Previous coverage:
Although the news of Superintendent Patricia Green's resignation came as a shock to the Ann Arbor community Thursday, school board members said they're not worried about any long-term impact on the Ann Arbor Public Schools.
Patricia Green, superintendent of the Ann Arbor Public Schools, speaks during a 2012 public hearing on the budget.
Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com file photo
Green, who started with the AAPS in July 2011 under a five-year contract, gave her resignation letter to Mexicotte early Thursday at the end of the regular school board meeting.
Mexicotte said she was able to apprise the remaining school trustees as they left the meeting, which adjourned in the early morning hours Thursday.
AAPS staff, parents and the community were informed of Green's resignation in an email sent at about 5 p.m. Thursday.
The announcement caught everyone off guard. Green stated in her letter to the community she plans to retire this summer after 43 years as an educator, administrator and superintendent.
Several attempts to reach Green for comment Thursday evening were unsuccessful.
Green's resignation will be effective in mid-July, unless the school board determines otherwise.
"Dr. Green will be with us for the next 90 days or there about," Mexicotte said. "I suspect we'll sit down with her and figure out an end date."
Ann Arbor has had high superintendent turnover since the early 2000s, when Rossi Ray Taylor was pushed out by board members. The district's past three superintendents combined lasted less than 10 years in the district. Previous Superintendent Todd Roberts led the district for four years. He succeeded George Fornero who announced his resignation in 2006, shortly before revealing the then-under-construction Skyline High School was over budget and a year behind schedule.
Mexicotte said it is "common knowledge" that with superintendents there often is high turnover.
Green laid strong groundwork during her tenure with the AAPS, Mexicotte said.
"I will be convening the board next week to strategize how to best move forward, (to discuss) what will the transition plan be and how quickly or slowly do we want to move. ... I just want the community to know that this district is strong and we have great teachers and administrators in place; they'll help ensure a smooth and successful transition."
Trustee Simone Lightfoot said AAPS is a challenging environment, no matter who the superintendent is.
"This is a tough district to be in. We're a tough community, we have tough standards," Lightfoot said. " Here in Ann Arbor, education is what we do. We breath it, we eat it, we sleep it. We have a level of expectations around it. It's not for the faint of heart."
Board Vice President Christine Stead agreed.
"We still need strong leadership and I know we'll get it," Stead said, adding Ann Arbor is named to every "best of" list imaginable. "In every age group, in every way you want to slice it, Ann Arbor is a great place to live, a great place to raise families."
Simone Lightfoot
"It's hard when in the middle of a mission, you lose the person who was helping to lead the mission," Lightfoot said. "But I know we'll be resilient and find a way to move forward and be successful."
Green is the second central administrator to step down since the beginning of the year. Top finance and budget official, Deputy Superintendent of Operations Robert Allen resigned in February to take a job in North Carolina at a school now run by Roberts.
Lightfoot said she thinks the things that led her to butt heads with Green are the same things the community and the staff had problems with, such as communication and transparency and having to submit Freedom of Information Act requests for information and data.
"I think these concerns permeated throughout the district," she said. " This is an opportunity for us to reflect as a board and listen to the community. I'm excited about the chance to engage our front line. Administratively, we have to figure out some things."
Lightfoot said she is disappointed Green is retiring. And while Green may not have been the true "right fit" for the district, "in many ways she was," Lightfoot said.
"When it came to compiling things and pulling information that may have been on different shelves, she was," Lightfoot said. "She created excellent one-stop documents with data. The facilities report was one of the best documents I've ever seen us produce. So (Green) was good on the academic side. I think it's just that our standards as a community aren't being met in the communication and outreach and interpersonal relationships side of things."
Lightfoot said if she were to grade the superintendent's tenure, she would have to give Green an "incomplete, in the sense that she started some great things and had some great ideas. But we didn't get to see the full implementation of those things."
Danielle Arndt covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleArndt or email her at daniellearndt@annarbor.com.