Washington Local Schools chief submits resignation
Susan Hayward says she ‘loved every minute’ of working for district.
By Bri'on Whiteside / The Blade
Wed, 07 Aug 2019 23:55:31 GMT
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Change is on the rise for Washington Local Schools as Superintendent Susan Hayward resigned from her post mid-contract during Wednesday’s board of education meeting.
Ms. Hayward’s tenure with the district began in June, 2016 when she was an assistant superintendent. Two months later, she became the district’s superintendent. During her tenure, she was paid a salary of $149,394, as well as an additional education stipend of $5,000 for having a doctoral degree. Her contract was slated to run through July, 2022.
Ms. Hayward’s resignation came during a meeting Wednesday after the school board met in a closed-door executive session for roughly two hours. Board President Mark Hughes upon leaving executive session said he and his colleagues had discussed employment and disciplinary matters.
He then read a statement saying, among other things, that Ms. Hayward was resigning.
District officials on Wednesday would not comment on details of any possible severance agreement between Ms. Hayward and the school system. They said they would provide more information Thursday.
Ms. Hayward’s resignation followed the release earlier Wednesday of her superintendent evaluation, which was made available to The Blade through a public records request.
The newly released evaluation reflected both the district’s mid-year evaluation of the superintendent, which began in February, as well as the end of the year review, which began in June.
Among the many comments in the evaluation — which was complied as a single document from multiple board members’ reviews — were recommendations regarding communication and delegation. In regards to the district’s progress with schools safety, Ms. Hayward wrote that under her leadership, the district has maintained a high completion rate for ALICE — active shooting response — training.
In response, the school board wrote that “school safety goals have moved in a positive direction district-wide. Monitor to determine the effectiveness and promote all staff to complete ALICE training. Evaluate PBIS’s effectiveness and receive feedback from stakeholders and by engaging frontline staff to determine if appropriate for WLS,” the review document stated.
According to the evaluation, board members recommended that Ms. Hayward provide additional updates to the board of education’s plans to partner with Toledo Clinic for an on-site clinic.
“Additional follow through with Board of Education regarding re-branding and Toledo Clinic possibilities. Seeking frequent status updates on these possibilities. Where are we with these?” it stated.
Within the evaluation, the board praised Ms. Hayward for promoting the district via “multiple media outlets,” for presenting positivity awards to staff, and for being more visible at district events. Board members recommended that Ms. Hayward delegate more often and place “primary focus on overall district vision and direction”.
Ms. Hayward’s responses reflected that the district as a whole needed to improve external communication.
In her closing remarks, Ms. Hayward teary-eyed said she ‘loved every minute’ of working for the district.
Board members, Lisa Canales, Tom Ilstrup and Dave Hunter and Mr. Hughes gave remarks all wishing Ms. Hayward the best on her future endeavors.
Ms. Hayward and district officials declined further comment.