After former superintendent Dr. Jon Dean stepped down in late August, the search for a replacement begins. This comes at a time when school is in session, teacher resignations progress, and a school board member has resigned.
In an August press release, the district stated Chris Fenton would take the position of interim superintendent until a new superintendent is named to lead the district. The process of hiring a new superintendent is a 12-14 week procedure that includes hiring a search company, postings, and interviews.
“One of my biggest goals is we have to balance our budget with declining enrollment,’’ Fenton said. ‘‘It’s a big process. We have targets we have to meet and we want to keep our fund equity at a reasonable level as we search for a permanent superintendent.”
During the Sept. 12 board meeting, it was announced the district would use the MASB (Michigan Association of School Boards) committee to find a new superintendent. MASB was chosen out of the several companies that the three-person subcommittee examined, consisting of Trustees Worden, Pappas, and Cotton.
‘‘I am only being (interim superintendent) to help out the district until they get a full time person,’’ Fenton said. “I have no desire to be a full time superintendent. I have no desire to be a board member. I want to help the district and get through the next few months until they can get somebody in here.’’
Students across the district have been concerned about the state of the school system with no superintendent while school is in session. Helena Moore ’25 has been a GP schools student throughout her entire education and is deeply concerned about how the district will handle the process of picking a superintendent.
‘‘I hope the next superintendent is well rounded in the finance section of schools,” Moore said. “I hope the next person has a good idea of what school is really for and does not take any political sides. I think they should just stick with what is best for the kids in the long run.’’
Picking a new superintendent is arguably the most important and impactful thing a school board can do according to English teacher Kevin Cox.
‘‘(The search) is very expensive ,” Cox said. “We need someone who is not a ‘yes’ person, as in nodding with whatever someone wants, but we need someone who is willing to look at the data and is going to help us consider how to move forward as a district.’’
Over the past few months many administrators have resigned, including: Rebbeca Fannon, the district’s Head of Communications, Daniel Hartley, Director of Secondary Instruction, Stefanie Hayes, Director of Student Services and Amanda Matheson, Deputy Superintendent of Business Services.
‘‘I think (the resignations are) a wake up call to a lot of people, and it just helps us consider that if you want to recruit and retain good people we have to treat them with respect,’’ Cox said. ‘‘We must consider their expertise and [staff] are not just widgets in a machine.’’
