2nd interim superintendent leading school district
A second interim superintendent is leading the Bloomfield Hills Schools.
Keith McDonald, assistant superintendent of human resources, became interim leader Jan. 1. He follows Dr. Randy Liepa, an interim superintendent who led the district since Aug. 1.
Initially, Liepa was to serve as interim superintendent until Oct. 30. The Board of Education extended his contract through Dec. 31.
Leipa took over for Pat Watson, who announced his retirement, effective July 31, after several parents and community members called for his termination. Critics said he and other administrators mishandled a controversy over a Palestinian activist who spoke at a diversity assembly.
McDonald will serve as interim superintendent until a permanent superintendent is hired and begins employment.
Liepa mentored McDonald for the five months that Liepa served as interim leader, Board President Meagan Hill said at a meeting Thursday, Jan. 11.
Hill said McDonald was chosen as the new interim leader because of his expertise in human resources and legal school business matters.
McDonald came to the district in 2021. Before that, he served 20 years as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and director of human resources in the Livonia Public Schools, according to a post on the Bloomfield Hills Schools website.
McDonald holds degrees from Wayne State University (educational specialist in general administration and supervision), Marygrove College (master’s in the art of teaching), and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (bachelor of science with majors in general science and physical education).
He has also been an adjunct professor at Madonna University in Livonia, teaching courses on educational leadership.
After Watson announced his retirement, the board hired a search firm, Michigan Leadership Institute, to assist in the selection of a new superintendent.
The district posted the position and received 26 applications. The board interviewed five candidates last summer
The board selected two for second interviews: Dr. Ernesto Matias, former chief education officer of the Illinois State Board of Education, and Dr. Roy Bishop, deputy superintendent for educational services in the Grosse Pointe Public School System.
Several board members said they didn’t want to hold the second interviews or community forums where people could meet the candidates during the summer, when many staff members, parents, students and other stakeholders are on vacation.
The board planned to wait until September to hold the second interviews, but Matias and Bishop withdrew from consideration.
The board decided at a meeting Aug. 10 to conduct a targeted search, rather than reposting the position, at the suggestion of John Silveri, MLI president.