Politics and payroll problems: Why superintendents are stepping down this week

Payroll problems have forced Portland Public Schools Superintendent Xavier Botana to accelerate his departure from Maine’s largest district. Botana, who has led the system for seven years, resigned Friday, having previously announced he would step down in June 2023.

The district has repeatedly struggled to pay its 1,500-plus employees consistently this fall due to staff turnover, a complex payroll system and a network outage, the district said. “When I became superintendent of the Portland Public Schools in 2016, I said that this was the capstone of my career,” Botana said in a statement. “I never thought that the epitaph on that capstone would be: ‘He couldn’t get people paid on time.’ But I recognize that, as the chief executive officer, I am accountable when things go wrong.”

Botana’s last day will be Jan. 31 unless an interim superintendent is hired before then, the district added. In a statement that Botana read at a special school board meeting on Friday he said he hoped the payroll problems wouldn’t overshadow accomplishments such as providing more funds for underresourced students, diversifying district staff, and “giving voice and place to traditionally underrepresented members of the community.”

The district is now working with a consulting firm to conduct a forensic analysis of its payroll system and recommend improvements. School Board Chair Sarah Lentz said she ran for her position and has enrolled her son in the district “because of the incredible work that I have seen Xavier and this district do over the course of his tenure.”

“Under his leadership, Portland has deeply focused on creating equitable policies and redistributing resources so that all of our students can reach their full potential,” Lenz added. “He has challenged us all to focus on equity and has been a powerful advocate for this work.”

In Wisconsin, the intensifying politicization of education has convinced Arrowhead Union High School District Superintendent Laura Myrah to leave her post after the school year ends, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

“Extraneous influences have forced a drastic change upon the focus of [her] job,” Myrah said in a letter sent to staff, according to the Journal Sentinel. “I am a firm believer that political agendas (in any direction) should not have influence within classrooms and school decisions,” she wrote. “Lately, teachers and administrators are encountering mistrust, disrespect, and a forced shift in our prioritized areas of focus. It is disheartening to observe and experience this.”

The Syracuse City School District in New York on Friday named one of its own graduates, Anthony Davis, its new superintendent. Davis, who has been serving as interim superintendent since July, began his education career as a teaching assistant and special education teacher in the Syracuse City School District. After spending 20 years as an administrator in the Liverpool Central School District, he returned to Syracuse as the assistant superintendent of secondary schools.

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In other superintendent employment news:

• Susan Yom has been named the next superintendent of the Nyack Union Free School District in New York.
• Matthew Mayer will take over as superintendent and business manager of Fox River Grove School District 3 in Illinois on July 1, 2023.
• Superintendent Cheryl Logan will step down from her position at Omaha Public Schools in June.
• Superintendent Shannon Bisgard will resign from Iowa’s Linn-Mar Community School District at the end of the school year, KCRG.com reported.
• Superintendent Andre Spencer will leave his post at Manor ISD in Texas on Dec. 30, according to KXAN.com.
• Superintendent Joel Pedersen is leaving Cardinal Community School District in Iowa for a position with the Central Rivers Area Education Agency, KTVO.com reported.
• Michael Leitera has resigned as superintendent of the Mohawk Area School District in Pennsylvania, according to the New Castle News.