COLUMBUS, Ohio - Lawyers for the Youngstown City Schools are trying to stop a ticking clock that is counting down to what could be the final days of the school system as we know it.

At the same time, the state is trying to stop the lawsuit filed by the Youngstown Board of Education against House Bill 70.

Attorneys for the Youngstown Board of Education filed a memorandum and a list of witnesses they say will be called to support the board’s request for a preliminary injunction to stop the implementation of House Bill 70 that is set to take effect on October 15.

Now the lawyer representing the State of Ohio has filed a motion to dismiss the local school board's complaint.

House Bill 70, signed into law by Governor John Kasich, would pave the way for the appointment of a Chief Executive Officer who would have sweeping decision making powers over the failing schools, including the authority to assign employees to schools and approve transfers, hire new employees, establish employee compensation, allocate teacher class loads, and define employee responsibilities and job descriptions.

In arguing for the injunction, school board attorneys say that the failure of lawmakers to give anyone an opportunity to argue the policy merits of H.B. 70 before it was enacted into law is at the heart of their lawsuit.

Attorney Ted Roberts says the sixty-seven page amendment that included a drastic overhaul of academic distress commissions was developed in secret, then introduced into the legislature and passed the same day.

Roberts says the process was carried out in such a way as to prevent any debate, and failed to go through three readings on separate days as required by rules of the House and Senate.

Attorneys for the State of Ohio counter by accusing the school board of using the courts to re-argue the merits of H.B. 70 that were already debated in the General Assembly.

Lawyer Douglas Cole in his opposition to the motion for an injunction writes, “Unhappy with the result, Plaintiffs are now left only to grasp at misplaced constitutional arguments.”

Attorney Cole filed a motion to dismiss the board's complaint saying that the school's lawsuit has failed to present sufficient facts that would indicate that any laws have been broken that would entitle the schools to a legal remedy. 

In addition to questioning the legislative process that produced H.B. 70, the school board says the law takes away the constitutional right of voters in the school district to determine the number of members and organization of the district’s board of education.

Attorney Roberts has submitted a list of eleven witnesses he intends to call when he argues for the injunction.

Four legislators are on the list, including State Senator Joe Schiavoni who will testify that he had no notice of the amendments to H.B. 70 until less than 24 hours before passage.

Representative Denise Driehaus will be called as the author of the original H.B. 70 who voted against its passage because the amendments altered its provisions.

Teachers, school administrators and union representatives are on the witness list.  Ohio Federation of Teachers President Melissa Cropper would be called on to tell the court that she favored H.B. 70 but was prohibited from testifying against the amended version.

Attorney Roberts also intends to question some witnesses about their involvement in the amendment process including Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber President Tom Humphries and Senator Peggy Lehner.

Director of Public Liaison for Gov. Kasich, Mearl Madrid is also on the witness list. However, he has filed a motion to quash the subpoena, arguing that it not designed to provide any relevant information about the case.

The attorney representing the state says that H.B. 70 reflects legislative efforts to improve performance in failing primary and secondary schools, and the amendments merely change the mechanism for accomplishing those improvements.

The next time the attorneys for both sides meet with the judge to discuss the case will be during a status conference call over the phone on Monday afternoon.

That phone conference comes one day before an evidentiary hearing is scheduled in the courtroom of Judge Jenifer French.