SUPERINTENDENT OUT OF CONTENTION TO LEAD COLUMBUS SCHOOLS
The interim superintendent is now the lone finalist for the top job at the Columbus City Schools, but no action was taken to remove the “interim” from that title at a special Wednesday night school board meeting.
Akron Superintendent David James, after what he said was a “great deal of soul searching,” removed himself from contention for the position on Wednesday, leaving only Columbus interim superintendent John Stanford in the running.
James posted a letter on the Akron Public Schools website Wednesday letting the community know about his decision.
“Many of our wonderful families, employees, stakeholders, business partners and my senior staff graciously told me they value my leadership,” James wrote. “They feel Akron Public Schools is in good hands and would remain so if l were to stay ....
“I want to thank the people at the Columbus schools for their kind consideration, but my heart and I will remain in Akron.”
So, is Stanford the one? The board, which learned of James’ decision not long before a special meeting called to talk about budget cuts, didn’t have an immediate answer about the next step in the hiring process.
“We’re going into an executive session to discuss it right now,” board President Gary Baker said.
“They were surprised by today’s news from Akron,” district spokesman Scott Varner said of the board.
On Feb. 12, the board settled on three finalists for second interviews, James, Stanford and Keith Bell, a former Columbus deputy superintendent. The board removed Bell from consideration on Feb. 21.
The purpose of Wednesday’s special meeting was to discuss walking back some of the proposed budget cuts, including layoffs, that the board had been considering in the wake of state funding that was substantially less than the district had projected. Top administratorsoutlined their recommendations one by one.
“Our team really took to heart and mind the input and insight provided by all who came to our four community forums across the city and offered their comments online and by email,” Stanford said.
Instead of eliminating 163 jobs as part of $21.5 million in spending cuts for each of the next five years, the new proposal is to eliminate 61 full-time positions and cut the budget about $18 million annually. The administrators recommended in part to keep eight internship coordinators, eight teachers at Columbus Downtown High School, 15 other high school teachers, two resource counselors (elementary and middle school) and five teachers who serve on special assignment.