of the district hangs in the balance, caught between a history of state control and a push for a locally-led future.
