Farmington Public Schools narrowed its superintendent search to five.
The district s board of education will interview the five finalists Wednesday and Thursday. The board will narrow the group from five after Thursday s interviews and conduct a second round of interviews May 11-13.
The school board has previously indicated it would like to install a new superintendent by summer.
Four of the finalists are outsiders to the district, and one is an internal candidate. Two are already working as superintendents, while the others all serve in assistant or deputy roles.
Community members are welcome to attend each interview virtually. Details on how to log on to each interview will be posted on the district s website at farmington.k12.mi.us/Page/2080.
Voters in several Metro Detroit communities will decide Tuesday on more than a half-billion dollars in school bond requests, millage renewals and other local issues. Polls will be open from 7 a.m.-8 p.m.
In Oakland County, the Oak Park school district is asking voters to approve a $54.4 million, 30-year bond issue for construction and remodeling of school facilities, technology equipment and infrastructure, furniture and site improvements. Four district elementary schools Einstein, Key, Lessenger and Pepper would receive mechanical, electrical and plumbing upgrades, for instance.
If the measure passes, the district would not result in an increase of the 5.98 mills the district collects. The owner of a home with a market value of $100,000 would pay about $300 a year. About 4,000 students attend Oak Park schools.
Chuck Robertson has never missed one of his daughters swim meets.
“All of us girls would look up to him in the stands and he’d give us a fist pump before a race, his oldest, Sophia Robertson, said. We’d all give him a fist pump back. He’s the best dad.”
Now, Chuck is in the intensive care unit at at St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Livonia following complications with COVID-19. He s been in the hospital for about 40 days, over half of which has been spent on a ventilator that is doing all of his breathing for him.
Teachers have argued Witt, a trained lawyer, does not have the background or training needed to run a school district. Witt has been with Redford Union since October 2019, at which time he was hired as assistant superintendent of human resources.
Witt did not return a call requesting comment. It s unfortunate, said Steve Losey, the president of the educators union. Elections have consequences and the students, staff and community members will feel those consequences after four elected officials made their choice last night.
According to Losey, attendees wanting to participate in public comment were allowed in the building two at a time but could not watch the open meeting live. The board limited capacity inside its meeting room because of the pandemic.
The Redford Union Education Association, a union made of school employees, has some harsh words for Superintendent Jasen Witt.
An overwhelming 93% of the association voted to say they have no confidence in Witt s leadership. Of the 149 eligible voters, 145 of whom cast ballots, 135 made the no confidence vote.
Steve Losey, the president of the education association and a 26-year teacher in the district, said people will leave if Witt is hired as the next permanent superintendent. Losey said 23 staff, 16 of them teachers, have left the district in the last year.
“They’re going to see people leaving, Losey said. That’s what it comes down to. In the climate we have where there’s a teacher shortage going on, it’s going to be very difficult for them to find teachers.”