Coming off the heels of Monday night’s news that his revised contract was not approved as originally planned, pending further review of the contract by the board’s finance committee, it was announced today that Sandusky Superintendent Paul Flynn is one of four final candidates possibly taking over as superintendent for Croswell-Lexington Schools.
The announcement came a day after a tense school board meeting, where school board hopeful Troy Tank took the floor during public comment, saying he believed that there was “extortion, threats, [and] grooming of board members” by the superintendent to get his way. Flynn’s contract approval being on the agenda alongside the discussion about changing the mascot seemed a bit odd to Tank.
“Why is now the time when our district is in complete and utter turmoil over the most recent issue mishandled by the administration? We now know that this mascot problem was sought and then found by the superintendent himself, as Wilma has explained,” Tank said, referencing Wilma Henderson, who had spoke before him during public comment and had commented directly on the mascot change.
Tank, who says he has been in support of the mascot change for the past few months, went on to address what Flynn was allegedly asking for in the revised contract, such as a pay raise, contract extensions and a performance review condition: “There’s already a part of this contract, where, after three positive evaluations, the superintendent no longer needs to be evaluated. Please explain to me.”
He also pointed to Flynn’s application for the Cros-Lex district top spot as another alleged way the superintendent is influencing decisions in his favor. While it is unknown how much an effect Tank’s comment had on the board, they did decide to revisit the contract after further review by the board’s finance committee.
Also in the running for the Croswell-Lexington position are Michael Domagalski, current principal at East China’s Palm Elementary School; Lisa McDill, current principal of Shelby Junior High in the Utica School District; and Colette Moody, who has been serving as interim superintendent since former superintendent Daniel Gilbertson left at the end of June.
Interviews start on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m., with the public encouraged to attend the interviews.
A second round of interviews is planned for Tuesday, August 23, with the expectation for the board to appoint their choice by September.
