Outgoing schools chief Joshua Starr said Tuesday that he’s disappointed that he won’t be offered a new contract, but he “respects that the [school] board has the right to choose” its leader.
“While I’m not happy certainly with the way things turned out, at the same time, it is absolutely the board’s authority to move in the direction of the way they see fit,” Starr said in a news conference shortly after it was announced that he would resign effective Feb. 16. “… No superintendent is bigger than the system that he or she leads, and I understand and respect this board’s decision and desire to have a different leader and a different direction.”
Starr said his efforts as superintendent have been “getting results,” citing data released last week showing an increase in the graduation rate. “I’m proud that our graduation rate has risen each year I’ve been here and the achievement gap has narrowed for all subgroups,” he said.
Starr said he doesn’t thinking there was a “major mistake” that tripped him up. “As a leader one always reflects on what went well, what didn’t go well, there’s nothing frankly that I thought, ‘oh man, that was a major mistake,’” he said. “I will think deeply about what I could have done otherwise.”
Pressed repeatedly by reporters on whether the school board gave him a reason for not offering a new contract, Starr did not answer the questions directly. “We believe my resignation is an indication that I want the board to have the leader that will lead them to the next level,” he said.
School board President Patricia O’Neill told reporters after the meeting that “We’re going to be changing quarterbacks.
“On Sunday while I was talking with Dr. Starr and my colleagues, many of you were probably preparing for a Super Bowl Party,” she said. “I was preparing for this day.”
O’Neill said that while she supported giving Starr a second term, “[t]here are eight individuals on the board with eight different thoughts, opinions, using their own instincts in evaluating the system.”
Starr and the school board Tuesday morning announced they have a reached an agreement under which Starr will resign. It was first reported last week that he lacked the votes on the school board to be reappointed.
