Organizers and members of the Community Leadership Coalition in Education in Ohio say there is no time to let up on ending state control of school districts. 
 
Valley stakeholders asking for a call to action by teachers and parents in Youngstown, Lorian, East Cleveland, and across Ohio so that state control can never happen to another school district.
 
The Youngstown, East Cleveland, and Lorain school districts and community leaders say the state takeover of their districts has been a disaster.
 
"The unaccountability, the lack of transparency those are issues detrimental to our district. We are looking at a deficit. There have been some financial issues spending ESSER funds and we are looking at a deficit for the district this fall, and the district will probably have to look at a levy, there are some concerns," Community Leadership Coalition in Education founder Pastor Kenneth Simon said.
 
ESSER funds are federal tax dollars. 
 
The unions for those schools say districts under state control ended up with more administrators being hired and receiving hefty salaries and raises. 
 
"State rule and takeovers have been complete utter failures and disasters for the most part. I personally think the district is in worse shape than before the takeover," Youngstown Education Association President Eric Teutsch said.
 
"More and more money is not spent in the classrooms. That's our reality. Five million was being spent on the equipment we were told didn't exist, and contracts were being canceled. We were lied to our faces," Former Youngstown School Board Member Ronald Shadd said. 
 
All three districts say they are busy undoing the damage opponents say was created by state takeovers.
 
There is now a path to ending state control by reaching benchmarks but Youngstown School Board Member Brenda Kimble says although teachers are desperately working to educate students, some benchmark targets will not be met this year.
 
"There isn't any real accountability in Youngstown City Schools and a lack of transparency. I would ask this community and teachers to continue to advocate for adult education programs. The missing funding of CARES ACT funding should have never happened. It was targeted for Adult Ed and was used for secondary education," School Board Member Brenda Kimble said.
 
Kimble revealed that some benchmarks are being met in Youngstown but several are not in spite of teachers working desperately to teach students.
 
"Our future is in our hands but slipping through our fingers. ... People who stand up need to be supported in the next election," added Shadd.
 
State Representative Lauren McNally explained there is a line item in a budget bill that could effectively end forced take over's of schools in academic distress. 
 
"One of the policy changes that is in House Bill 33 Essentially dissolves the State Academic Distress Commission, finally. We know this model doesn't work," Representative McNally said.
 
She and the coalition are encouraging educators, parents, and community members to pick up their phones and call their senators and make sure they keep the language in the bill to end the Economic Distress Commission for good.
 
Then after that passes the Senate calls Ohio's governor to ask him to leave that line item in the bill.