Ann Arbor school board faces tough task of finding a new superintendent to replace Roberts

Todd Roberts is shown at a June 2006 school board meeting after being hired as superintendent. In the background is George Fornero, who was attending his last meeting as superintendent.

File photo | AnnArbor.com

Four years later, as Roberts prepares to leave the district to take a job in North Carolina, the outlook isn’t so bleak.

Roberts announced his resignation from his $188,000 per year job on Friday, saying he would stay through fall while a replacement is sought. He starts as chancellor of the North Carolina School of Science and Math in Durham on Dec. 1.

"This decision is about our family," he said in a telephone interview Friday afternoon. "My parents and wife's parents live in North Carolina. They have had health issues in the past year. This is a good time to get to help out. We started having discussions about moving back, but this happened a little quicker than we anticipated, but when you do what I do, there's not that many opportunities."

Roberts’ departure comes as a surprise, but many of those inside the district feel the district has been stabilized under his leadership and is driving forward with a clear strategic plan.

That’s why Roberts thinks whomever takes over for him sometime this fall, despite facing tough financial times, will be walking into a good opportunity.

Who that person ends up being is dependent on a series of choices the seven school board members will make over the coming months.

The first decision is one of the hardest.

Board members have to decide if they want to hire an interim superintendent to run the district for several months and conduct a search for a full-time superintendent later in the year or if they want to go after a permanent superintendent right away and hope to get that person in place before Roberts leaves around Thanksgiving time.

It’s debate the board has had before. When Fornero announced he was leaving, and then a short time later announced Skyline High School was over budget and behind schedule, board members discussed letting him go early and hiring an interim during the search process. Even as the search process began, there were discussions about hiring an interim.

That’s when then board member Randy Friedman began introducing Roberts, who was then an assistant superintendent in Birmingham, to board members. Roberts marched through the interview process and won enough board support to become the permanent superintendent.

It’s not a given the board - which has four members who went through that search - will come out the same way this time.

“Right now, I could argue both ways,” said new board member Christine Stead.

Board President Deb Mexicotte said she favors appointing an interim.

“Speaking just as Deb Mexicotte (and not the spokeswoman for the board), my guess is that it’s better to wait until the first of the year to start a search for a permanent superintendent.

“This is the time of year when nobody is able to move comfortably.”

Mexicotte said she’s also leery of stealing a superintendent away from another school district just as the school year begins.

“One of the concerns is Dr. Roberts. He was been very considerate in saying he will stay to help with the transition. If we can be considerate to him, and let him get settled (in North Carolina) a little early, that would be considerate.

“Dr. Roberts has put us in an excellent position to move forward seamlessly. This (administrative) team has been together so well. He left us in the best possible shape.

“When I think about where we were when we handed him the keys four years ago… we are a better district in every aspect.”

Board member Glenn Nelson, who is the longest serving member of the current board, has had to be involved in replacing superintendents a few times, including in the early 2000s, when Rossi Ray Taylor was pushed out by board members and Fornero became the interim superintendent before getting the position on a full-time basis.

He said he wants to listen to what experts from various firms that conduct superintendent searches tell him about which option is best.

“I am willing to take some time to get that great candidate,” he said. “I want the option that will get us the best person.”

Richard Dunham, the director of superintendent search for the Michigan Association of School Boards is likely to be one of the experts connected.

“Typically, my answer is that you only need one quality candidate,” he said. “I’m sure a school district like Ann Arbor will attract a number of candidates from a national search.”

As far as candidates from in state, that might be a little dicier.

“The candidate pool, as far as experienced superintendents moving from one job to another job, is not as strong as it was in the past,” he said, adding that’s not to say there aren’t good candidates among assistant superintendents or building administrators looking to step up.

“Many times, school boards like Ann Arbor, like to hire experienced candidates.”

There are also open superintendent positions in districts such as Walled Lake, Clarkston, Waterford and Novi, he said.

Parent Kimmie Washington, who has two elementary daughters in the district, said she hopes the board takes their time.

“I hate to rush to find someone who might not be the best person. Why not bring in someone like a retired superintendent to keep things running smoothly and then take all the time you need to figure out exactly what is needed in the next one? That’s what makes sense to me.”

Those decisions will start to be made on Wednesday night. Mexicotte said the board will use an already scheduled meeting to discuss the course of action.

David Jesse covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at davidjesse@annarbor.com or at 734-623-2534.