NAACP challenges schools to hire youth, minorities

Two decades of leading the Lorain unit of the NAACP prompted President E. Jean Wrice to confront Lorain City Schools officials about minority hiring and retire-rehire situations.

Lorain City Schools Superintendent Tom Tucker announced Nov. 27 his retirement effective June 30, 2015, because of changes in a State Teachers Retirement System in Ohio.

The district pays the NAACP and other organizations to provide people as mentors for school children, Tucker said. While visiting school buildings, Wrice noticed many brown-skinned students and few white ones, she said.

Wrice criticized the district for an apparent re-segregation of school buildings and an alleged lack of minority hiring.

“When the black teachers are being retired, they’re being replaced by Caucasians,” Wrice said. She also questioned a practice of elementary principals — rather than lunchroom aides — supervising children at lunch time.

Tucker said assistant principals formerly monitored lunch times, but the district cut those positions. Lunch aide positions are available, but difficult to fill because they are part-time. He asked Wrice to help fill the positions by referring people to apply for the jobs.

“We’re also frowning at so many outside employees,” Wrice said, “especially the double dippers.”

Tucker said the presence of the Lorain Academic Distress Commission required highlevel employees who could turn around the district academic situation quickly.

“With the commission in here, I needed to have experienced people to hit the ground running,” he said. “There wasn’t time to train people.”

Jacqueline Rogers, a registered nurse from Lorain, said young people cannot receive experience unless they work.

Of three people she knew personally from Lorain who applied for jobs after college and wanted to stay in Lorain, only one was hired, Rogers said.

“Double dipping, it really needs to stop,” she said. “We have so many people who are talented and need to start. Double dipping has been going on forever.

“The main thing, there has to come a time when you just have to say, ‘It’s enough.’ I’m sure there’s somebody out there who is 35 who is just as good. Somebody out there can take his place. When you hire somebody, there should always be a replacement.”

The school board had not met since Tucker’s announcement to retire after 37 years of employment.

Lorain City School Board President Tim Williams said the board would discuss protocols of a possible retire-rehire scenario regarding Tucker during an executive session.

The subject was raised during a candidate search to fill the superintendent position about three years ago, Williams said. The school board was open to a retire-rehire scenario then, he said.

Another qualification was residency in the school district, Williams said.

Of the three candidate finalists, one already was retired, and a second retired two years ago, Williams said.

“We are satisfied with the superintendent,” he said.

“This board has never discussed rehiring Mr. Tucker,” said school board member Jim Smith. “His contract is up June 30, 2015. Should he desire to be rehired, the board has agreed to discuss it.

“If we were to reemploy Mr. Tucker, there has to be a public, classified announcement in both papers 60 days before re-employment. There must be a public meeting. That all has to precede any agreement to reemploy Mr. Tucker. Everything will be made public before the board votes.”

Williams said he doesn’t want people to be alarmed and the board has not been secretive.

“We have been transparent since this started,” he said.

Tucker said he’s retiring because the rules have changed.

“I paid into my retirement,” he said. “I will be getting my money back from my retirement. If I’m not back, I’m finished. If I’m back, that’s fine, too.”

Smith said he appreciated Tucker’s letter because he could have not said anything until June.

“But he allowed us to do this the right way,” Smith said. “This gives us the time to do whatever we choose to do.”

Tucker