TPS board won't hire development group

11/1/2006

The Toledo Board of Education voted 3-2 Monday night against hiring the Ohio School Boards Association for $2,000 to conduct professional development.

Board members Larry Sykes, Deborah Barnett, and Steven Steel voted against the measure. Board President Darlene Fisher had encouraged the board to hire the group.

Instead the board, which has been criticized for its rancor and arguing, may engage in a free several-week course with the University of Toledo and Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce to have mediation workshops.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Bernard "Pete" Culp, of the community group Committee of the Whole and a member of the Toledo Plan Commission, told the board members they have behaved like children and that has discouraged new businesses and residents from moving to the city.

In other business, the board approved almost $7.9 million for the construction of the new Elmhurst Elementary School and more than $6.6 million for the new Glenwood Elementary. The projects are part of the districtwide construction program that is 77-percent funded by the state. The remaining cost is paid for by the district.