Ypsilanti Public Schools Superintendent Dedrick Martin was recruited as a finalist for the superintendency of the Kalamazoo Regional Education Service Agency.
Dedrick Martin
KRESA's board conducted a "targeted" search for its next leader, according to a report on MLive. The board requested recommendations from current KRESA Superintendent Ron Fuller and the head of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators. They compiled a list of eight possible candidates, the MLive report says; and those eight people — including Martin — were encouraged to apply for the position.
The targeted recruitment yielded four applications. Martin; David J. Campbell, superintendent of the Livingston Educational Service Agency; and Curtis E. Finch Jr., superintendent of the Mecosta-Osceola Intermediate School District north of Grand Rapids, all were offered interviews for the position, according to MLive. The fourth applicant's name was not released.
The public interviews will take place on May 23.
This is the second superintendent position Martin has been named a finalist for. He also was tapped as one of three contenders for the superintendency at St. Johns Public Schools.
Martin is one of many administrators from Ypsilanti Public Schools job-hunting in light of the district's upcoming merger with neighbor Willow Run Community Schools.
Ypsilanti's executive director of human resources, Sharon Irvine, resigned in March to accept an assistant superintendent's position with Warren Consolidated Schools; Scott Snyder, executive director of facilities and operations for Ypsilanti, is one of two finalists for the superintendency at Monroe Public Schools; and Assistant Superintendent of Educational Quality Jennifer Martin is one of four contenders for a superintendent's opening in Romulus Community Schools.
But of the above central administrators, Martin is the only one who has been offered a job at the new Ypsilanti Community Schools district. Martin has been told he will be retained as an associate superintendent for the district, although the details of his new contract have not been finalized.
The new district would have been financially responsible for honoring the current contracts of Martin and Willow Run Superintendent Laura Lisiscki whether or not they were rehired by the YCS district. Lisiscki also was offered a role as an associate superintendent of YCS.
Martin and Lisiscki's contracts had to be upheld because they are individual contracts with their districts, not affiliated with a collective bargaining unit, and there are no clauses stating the contracts can be terminated or non-renewed due to economic conditions.
Because a clause of this nature does not exist, even though the Ypsilanti and Willow Run districts will be dissolved on June 30, case law establishes the contract provisions then become the liability of the successor organization.
MLive reports the Kalamazoo RESA superintendent earns a base salary of $168,140 and has a total compensation package worth $260,000.
Danielle Arndt covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleArndt or email her at daniellearndt@annarbor.com.