The abrupt departure of Superintendent Heather Wallace from the Apache Junction Unified School District in Arizona may be backfiring on the school board members who appear to have forced her out, according to local reports.
Upset residents who view Wallace’s dismissal as politically driven say they are planning to launch recall campaigns against the three Republican-backed school board members who voted against her, 12News.com reported. “Heather was pushed and bullied and gaslit until she couldn’t take it anymore,” school board member Bobby Bauders, a supporter of Wallace’s, said on Monday. “They’re going to say this was a mutual decision. It was not.”
Wallace was not even two years into the job, having taken over as superintendent in July 2021. But she had worked in Apache Junction USD for more than 20 years as a teacher, librarian, principal and curriculum director.
School board president Dena Kimble wrote in a letter to the community that Wallace and the board decided to part ways after determining their visions for the district had diverged.
Superintendent hiring hiccups?
The school board for Memphis-Shelby County Schools suddenly halted its months-long search for a new superintendent after members were not satisfied with the three finalists recommended by the district’s recruiting firm, Hazard, Young, Attea, and Associates. Rather than picking a new leader, the Tennessee district’s board has demanded to see the full list of all 34 applicants.
The firm picked Brenda Cassellius, the former superintendent of Boston Public Schools and former Minnesota commissioner of education; Madison Metropolitan School District Superintendent Carlton Jenkins; and Memphis-Shelby County interim superintendent Toni Williams as finalists. “Our board had some concerns with the finalists who were proposed by HYA and its process for selection, so we are taking a step back,” school board chair Althea Greene wrote on the district’s website. “While we believe all of the proposed finalists are viable, we must have a level of confidence that they are truly the best for this critical role.”
In Georgia, there has been an unusual intercession by a state official into a district’s pick for its new leader. Devon Horton was recently named as the next superintendent of the DeKalb County School District but State School Superintendent Richard Woods is now urging the school board to change course and keep interim superintendent Vasanne Tinsley in place, WSBTV.com reported.
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“In her brief tenure as interim superintendent, Dr. Vasanne Tinsley has been responsive and has produced results for DeKalb County Schools. She’s worked hard to form a partnership with my office and repair relationships with the DeKalb County community,” Woods wrote to the district in a letter obtained by WSBTV.com.
The district has yet to hold a final vote on a contract for Horton, who is currently superintendent of Evanston/Skokie School District 65 in Illinois.
And in an ongoing hiring saga in Massachusetts, the Easthampton Public School District board has failed in its second attempt to hire a superintendent. Erica Faginski-Stark was chosen to lead the district after the school board withdrew its offer to its initial pick, Vito Perrone, over an email board members found offensive. Late last week, Faginski-Stark withdrew her name from consideration after learning students had complained about her candidacy, the Daily Hampshire Gazette reported.
More superintendent shifts
Rubén Carmona has been chosen as the next superintendent of Somerville Public Schools. Carmona. Carmona, who will take over in July, is now the executive director of family, community and employee engagement in nearby Salem Public Schools and was previously a principal in Salem and Lowell and a bilingual education teacher.
In other comings and goings at the top of K12 leadership:
Hires:
- Scott Rowe, High School District 214 in Illinois. Rowe is currently the superintendent of Huntley Community School District 158.
- Christopher J. Rateno, Riverside Local Schools in Ohio.
- Henry Sharp, an elementary school principal, is replacing Kathie Thompson as superintendent of Detroit ISD, EastTexasRadio.com reported.
Departures:
- Mark Anglin, Bloomington ISD in Texas.
- Chris Bauman, superintendent of the Ozark School District in Missouri.
- Joel Boyd, Lowell Public Schools in Massachusetts.
- Alan Fegley, Phoenixville Area School District in Pennsylvania (according to Patch.com.)
- Harry Piles, Natalia ISD in Texas.
