By CHRIS McBRIDE

Staff writer

YOUNGSTOWN — Treasurer Bryan Schiraldi told board of education members and administrators Tuesday that the four-year emergency levy for Youngstown City Schools will be expiring, so plans need to start for getting it back before voters.

If the district persuades Youngstown voters to renew the levy that passed in November 2020, it will continue to earn about $5.3 million per year. Youngstown voters in 2020 approved the operating levy by 63.4 percent.

Schiraldi said he’ll be discussing options this week with Squire Patton Boggs, an international law firm that assists with drafting the resolutions that need to be approved prior to the levy being placed on an election ballot. The terms for how many years the renewal will have before expiration will need to be agreed upon by the board.

When last approved by voters, the measure was for 10 mills.

There was uncertainty about whether resolutions can be approved by the board in time to get the issue on the May 2023 ballot. If not, Schiraldi said it will try for the November election.

Present at the meeting were board members and administrators, who gave reports for the curriculum / academic improvment plan, business management and athletics, finance and policy and legistlation committees. On hand were board President Tiffany Patterson, and members Brenda Kimble, Kenneth Donaldson and Joe Meranto. On the adminstrative side were Superintendent Justin Jennings, Schiraldi and Deputy Superintendent Jeremy Batchelor.

Addressing the issue of bad behavior on school buses, Robert Kearns, executive director of operations announced starting this week, the school district will move to an online database where bus drivers can electronically place conduct reports to better track their concerns. Kearns said the administrative team will have the capability to email parents conduct reports.

Board members had heard previously from an upset bus driver who complained about the lack of disciplinary action toward unruly students.

Batchelor discussed results of the third-grade Fall English Language Arts test released by the Ohio Department of Education. The test is taken in the fall to see how students are progressing. Batchelor said students will then take the test again in the spring and the highest score will be used to determine what appears on the district’s state report card.

A rough analysis shows that 9 percent of students are proficient in what they should know in third grade.

Batchelor did caution that these results are only from a few months of students being in the classroom.

The goal, Batchelor said, is to reach 24 percent proficient, an increase on the 16 percent that the district achieved last year.

cmcbride@tribtoday.com