By James Hanlon
Leader Staff Writer
Because of the oddities of this year, the Board of Education does not have a responsibility to make a formal, year-end evaluation of Oxford Community Schools Superintendent Tim Throne. Nevertheless, the board prepared a statement praising Throne’s performance.
Normally, the superintendent’s evaluation is calculated partly from student test scores, but those test are not happening this year, Board President Tom Donnelly explained at the virtual Dec. 8 school board meeting.
“But we, quarterly, went through the process anyways in closed meetings, had discussions with Tim (Throne) about how he was handling the situations and those kinds of things,” Donnelly said. In place of a formal evaluation, “we wanted to have something publicly stated, something that’s going to be like a conclusion of what our board’s feeling is about Tim’s performance in 2020.”
School Board Vice President Chad Griffith read aloud the statement prepared by the board:

“Tim has done a tremendous job leading the district through the uncertainty that was thrust upon us during the ongoing pandemic. He’s been decisive and steadfast in his approach, ensuring he had the right people in the right roles and allowing the experts to advise where they excel. Where other districts struggled, Tim capitalized on Oxford’s strengths, ultimately building unity and pride among the community.
“Tim fiercely advocated for Oxford with legislators when state funding changes put our district at risk of losing millions of dollars. He recognized the risk of students losing programs and learning opportunities as a result, and rallied support from the board, staff and parents in order to build the numbers of people telling our story to policy makers in Lansing.
“Tim’s communication with the community has been terrific. He’s been in front of changes in legislation and executive orders and has communicated to parents as quickly as he could to give parents and students enough time to plan for changes. Through all of this, Tim has never lost sight of the community that is affectionately referred to as ‘Team O.’ These are the people that make a difference with the kids every day. Tim demonstrates daily that he cares about Team O and wants to do what is right by them.”
Donnelly added, “Tim, thank you so much. We are blessed to have a leader as you are. And you showed leadership under a lot of pressure this year, so thank you so much.”
Throne said, “Thank you, I appreciate that.”