Academic success for students and teachers is on the rise in Mansfield City Schools, based on the most recent rounds of state testing results.
Now it needs the district’s elected board of directors to step up its own game in terms of leadership and transparency.
There is no better time than the present, especially given the way the board ended 2023 and the fact two of the five board members will be new in January.
In the final two weeks of December, the board quietly shed another treasurer (for the second time in four years) and also an athletic director. Both deals included “non-disparagement agreements” that don’t provide city residents with the ability to understand why.
These kind of agreements — including a $25,000 lump sum payment to outgoing treasurer Tacy Courtright and continued salary and benefits to now-former athletic director Kevin Porter through the end of July 2024 — deserve public explanation.
These are not private, corporate dollars being doled out to make two employees go away quietly.
These are hard-earned tax dollars being collected from city residents who approve tax levies and are often told the district is in a poor financial condition that leads to the closure of schools.
In late November, Courtright told the board her five-year financial forecast was brightening, but she still saw an operating deficit of about $1.7 million in fiscal year 2024.
If the work of Courtright and Porter was so sub-standard that the district benefitted from their departure less than halfway through the school year, the public has the right to know why.
In the case of Courtright, there is no prior paper trail of any kind. Despite the fact she was hired in June of 2020 and given a two-year contract, there were no employee evaluations, complaints, warnings or records of any disciplinary action in her personnel file reviewed by Richland Source on Dec. 14.
The school board directly hires the district treasurer, whose job it is to handle the long-term and day-to-day finances of the entire district. The school board supervises the treasurer.
It’s unprofessional there were no indictors of performance issues in Courtright’s personnel file — or even a single performance review.
It can make it difficult for parents and voters to trust in the financial decision-making at the top when there is no clear evidence the work is being done properly.
In the athletic director’s case, at least one of the issues with Porter’s performance was documented by Richland Source on Dec. 12.
The Source reported Porter was placed on paid, administrative leave on Oct. 13 after the Ohio High School Athletic Association fined Mansfield Senior High School $10,000 for an administrative error that allowed a student to play football prior to serving his transfer consequence.
Porter was hired four years ago on an original three-year contract, the responsibility of the high school principal. In his personnel file, obtained by Richland Source after a public records request, there was one positive performance review and two written reprimands.
Neither case represents the type of professional leadership and responsibility the board should demonstrate itself and demand from its employees.
These latest examples are symptoms of a larger issue. The simple fact is better hiring practices, proper oversight and solid performance documentation on the front-end lead to far better outcomes than the contested state hearings and lawsuits the district has seen in recent years.
There is reason for hope.
The MCS board replaces 40 percent of its members in less than a week when Jennifer Kime and Leslie Ward take office, joining current members Chris Elswick, Gary Feagin and Linda Golden.
A new treasurer and athletic director will need to be hired, along with countless other personnel in the district.
The students and teachers are doing their part in the classroom, a challenging task even when there is greater leadership and absolute transparency at the top of the local educational ladder.
It’s time for the school board and administrators to do theirs. Perform your oversight role with zeal. Be involved. Ask questions. Fairly evaluate employees whom you directly supervise. Demand other administrators do the same.
In short, be better.