The Utica City School District is looking for a superintendent again after being led by two superintendents, an interim superintendent and three acting superintendents, one of them with two terms, in less than four years.
The school board voted 6-0 at a special meeting on August 4 to accept a separation agreement with Superintendent Christopher Spence, who joined the district in August 2024. Board member Tennille Knoop was absent.
Spence will leave his job on Sept. 4, according to a statement released by the board. His contract ran through the end of the coming school year.
“This agreement represents a mutual separation and resolves all outstanding employment-related matters and legal proceedings between the parties,” the statement said. “The agreement does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing by either Dr. Spence or the board.
“Both parties determined that reaching a final resolution serves the best interests of the district and allows everyone to focus on the continued success of UCSD’s students, staff, families and community.”
Interim superintendent chosen
The board had previously appointed Kathleen Davis, who served as acting and then interim superintendent before Spence began, to serve as acting superintendent from June 4 through July 31 while Spence was out on a personal leave of absence. It then voted on July 21 to retroactively appoint her as acting superintendent starting July 1 with the appointment running through June 30, 2027.
Her title will now change to interim superintendent starting on Sept. 4, according to the statement. The district website’s superintendent’s page already lists Davis as acting superintendent and includes a letter from her to the community.
The board will let the public know about the search for the next permanent superintendent once it makes decisions on the next steps, the statement said.
“The board and district leadership remain focused on providing a strong and successful 2026–2027 school year and ensuring continuity for students, employees, and families,” the statement said.
Reaction
Teachers will stay focused on the schools and their students as the superintendent leaves, said Scott Rogowski, president of the Utica Teachers’ Association, in a statement. He noted that teachers and support staff are the constants in the district and have served as the district’s foundation for years.
“However when teachers deal with administrative instability, safety issues and continued short staffing, our students feel the impact right alongside us in the classroom,” he continued. “Our working conditions are our students’ learning conditions — plain and simple.”
The UTA will continue to stand up for students and members as they have in the past by showing up at school board meetings every moth and surveying members about what’s happening in the schools in 2021, 2015 and 2026, Rogowski said.
“We are already collaborating with the acting superintendent to prepare for the 26-27 school year and meeting regularly with the leadership team,” he added. “Moving forward, the UTA stands ready to partner with the Board of Education and district leadership — starting with helping the district find the next superintendent who understands and values all Utica stakeholders, because doing this right means working directly with the educators who know our schools best.”
School board-Spence breach
It became clear in recent weeks that there were troubles in the relationship between the school board and Spence in June.
Here’s a timeline of events:
Bruce Karam’s departure
The vote to place an employee on unpaid administrative leave was reminiscent of the board’s history with the district’s last superintendent, Bruce Karam.
Karam, who took over as superintendent in 2011, was placed on unpaid administrative leave in October, 2022 while a third party investigation of complaints filed by two district administrators was conducted.
The investigator’s report, filed the next January, accused Karam of making inappropriate, disrespectful comments to and about district employees and engaging in behavior that qualified as bullying. He remained on paid leave.
Karam was then arrested in November 2023 on charges of grand larceny and public corruption regarding the inappropriate use of school district supplies and staff time. He pleaded guilty to a felony charge of public corruption and, under a plea agreement, was sentenced in April 2024 to five years of probation, the payment of $12,000 in restitution and 250 hours of community service. He also agreed to a reduction of his pension benefits.
The school board didn’t wait for his guilty plea; it fired him with a 5-2 vote in November 2023.
During Karam’s unpaid administrative leave, Steven Falchi, now the district’s assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction and assessment; Brian Nolan, a retired superintendent; and Davis, also a retired superintendent, all served, sequentially, as acting superintendent.
The school board named Davis interim superintendent after firing Karam. She was then re-appointed as acting superintendent in June when Spence took his leave.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Help wanted again. Utica schools search for a new superintendent
Reporting by Amy Neff Roth, Utica Observer Dispatch / Observer-Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Amy Neff Roth, Utica Observer Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
