At a special meeting held Monday night, the Oxford School Board decided to hold off on voting on the appointment of Tim Throne as superintendent until the new board is seated in January, due to the wishes of Throne and further reflection of board members.
Following the chaotic meeting where Throne sat awkwardly silent (see story below), he issued this statement to the board the next day.
‘After reflecting upon what transpired last night at the board meeting, I believe any action taken on appointing a new superintendent must occur after the first of the year,? Throne wrote in an e-mail. ‘Therefore, it is my recommendation that you still meet Monday night, however, use this time to start crafting how you all would like to do your next (superintendent) search for Oxford Community Schools.? This is what is best for Oxford.?
It may have appeared at the Dec. 10 meeting that there was a need to immediately appoint Throne as superintendent prior to new board members being seated Jan. 1 because Throne was allegedly being ‘sought out? by two other districts ? Romeo Community Schools and Traverse City Area Public Schools.
However, there is no need to rush as both districts hired Michigan Leadership Institute to assist their boards with their selection process and are only in the beginning stages.
According to current Chris Giancarli, vice president for the Romeo School Board, their decision on a new superintendent won’t happen until next year when a new board is seated.
‘The timeline for that decision will happen around March or April, so it will be the board members that are in place at that time,? Giancarli told this reporter.
Representatives of the Michigan Leadership Institute spent the day in Romeo on Dec. 9 seeking input from all stakeholders across the district.
According to a Dec. 9 newspaper story from the Traverse City Record Eagle the Traverse City school district ‘won’t start the hiring process for a permanent superintendent until new board members are seated in 2015.?
Throne also pointed out that neither district has ‘sought? him out, but instead, it was he who checked into the possible position of superintendent at the other two districts.
‘The Traverse City superintendent retired at the end of last year, so I knew this job was going to be coming open since last May,? Throne said. ‘Within the last six months, it became apparent that job (at Romeo) was going to be open and that may be an opportunity.?
Part of his looking elsewhere, explained Throne, was because didn’t know how long Superintendent Dr. William Skilling would be around and if he saw an opportunity that was the ‘right fit at the right time,? he wanted to be able to jump on it.
‘I didn’t know how long Bill was going to stick around. If he was truly looking to stay a couple more years, my two years is up, I promised my older son I would not move when he was still in high school. Well, he graduated (last year) and I got two kids in middle school,? he said. ‘If I was personally going to make a move, now is the time to make a move before my kids get into high school. Once they get into the high school, I don’t want to move them.?
However, Throne noted that he doesn’t want to paint the picture that he is a ‘lock? for either district, whether it be Romeo or Traverse City.
‘Because I’m not (a lock). One is just accepting applications and one’s about ready to,? he said. ‘They are months yet of everything they have to go through and there are so many things that can happen. I could find something out tomorrow and say withdraw my application. This isn’t good. I don’t want to do this.?
While his heart’s desire, he said, is to serve Oxford, but that is no guarantee.
‘I don’t want to give the impression that I’m not loyal to Oxford,? Throne said. ‘I love Oxford and I’ve invested everything into Oxford, but I think it probably would be imprudent on my part to not look at all options.?
However, he also doesn’t want it to sound like he is leaving town tomorrow because that’s not true either, he said.
‘I never, ever, to anybody who asked about my career aspirations, led on to that was the way it was,? Throne continued. ‘In the same vein, I am doing my homework and (preparing) myself such that if this is where I want to go and where I want to pursue, I’m going to get ready for it. I am going to find out as much (about) these districts (as I can), do my homework and be prepared and ready to go.?