Previous coverage:

• 4 things to know about the 2 AAPS superintendent finalists
• Recap: How the Ann Arbor school board picked 2 superintendent finalists
• Community pushes Ann Arbor school board to 'go local' for next superintendent

A group of vocal parents disgruntled by the Ann Arbor school board's selection of two out-of-state finalists in the district's superintendent search is letting its feelings be known.

Roberto Clemente Principal and superintendent semifinalist candidate Ben Edmondson interviews with the Board of Education July 9 to be the next leader of the district.

Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com

On Tuesday, the Ann Arbor school board named Jeanice Kerr Swift of Colorado and Brian Osborne of New Jersey as the frontrunners after two days of public interviews with six semifinalists.

The parents' letter included observations from group members and chastised board trustees for not giving internal candidate Ben Edmondson fair consideration. Edmondson is the principal at Roberto Clemente Student Development Center, one of the district's alternative high schools. He has served as an administrator in AAPS for nine years.

• Read his biography.

Edmondson was one of the six semifinalists the Board of Education interviewed July 8-9. AAPS Parents for Change was the same group that launched a Change.org petition encouraging the board to look first at internal candidates and to "give particular attention" to Edmondson.

The petition, which was circulated online in April, garnered 103 signatures.

In the vote July 9 to approve Swift and Osborne as the finalists, two trustees, Simone Lightfoot and Susan Baskett, voted against the motion primarily because they wanted the board to add a third semifinalist — either Edmondson or Henry Hastings, a professor at Eastern Michigan University. They expressed they wanted a local candidate to advance. Baskett said the board would have "hell to pay" with the community for not choosing a local face as a finalist.

Interviews with the two chosen finalists continue Tuesday and Wednesday, with a regular school board meeting scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Balas Administration Building. The board is expected to name a new superintendent of the district at that time.

Read the complete text of the AAPS Parents for Change letter below:

Dear AAPS BOE Trustees and Community,

As we process the events of the superintendent interviews, and subsequent finalists, we are disappointed in the tone and judgment offered by both some of the AABOE Trustees, and anonymous commenters on AA.com. There is a large group of vocal, active, passionate Ann Arbor taxpayers in this community who took steps to reach the board and have our voices heard. Contrary to some comments, it was not a "few" or a dozen. We ARE hundreds strong. After personally witnessing the interviews of the two finalists, along with that of Dr. Ben Edmondson, and following live blogging of the other three, We can honestly and objectively say that results of the board's rankings were shocking to most in the room. We, the supporters who attended Dr. Edmondson's interview, were dismayed when we read that the five trustees felt he was not qualified to hire as the superintendent of our district. The board members appeared to have had predetermined that he would not move forward, obviously with total disregard to public input and more disturbing, the content of his interview. This is proven by their reckless and surprising comments during deliberations that ignored or discounted his answers.

During the interview process, all semi-finalists were asked the same questions, yet similar responses by Dr. Edmondson and other finalists were not weighed or received with equity. One trustee continued to question Dr. Edmondson's current residence, failing to acknowledge that at this time, NONE of the applicants lived with in the AAPS district. He lives a mile from the boundary. Was he asked to move or if he would consider it? No, he was not. He explained why he chose to buy a home outside the district and although it's irrelevant to the job description, it was considered highly concerning and unfavorable, especially with the upcoming mileage to be proposed. This man works in the district, his children attend school in the district, he is involved in this community, and he freely gives out his phone number. Where is the problem?

To another important issue, several board members questioned his response that the Superintendent should have final say in the editing of the district strategic plan. After researching this, and contacting other local superintendents, this is not completely unheard of, nor unusual. The board is an overseer of the district, how the district is managed day to day is the job of the superintendent. The strategic plan details the goals and the objectives of the district. While the goals are a joint decision of the board and superintendent, it is the sole responsibility of the superintendent to set the measuring criteria, to monitor the processes, and to implement the strategic plan goals through their best judgment. This is the responsibility of the superintendent, unless you have a micro-managing, controlling board who cannot let their superintendent perform their duties for fear that the board will lose some of that control and obtrusive managing.

Dr. Edmondson's limited experience with budgeting was also cited as a concern. As he clearly stated (without defensiveness or being argumentative) he did not apply to be the CFO, he applied for the job of CEO. That is the job of Ms. Hoover to manage the budget and report the state of that budget to the superintendent (her boss). A superintendent should be a proven leader, a manager, a voice for and of the students he/she serves. The superintendent should be visible in the community and in the school buildings, advocating for policy and good finance laws in Lansing, and addressing student achievement as the instructional leader of the district. It is the CFO's responsibility to manage the day-to-day finances and advise the superintendent on all financial matters. We do not believe that the concept of budgets is too complicated for someone who has successfully earned a doctorate degree, presented internationally on education issues, been hired as a consultant (expertise) in other districts, and is nationally certified to be a superintendent. It may not be the superintendent's precise area of expertise; just as education policy and achievement is not the expertise of the CFO. This was a stretch of an argument against Dr. Edmondson. Adding insult to the argument, Trustee Stead proceeded to question the abilities of those educated by U of M Ross School of Business of which Dr. Edmondson cited as a valuable resource for himself and our district. Her attitude on this was elitist and insulting.

The board also discussed that he failed to provide revenue ideas, which is absolutely untrue. He offered multiple ideas for generating revenue; selling underutilized buildings and land, possible redistricting, evaluating staff efficiency and performance, partnering with DDA and chamber of commerce to promote AAPS within the community businesses, partnering with ford motor company, Google, local universities, Toyota, etc. … all as cost saving, revenue producing options.

Were you listening, trustees? We don't believe you were. Our concern is you promoted him to semi-finalist to appease the large support base he has within this community. That is insulting to Dr. Edmondson, and the community. We put his name forward because we have witnessed his dedication, his management of staff, his expertise in achievement, his strength and backbone in times of turmoil and conflict, his relationships with students, his energy and passion for every student achieving. We are not his fan club; we are parents passionate about the education of our children. WE do not play with that. We have one chance to get it right educating students; this is not to be taken lightly. The fact that AAPS fails to educate, graduate, and focus on African American students is frightening. Do you know the percentage of students of color that this district is failing to serve? You need to know and you need to own it and honestly address it.

Not one of you served on a BOE prior to your current positions, yet you were able to learn. Dr. Edmondson is far more qualified than you credit him for. Just as you adapted and have grown as a board member, so would he in the role of superintendent. How frightening was the venom that was spewed about his role as principal of our most costly per student school. Your true attitudes and dedication to at risk students were loud and clear. Now you are courting a finalist (Osborne) who proposes to have all students college ready under his watch. Even though the data from his own district disputes his ability to do this, you follow the rhetoric and believe it to be true. Do you truly know his beliefs on education and teaching? From all that is available, he believes in tracking, he is a proponent of education reform, he was trained through the Broad Foundation (just like Dr. Green), and if you don't know the risk of Broad Foundation Philosophy, then please read up on it quickly. They do not support public education. He is also facing a state mandated pay cut in his current position. Why is he leaving that contract early? Are we not in this position now because of Dr. Green doing precisely the same thing?

The other finalist (Swift) is from a startlingly different background and demographic than our community. She is currently an applicant in other districts, so don't be fooled by her newfound love for Ann Arbor. She had the same rave reviews for Charles County, MD, in April of this year. Seriously, you were that easily impressed that she came to town 48 hours early? She has failed to demonstrate that she has any more experience in charge of district finances than Dr. Edmondson, as she serves as Curriculum Assistant Superintendent. What is her experience with achievement gap and at risk students? We did not notice that question being asked specifically of her.

In closing, we offer a poll conducted by AA.COM after the conclusion of all interviews, and the Board's selection of these two finalists, asking the public to vote for which candidates they would like to see move forward as finalists in the hiring process for our next Superintendent. While this is not a scientific poll, it does demonstrate that our community's views and wishes are strikingly different than the Board elected to represent us.

The results of this poll clearly show that Dr. Swift is not someone this community is interested in pursuing. It also validates the community's support of Dr. Edmondson as a candidate we would like to pursue further. Osborne led the poll with 38%, followed by Edmondson with nearly 31%. Swift was a very distant third with 11%. Again, evidence of the Board not in touch with the community at large, which they were elected to serve. We thank you for your time and your service, and ask that you discuss these concerns, address them to the community, and also that you do due diligence in vetting the finalists. The information available through researching them is starkly different than what has been presented to the public.

Respectfully,

Ann Arbor Public Schools Parents For Change

aapsparents@gmail.com

Group Liaisons:
Jody Huhn
Debbie Harris

Danielle Arndt covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleArndt or email her at daniellearndt@annarbor.com.