Five former presidents of the Manitowoc Board of Education are urging the current board to conduct a “full, open, and transparent national search for our new superintendent.” In a news release delivered to Seehafer Broadcasting Monday, the group including Michael Herrity, Linda Gratz, Keith Shaw, Dave Longmeyer and Dave Nickels said “The most important job for a Board of Education is to hire a superintendent to lead the school district”.
Last spring, when the former superintendent Mark Holzman left, there was too little time left to run a meaningful search for a replacement, so the MPSD Board chose to hire an interim person James Feil to fill the position for one year. It was announced they would use the time to do a full national search with appropriate input from staff and the public.
The news release stated, “It now appears that board members have changed their minds and are preparing to make the interim hire, permanent”. It goes on to say, This decision has been made with little or no discussion at open meetings and little or no public or staff input. The five former school board leaders stated “It is crucial that the board conduct an open, transparent search for the district superintendent and that it includes active participation of all stakeholders including teachers, staff, administrators, students, parents, and community leaders. Therefore, we former MPSD Board presidents want to urge the Board of Education to slow down the present process and allow for a national search for a new superintendent.”
