YOUNGSTOWN — The board of education is setting up committees to write a strategic plan for the Youngstown City Schools.

The school district’s newly appointed CEO is also working on his own plan.

And for now, there is no plan for these strategic documents to merge.

Brenda Kimble, board president, told the school board during Tuesday’s meeting that, based on her discussions with state officials last week, she believes they want a strategic plan completed by mid-November.

The completed plan is expected to be presented either to the state Senate’s education committee or the state superintendent’s office. The final destination will be determined by whether the amended version of House Bill 154 is approved. That amended bill would replace state academic distress commissions, such as Youngstown’s, with academic distress committees.

If HB 154 fails, the elected, current school board will be replaced with a five-member board to be named by Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown from 10 candidates provided to him from various state and educational sources.

“The board, as a whole, must agree on the strategic plan,” Kimble said. “Once the new school board members come to the board, whomever they may be, they also must have input on the plan.”

Kimble said the school board, regardless of its future, has a responsibility to be the voice of the community and guide the district in ways that are best for Youngstown students.

Seven committees were established to address issues of academics, school resources, finances, athletics, support systems, police and operations. Each committee will have a chair and two other members.

Kimble said the plan also should have some input from teachers and union officials, as well as some parental involvement.

“We should be aligning our inquiries with the Ohio Department of Education review that took place in March and was presented in June,” board member Jacqueline Adair said. “The ODE review addressed issues of leadership, governmental oversight communication, assessments, human resources, professional development and fiscal management.”

Several members of the board suggested it work closely with new CEO Justin Jennings or members of the district’s staff. Jennings started work in the district Aug. 1, replacing Krish Mohip who served for three years. The district is under the watch of a state academic distress commission — which the Ohio House version of HB 154 would eliminate.

“They have the expertise that some board members do not have to address issues that need to be in the strategic plan,” Adair said.

Board member Ronald Shadd agreed that the board’s strategic plan should be based on the ODE report recommendations.

“Our plan does not need to deviate from the recommendations in that report,” he said. “The state audit also would come into play in the report.”

Jennings is still gathering information to develop his plan for the district, according to Youngstown schools spokeswoman Denise Dick.

“I don’t know what kind of help the board is requesting,” she said. “He is crafting his own plan and operating the district day-to-day. He is still in the information-gathering phase of his plan.”

“I suppose we won’t know how different it is from the board’s plan until they’re both finished,” Dick said. “At this point, there is no plan to merge the CEO’s plan with the board’s.”

Supporters of the local control of the city schools will have a news conference 5 p.m. today, outside of the school district’s 20 W. Wood St. building, to inform residents of the current status of Youngstown schools.

The Rev. Kenneth Simon, pastor at New Bethel Baptist Church, said the public needs to know that since the district received an F grade on the state report card for the fourth consecutive year, the current elected school board may be dissolved under HB 70.

“It is not the school board that failed, because the district has been under state control since 2010,” Simon said. “The district has been under chief executive officers since 2015. The district’s failures have occurred while the district has been under state control.”

Simon said the latest version of HB 154, which is being heard by the Ohio Senate’s education committee, likely will keep the district under state control.

The news conference will feature state Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan, D-Youngstown, Youngstown Teachers Association President Larry Ellis, a parent, as well as Simon talking about the negative impact that HB 70 has had on the district.

rsmith@tribtoday.com