Pontiac teachers union raises concerns over district’s new interim superintendent

Pontiac schools will have new leadership beginning Monday after the districts current interim superintendent, Jennifer Dean, announced she was stepping down for personal reasons.

Dean had held the position since August. During a special meeting Wednesday, the Pontiac Board of Education unanimously appointed Dr. Donald Weatherspoon to temporarily lead the district.

The appointment is receiving push back from the Pontiac Education Association. Union President Candice Ridley questioned why the board selected Weatherspoon, who has previously worked in the district.

Of all the people in the City of Pontiac that have the credentials, why did they go back to Donald Weatherspoon, who has a history of closing down districts and opening charters? Ridley said.

Ridley said district staff and the Pontiac community should have had more input before the appointment was made.

It seems like this was all done behind closed doors, Ridley said. When there is an open meeting, the decisions and the conversations surrounding those decisions are supposed to be public, and that did not happen.

Ridley said board members announced their decision, voted and left without publicly discussing the selection in detail.

Weatherspoons previous roles include serving as the districts emergency manager and, at another point, as a consultant. Ridley said his history with the district raises concerns for educators.

Dr. Weatherspoon, when he was here in the past, has degraded staff, demeaned teachers. He slashed salaries, Ridley alleged.

7 News Detroit contacted Weatherspoon directly, but he declined an interview. Every school board member was also contacted about the selection process, but none responded before deadline.

The district declined to provide additional comment and instead referred 7 News Detroit to a letter announcing the leadership change.

The letter, sent to staff and families Thursday, said Dean was stepping down for personal reasons. It described Weatherspoon as no stranger to Pontiac and emphasized that his role would be temporary.

Parents who spoke with 7 News Detroit said they were not familiar with the concerns surrounding Weatherspoons appointment. However, they identified problems they want the districts new leadership to address, including transportation.

Im hoping that some of the issues are going to get solved, Pontiac parent April Stokes said.

Stokes said her sons bus recently arrived two hours late in the morning.

Im like, are my kids supposed to sit outside the bus stop and wait? she said.

Earnisha Jackson, who has two children with special needs, also expressed concerns about transportation. She said she would like the district to place additional staff on buses to help supervise students.

When it comes to the bussing, it should have more than just the bus driver, Jackson said. I think it should be a person thats on there watching because you have special needs kids, and all of them are not verbal.

Weatherspoon is scheduled to begin his role as interim superintendent Monday.