The charge that Toledo Public Schools will establish a “lesser standard” for hiring African-American teachers made by the president of the teachers union is false, district officials said yesterday.

“Even suggesting that management would consider different standards for African-Americans is insulting,” said Anita Lopez, a member of the board of education who is chairman of its human resources committee.

“[The] comments have insulted the entire city, especially all of its African-Americans,” board Vice President Larry Sykes said.

Francine Lawrence, president of the Toledo Federation of Teachers, wrote to her members that the district “is about to establish one set of performance standards for Hispanics and whites and a lesser standard for African-Americans” in a program for evaluating and hiring or renewing first-year teachers.

She told The Blade yesterday that she sent the letter to 3,100 members after learning someone in the district s administration had asked that a teacher be renewed who was not going to be recommended for hiring.

The teacher is African-American, she said, and her “interpretation” was that the district wanted to have different hiring criteria for minorities.

“Once you make an exception, you either have to lower the standards for everyone or have no standards,” Mrs. Lawrence said.

First-year teachers in the district are part of the intern consulting program. Experienced teachers - consultants - observe them teach and evaluate them. The consultants then make recommendations to the district s intern board of review, which recommends either hiring the teachers or not renewing them.

The intern board of review s five teacher and four administrative members must vote 6-3 to overturn an intern consultant recommendation, said Sheila Austin, the district s chief of staff who is co-chairman of the intern board of review.

“I ve read the letter,” she said. “That has not been part of the intern board discussion,” she said. “It s not uncommon for the intern board of review not to support a recommendation from the consultant.”

The program, dubbed the Toledo Plan, has received national awards. But during last year s levy renewal campaign, the Urban Coalition set as one of its conditions for support of the levy the elimination of the intern program.

One of its members, Gloria Sturdivant, sued the district when she was not renewed after teaching fifth grade at King Elementary School during the 2001-2002 academic year.

Last summer, Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Charles Wittenberg ordered the district to reconsider the intern board of review s nonrenewal of Mrs. Sturdivant.

The district appealed the ruling to the Ohio 6th District Court of Appeals. Mrs. Sturdivant did not return a telephone call yesterday seeking comment.

Flute Rice, president of the Urban Coalition, said Mrs. Lawrence s comment misrepresented the group s issue with the program.

“We re not saying lower the standards to hire African-American teachers,” he said. “We just said that you need to set up some type of recruiting program where you can get more African-American teachers involved in the system.”

According to district records, 11 percent of the district s teachers last year were African-American, while 87 percent were white, 2 percent Hispanic, and 1 percent other.

Mrs. Lawrence said the coalition s public complaints and the board members statements that they want to review the program contributed to her writing the statement in her letter.

“There have been comments in various settings over the last year by board members - some board members - and management people that are interpreted to mean a review of the program and specifically in regard to nonrenewals. That s the way it s interpreted,” Mrs. Lawrence said.

The letter also discussed issues in ongoing contract negotiations.

First Published February 5, 2004, 12:27 p.m.