Pontiac schools will have new leadership starting Monday. Interim Superintendent Jennifer Dean announced she is stepping down for personal reasons, and the Pontiac Board of Education has named a replacement who is already drawing criticism from the teachers union.
Dean had held the interim post since August. At a special meeting on Wednesday, the board voted unanimously to appoint Dr. Donald Weatherspoon to lead the district on a temporary basis.
Pontiac Education Association President Candice Ridley questioned the choice, noting that Weatherspoon has worked in the district before. "Of all the people in the City of Pontiac that have the credentials, why did they go back to Donald Weatherspoon, who has a history of closing down districts and opening charters?" Ridley said.
Ridley also objected to how the decision was made. She said district staff and the Pontiac community should have been given more input before the appointment. "It seems like this was all done behind closed doors," she said. In her view, decisions made in an open meeting, and the conversations around them, are supposed to be public. According to Ridley, board members announced their decision, voted and left without discussing the selection in any detail.
Weatherspoon's past work with Pontiac schools includes a stint as the district's emergency manager and, at another point, a role as a consultant. Ridley said that history worries educators. "Dr. Weatherspoon, when he was here in the past, has degraded staff, demeaned teachers. He slashed salaries," she alleged.
7 News Detroit contacted Weatherspoon directly, but he declined an interview. Every school board member was also contacted about the selection process, and none responded before deadline. The district declined to comment further and pointed to a letter announcing the change.
That letter, sent to staff and families Thursday, said Dean was leaving for personal reasons. It described Weatherspoon as "no stranger" to Pontiac and stressed that his role would be temporary.
Parents who spoke with 7 News Detroit said they were not aware of the concerns about Weatherspoon's appointment. They did, however, name problems they want the new leadership to tackle, with transportation at the top of the list.
"I'm hoping that some of the issues are going to get solved," said parent April Stokes. She said her son's bus recently arrived two hours late in the morning. "I'm like, are my kids supposed to sit outside the bus stop and wait?" she said.
Earnisha Jackson, who has two children with special needs, also raised transportation concerns. She would like the district to put additional staff on buses to help supervise students. "When it comes to the bussing, it should have more than just the bus driver," Jackson said. "I think it should be a person that's on there watching because you have special needs kids, and all of them are not verbal."
Weatherspoon is scheduled to begin as interim superintendent on Monday.
