Embattled superintendent to resign Friday
Superintendent Glenn “Max” McGee is calling it quits Friday amid public outrage over the school district’s questionable budget decisions and handling of sexual assault cases.
The announcement, which came Tuesday night in the form of a terse three-paragraph news release, follows closed-door meetings by the board of education to re-evaluate McGee’s performance.
McGee has been under fire for fiscal flubs, most recently when the district missed a deadline to notify two employee unions of its intent to renegotiate 3 percent pay raises that were set to kick in this fiscal year. Because of that oversight, the district now is on the hook for the raises and must come up with $4.4 million to pay for them, plus possibly more for employee bonuses.
Trustee Todd Collins, who along with trustee Ken Dauber asked for McGee’s ouster following the closed-door meetings, said the notification error was a “significant failure in management.”
In May, the board announced it would continue its performance reviews of McGee with help from the San Francisco law firm of Cozen O’Connor, which was tasked with gathering information on how sexual assault complaints at Palo Alto High were handled by school officials.
Some parents have called on McGee to resign because of his handling of those complaints
and failure to alert parents to potential safety threats related to the assaults. They say McGee should have notified the school community last October that a then-14year-old student reported a sexual assault on the campus.
They welcomed the superintendent’s early exit.
“We’re not surprised given the level of mismanagement and lack of compliance that we read about in the Cozen report,” said parent Kathy Jordan.
She also blamed the multimillion-dollar goof on employee raises on McGee. Jordan filed a complaint about the district’s handling of the sexual assault cases with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Civil Rights, which has ongoing oversight of the district.
After McGee, she said parents will continue pressing for the ouster of more administrators who she said failed to protect students. “They must go as well,” Jordan said.
Tuesday’s news release made no mention of those issues or addressed why McGee decided to resign now instead of when his contract expires at the end of the 2017-18 school year, as he previously announced he would.
Instead, McGee said he was thankful for the opportunity to “lead and serve this phenomenal district.”
“Blessed with a supportive community, a dedicated Board of Education, an extraordinarily capable and caring staff, and above all a student body that exemplifies excellence in character and achievement, I leave Palo Alto knowing that the district will continue to thrive,” he said, “and I stand ready to provide whatever support is needed during the transition.”
As superintendent of PAUSD, McGee initially drew a paycheck of $295,000. The district will pay him six months of salary and provide medical benefits through Dec. 31. It will take the title of a Palo Alto home he purchased two years ago with a $1.46 million zero-interest loan from the district, and on which he has made no monthly payments.
In an interview with this news organization last month, in response to the most recent budgetary blunder, McGee said he still planned to finish out the year. He also said part of the job of a superintendent is making important decisions and living with the consequences.
“I’m the type of person that enjoys solving big problems and taking on big challenges, that’s the way I was brought up, and I hope I set a good example for folks in the district and for future leaders as well,” he said.
But it appears that news of the costly blunder on employee salaries, first reported by the Palo Alto Weekly, and McGee’s initial response calling it a “misinterpretation” may have soured school board members on their personable superintendent.
The board of education voted to accept McGee’s resignation in a closed session meeting Tuesday afternoon. McGee did not respond to requests for comment.
Board President Terry Godfrey said she could not explain why McGee tendered his resignation. But she praised the superintendent.
“I’ve enjoyed working with Dr. McGee. He’s really got a vibrancy and optimism that’s hard to match,” she said.
McGee has spent more than four decades in the education field and held several positions including Illinois superintendent of education. He also served as superintendent of three K-8 school districts in the state and oversaw the Princeton International School of Mathematics and Science, a global high school collaborative startup for teaching, learning and research in New Jersey, before joining the Palo Alto Unified School District in 2014.
The search for a new superintendent will begin immediately, Godfrey said in the news release, and the board was scheduled to discuss appointing an interim leader in a closed-door meeting Wednesday night.
Godfrey, for her part, thanked McGee for his service.
“We thank Dr. McGee for his years of hard work and for his many contributions to our district,” Godfrey said in the news release. “His optimism, vision and vibrancy along with the innovative programs and practices he brought to our district will be a lasting legacy.”