Dayton school board to see major turnover after tough year

Dayton’s school board will have at least three new faces next year, as Hazel Rountree, Adil Baguirov and Ron Lee all said this week that they will not run for re-election in November.

The other Dayton Public Schools board member whose term is up — 12-year veteran Joe Lacey — is the only incumbent who has taken out petitions to run for re-election. Board members Robert Walker, Sheila Taylor and John McManus are in the middle of four-year terms that expire in 2019.

RELATED: Walker takes over as DPS school board president

Dayton’s four-seat board of education race could be a very crowded one in November, as 15 people have already taken out petitions to run – by far the most for any race in the county.

The Montgomery County Board of Elections has not certified any candidates for the race yet, and the deadline is not until Aug. 9. Election officials caution that not all people who take petitions eventually run, and some don’t get enough valid signatures to appear on the ballot.

Baguirov, who was president of the board last year, said he never intended to serve more than one term. He said he achieved campaign promises of increasing technology use in the district, improving cultural and academic curriculum, and bringing greater financial transparency and accountability.

RELATED: School board meetings have sideshow-like feel

“While being on the board, I realized that most of the K-12 educational decisions are actually made in Columbus at the State Capitol,” Baguirov said in an email. “I’m exploring a run for the state House of Representatives (in District 40). Either way we still have a lot to do at DPS till the end of the year, so that will continue to be my attention.”

Rountree, also finishing her first term, expressed frustration at the inability to make the type of major changes she felt were needed to sufficiently improve a large school district.

Lee, who has served on Dayton’s school board for 10 years, said his decision not to run in November was for personal reasons. Both Rountree and Lee mentioned the difficulty of increasing local success in a system beset by constant changes from state and federal officials.

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“I am absolutely committed to public education, and I think we all need to reaffirm our commitment to public education … because it is in a vulnerable position,” Rountree said. “After deep and reflective consideration, I think I can serve more effectively in a different venue.”

The full list of people who have taken petitions to possibly run for Dayton school board in November is: Joe Lacey, Mohamed Al-Hamdani, Paul Bradley, Donald Domineck Jr., Shondale Dorise, Anne Marie (Mario) Gallin, William Harris Jr., Donna Hill, Claudia Hunter, Tommy McGuffey Jr., Thomas Nealeigh, Jocelyn Rhynard, Dion Sampson, Jo’el Thomas-Jones and Karen Wick.

The list includes everyone from a former school board member (Gallin), to a leader of Dayton’s New Black Panther Party (Domineck), to the owner of Coco’s Bistro (Wick), to a highly involved parent (Rhynard) and people who have worked directly with the school district (Sampson, Hill and others).

DPS in context

Dayton’s school board has had a tumultuous past two years. The district went from worst in the state and at threat of state takeover on the February 2016 state report card release to earning an “A” in student growth in September of that year to end that threat.

RELATED: “A” on report card ends takeover threat

Between those two events, the board voted to oust Superintendent Lori Ward and Treasurer Craig Jones (Lee and Rountree were absent from that meeting), eventually hiring Rhonda Corr and Hiwot Abraha to take their place.

The ups and downs were many in 2016. DPS saw its preschools earn the state’s top rating in April, then had a young student stabbed on a playground in May. They had a bad levy misunderstanding with the city in July, then were able to launch a huge new student computer program in August.

This school year, the district went through a painful layoff process that was aborted halfway through over concerns on financial accuracy. Dunbar’s football team had an eligibility and game-throwing mess that resulted in three years of probation for the district.

DPS battled busing problems, sex abuse allegations and stalled contract negotiations, while celebrating preschool and career tech expansion, and the launch of an online school.

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