Northville School Board Picks Gallagher for Superintendent Job

In a 4-3 vote, the Northville school board agreed to promote Mary Kay Gallagher to the superintendent post Wednesday night.

President Marilyn Price, Ken Roth, Karen Paciorek and Libby Smith voted in support of Gallagher, who is the assistant superintendent of instruction for Northville Public Schools. Vice President Joan Wadsworth, Joe Hige and Dottie Garrity backed candidate Shawn Lewis-Lakin, who is the superintendent of Manchester Community Schools in Washtenaw County.

Each board member spoke before the vote at . And each reiterated two points – that both candidates come highly qualified and that it was a difficult decision. The finalists were vying to replace longtime superintendent .

Reasoning behind the votes

Wadsworth kicked off the board comments by prefacing her vote for Lewis-Lakin with her thoughts on Gallagher, saying, "I think she has really done a great job of bringing people together."

She added, before casting her vote, "Shawn Lewis-Lakin impressed me with his ability to communicate effectively…he has studied the district and came with insightful comments."

Trustee Roth said, "Mr. Lewis-Lakin is clearly a very smart individual who has done a phenomenal job raising the academic level in Manchester." Ultimately, though, he voted for Gallagher because of what he described as her familiarity and successes with the district.

Libby Smith followed saying of the candidates, "they both bring different aspects to the district that are critical."

She went on to describe tough times ahead for the incoming superintendent, hinting at the district's $1.4 million deficit. "This district is going to change and some of it's going to be forced because of finances," Smith said, before stating she'd vote for Gallagher.

Outgoing board member Karen Paciorek choose to speak to the future. She said there will inevitably be change in the years to come, but that it can be eased by picking an internal candidate who knows "Northville's story."

Lastly, Hige commented on why he preferred Lewis-Lakin.

"I look at things very business-like," he said. "Both candidates in person and on paper stack up well. Both could do the job…but we need to be pushed with outside perspective."

"When I close my eyes and envision the superintendent of Northville Public Schools and I see that person in front of the legislature, with parents," and other education stakeholders, he said, "the person I see is Shawn Lewis-Lakin."

Neither of the candidates were present for the vote and discussion on Wednesday. They were phoned by Price immediately after the meeting concluded and a listserv message was sent to announce the selection of Gallagher.

The candidates react to the results

Gallagher said in an email statement to Northville Patch: "I am honored to be selected to serve as Superintendent of Northville Public Schools, and look forward to working together with Dr. Rezmierski and the Board of Education to thoughtfully and intentionally plan for the transition in leadership over the course of the next six months."

"I also look forward to continuing Northville's deep commitment to student learning, a strong continuous improvement process, and stakeholder involvement and support.  These are tremendous strengths that are worth holding on to as we focus on preserving excellence and look to a future beyond these challenging budgetary times."

Gallagher came to the Northville district as an early childhood program coordinator in 1985.  She became principal of before moving into her current role. Before taking the top job in Manchester, Lewis-Lakin worked in the Monroe and Chelsea school districts. He is also an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church.

He said in an email statement to Northville Patch following the vote: "I am grateful for the board's consideration of my candidacy and I appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the Northville schools and community.  I wish Ms. Gallagher and the Northville school board all the best as they continue to work together to serve students and address the very significant challenges facing the Northville district."

The process

In late November, the board announced it had narrowed its search to five candidates with the help of Ossinke-based Michigan Leadership Institute, the firm conducting the search.

In addition to the two finalists considered Wednesday night, the board interviewed Catherine Cost of the Farmington Public Schools and William DeFrance, superintendent of Eaton Rapids Public Schools in the Lansing area. They also had another candidate from Georgia selected for the interview process but, as was previously reported, he could not make it to the interview and was ultimately not considered.

After the last interview on Dec. 1, the school board stuck around to select its two finalists.

Originally the Wednesday night vote was scheduled for last week. Hige had a family medical emergency and could not attend. Though he indicated the board should continue the vote without him, there was a strong push from Wadsworth to postpone the vote. In a 4-2 vote, the board rescheduled the vote for a second meeting.

Most of the meetings, including the final vote meeting, had a light attendance. Most, if not nearly all, in the Thursday night audience were faculty from throughout the district with very few parents present.

"We had plenty of opportunities for community members to be involved," Price said. "I appreciate the folks that did attend and appreciate their involvement."

The comments on the Northville Patch website, Facebook and Twitter reflected a variety of opinions – some in support of an internal hire and some angered by it.

A Patch user, identified as Patrick J. Oneil was critical of the vote, "I am appalled at the the board's choice for superintendent. No classroom, secondary or state level experience."

On the Northville Patch Facebook page, Tanya Juarez Lundberg wrote, "I'm happy with the move. Wish it wasn't a split but I'm confident she'll win them all over in the end."

What's next

Now that the board has selected Gallagher, the board will begin negotiating a 3-year contract, in accordance with its second vote Wednesday night, which passed unanimously. The resolution stated that the board will "give its complete support to Mary Kay Gallagher."

Trustee Hige said that while the board has no specific range decided on for the contract amount, it will be "a competitive range."

Trustee Roth said that he expects that they'll begin within the first few weeks of January.

Gallagher's contract will begin July 1, 2011 as Rezmierski's will end on June 30, 2011.