The Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education voted at its Wednesday meeting to cut short a national search for a permanent superintendent, and instead authorized district attorneys to begin negotiations with Interim Superintendent Jazz Parks for the job.
The vote was four in favor and three opposed, with those in favor arguing that Parks, a 16-year district employee, had already shown she was capable of leading the district in the face of a fiscal crisis.
AAPS’ projected fund balance is expected to drop to 2% of district revenues by the end of the fiscal year; the district must submit a financial plan that cuts $25 million from the budget to the state Treasury by April 15.
The crisis has embarrassed, shocked, and angered many people in one of the most affluent and highly educated cities in the state of Michigan. Parents and teachers expressed those feelings during public comments before the board.
Fred Klein, head of the district's teachers' union, blamed the crisis on years of bad decisions by administrators and Board members. He said they ignored a decade of falling student enrollments.
“We've been asking the district to right-size through retirements and resignations and by not filling every vacancy. Had that been done, we would not be where we are today,” he said.
Daniel Crowley is a first-year English Language Arts teacher at Forsythe Middle School.
“Last fall, I listened to a speaker from human resources assure new hires that we'd ‘made it.’ We'd just joined the best district in Michigan. What a joke,” he said.
Several parents asked the district to spare Pittsfield Elementary, a school that serves many lower-income families in Ann Arbor. Yvonna Jenkins said her five year old daughter had just begun school at Pittsfield, and that her daughter feels safe and loved there.
“I feel that another big shakeup in our schools will obliterate enrollment numbers,” she said. “People have lost trust in AAPS. Trust can be regained if this is handled tactfully. We are gravely disappointed and we are afraid for our children, our educators and our community.”
After the public comment period, trustees entered into a lengthy discussion about whether to approve a resolution granting Interim Superintendent Jazz Parks the authority to issue layoff notices to employees, based upon the notice deadline for each classification of employee.
A majority of trustees voted for the resolution to be modified, granting Parks the authority to issue layoff notices to one classification of employees only, with the understanding the board will have to approve layoff notices to the remaining classifications — including teachers — by April 10.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said Jazz Parks has worked with AAPS for 25 years. She has worked with AAPS for 16 years, and 25 years in education.
