School administrators seem to be among the few career categories that aren’t lacking job candidates these days.

With that in mind, it would behoove any board of education in the market for a new superintendent to broaden its search and take a good hard look at the many qualified candidates sure to apply. Youngstown City Schools Board of Education is in just that situation.

For many years Youngstown City School District has faced great challenges, including struggles with the academic success of its students. Even under state academic control triggered by House Bill 70, that problem has not diminished. Now, as the district hopes to shed the state control and soon return governance to the duly elected local board of education, we would expect those board members to be raising the bar and striving for the excellence they believe they can achieve under local control.

That’s why we are so baffled to hear some board of education members — possibly the majority of them — voice opinions that they will accept the status quo and see no need to look any further than Justin Jennings, who has been leading the school district as CEO for the past several years.

New board President Tiffany Patterson this month began efforts to persuade other board members to support ending the search process and simply hire Jennings.

It is true that Jennings knows the system, and there have been some successes under his leadership. But does that make him the most-qualified candidate to fulfill the role as superintendent? How will we know if we never look any further?

From our vantage point, this school district has faced many academic challenges under Jennings’ guidance.

It was under his tutelage the district set the bar too low on its academic benchmarks in its attempts to secede from state control, according to state education officials. The low goals were returned to the school district with orders to raise expectations of students.

Really? We need to be told by state officials that we should expect more from our children in the classroom?

Also under Jennings’ leadership, the school district seemingly has worked harder at trying to find reasons to keep students at home, learning remotely, than at finding ways to get students back into the classroom where they will find better structure, role models, social programs, warm meals and yes, in-person lessons, than attempts to learn at home.

The city school district began 2021 as one of only 34 school districts out of a total of 609 in Ohio that were fully remote in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jennings finally agreed to return to in-person learning only after being pressured by the governor’s office. Since then, there have been many more days when students were sent back home to do their coursework remotely.

And let’s not forget that, as CEO, Jennings already has demonstrated a desire to leave Youngstown, in applying for an administrative position in nearby Akron. After Akron delayed voting to hire Jennings, he withdrew his name from consideration.

So, why, then, are some board of education members trying so hard to look no further than Jennings by ending the broad superintendent search called for by past board members?

We believe if Jennings truly is the best person for this position, then he will shine when stacked up against other superintendent candidates who might come from a nationwide search.

As one board member, Tina Cvetkovich, recently put it, the board should search for and see all viable candidates because the board owes it to the community to do that.

We agree.

Frankly, doing anything less would be a great disservice to this community.

editorial@vindy.com