Contention is common for the Grosse Pointe Board of Education (BOE). It certainly was the case with the board’s recent decision to appoint Dr. Roy Bishop as the next superintendent of GPPSS.
It wasn’t so much the BOE’s decision as it was the process. At the Feb. 23 board meeting – the Board held a closed process, rare for a district of Grosse Pointe’s size, withdrawing from its usual process of reviewing applicants and interviewing candidates – and about ten minutes later, in a 5-2 vote, named Bishop to head the school district. The BOE has since been hit with heavy backlash from the community, most significantly from supporters of the two board members who voted in opposition to the process and the initial decision to appoint Bishop as superintendent: Trustees Sean Cotton and Ginny Jeup. Intense criticism also came from the opposing board members themselves.
‘Idiots’ is how Cotton referred to the five majority trustees, adding that they are “ends justify the means’ people” in an interview with The Tower. Additionally, both Jeup and former BOE president Ahmed Ismail posted comments on FaceBook regarding the matter. Ismail wrote that the board’s process had flaws that “even the most casual of school board observers” could notice.
The adversity the board has faced is deeply rooted, but what is different about this appointment process compared to those in the past, and what will come of this controversy as Bishop assumes his new role in the fall?
Previous appointments vs. Bishop’s
According to a November 2023 Grosse Pointe News article titled “GPPSS receives 39 applications for superintendent,” the process for the 2023 superintendent selection is outlined: two days of interviews, plus a second round of interviews for final candidates. All of this went into narrowing down the three-dozen applications for the role and selecting current GPPSS superintendent Dr. Andrea Tuttle (who Bishop will replace on Sept. 1).
The article also referenced the district’s two-dozen applications for the 2021 selection, which ended in former superintendent Jon Dean’s appointment through a similar process.
Additionally, preceding the 2023 superintendent selection, a “Superintendent Search Stakeholder Input” survey was conducted by the GPPSS, intended to gauge the community’s needs for the district going forward. The survey consisted of 12 questions and received nearly 850 responses.
For many in Grosse Pointe, the board’s transition from reviewing forty applications to just one and 850 community survey responses to zero has been a tough pill to swallow, resulting in community backlash. The flame of division has been further stoked by comments from Cotton along with other board members on both sides of the issue.
“I have almost zero respect for these trustees now,” Cotton said. “I lost all respect for them. [Bishop’s appointment] makes zero sense. In an organization like the school board, process matters so much. I mean, it’s a hundred-million-dollar budget. You need discipline, you need organization to run a premier school district – and just throwing out process? You just don’t do it.”
Responding to the criticism, BOE president Clint Derringer stands firmly behind his board’s appointment process. He emphasized his focus on a calculated, smooth communication in the transition between superintendents – a process that Derringer claims would have been shrunk if they had gone through months of interviewing and reviewing applications.
“This is a moment in our district’s history where we have to be 100-percent clear about who we want to be going forward,” Derringer said. “[The transition] enables collaboration, which is key in terms of improving the district where we need to and maintaining its excellence where we’re already really great.”
Bishop unanimously appointed
In the midst of the debate, the result of the March 9 board meeting came as a surprise to GPPSS citizens from both sides on the controversy: The board not only appointed Bishop as superintendent, but did so in a 7-0 unanimous vote. This was especially shocking for those who witnessed the prior meeting, when Cotton and Jeup then voted “no” to schedule Bishop’s nomination, a vote that resulted in Jeup leaving the meeting early.
The reason for this change of heart? Both sides of the board credit Bishop. The superintendent-nominee sent an email to every board member, requesting a private, individual meeting with each trustee. Bishop’s invitations to meet followed Jeup’s motion at the Feb. 23 meeting requesting an interview with Bishop (the motion failed 2-5, with Jeup and Cotton as the only “yes” votes).
“After the board voted on an appointment process to select the next superintendent, I felt it was critical for each board member to get to know me and ask questions they might have at our meeting,” Bishop wrote in an email to the Tower. “It also gave us the opportunity to discuss what motivates us to serve in our respective roles – our ‘why.’”
Each trustee discussed their “why,” along with numerous other goals and expectations for themselves along with Bishop, the board and the district, all of which resulted in the 7-0 vote at the March 9 meeting to officially appoint Bishop.
Looking forward
Bishop is to assume the superintendent position on Sept. 1, 2026, day after Tuttle’s retirement, and he is seemingly fully backed by the board. The turmoil between trustees over his appointment has gone away. As for the bad blood within the board? Not so much.
Cotton has made his respect for Bishop just as clear as his lack thereof for his fellow trustees except for Jeup.
“I’m hopeful that the trustees who never really respected Dr. Tuttle’s decisions will respect [Bishop’s],” Cotton said. “I hope he can help this board support the administration where they just refused to support Dr. Tuttle. I hope he can get them to stop their nonsense.”
Debates have risen at every board meeting, initiated by both the five-trustee majority and the Cotton-Jeup minority. Moreover, Trustees also regularly posted comments throughout March and April on social media debating numerous board issues, including some that have already been settled, such as the Bishop appointment process.
While Bishop’s appointment is just one of the many changes in the district that have resulted in contention, Bishop himself has expressed his fervor to break that cycle. He says his mission is to create a greater sense of unity within GPPSS. When he takes the helm on Sept. 1, his aim is to “work every day to earn the trust” of the community that he – eventually – earned with the board.
“I hope to work with our community to build an environment where we can disagree with civility and keep our focus on what is right for students,” Bishop wrote in his email. “I am ready to continue the work Dr. Tuttle has started. I am ready to listen. And I am ready to lead alongside this board and this community.”
