School Board Praises Retiring Superintendent, Business Director

For 26 years, Royal Oak Schools Executive Business Director John Schwartz had to make difficult financial decisions to keep the district running.

Thursday night when he officially retired, board members said it would be difficult to let him go.

"You always kept the students at the top of the list," school board member Deborah Anderson said. "You were always transparent and you always told the truth."

Perhaps in a nod to budget challenges this year that forced the district to lay off 27 teachers, board member Michael Hartman said Schwartz's reports "have always been depressing." Like Anderson, though, he praised Schwartz for his ability to craft budgets that kept core educational programs in tact.

So for the last time, Schwartz presented an annual budget at Thursday night's meeting, this time the 2011-12 budget of about $54 million, which the board passed. It included a $470 per student foundation allowance reduction as well as a loss of about $1 million in revenue because of declining enrollment.

Still, Schwartz said it's a budget he "could feel extremely comfortable living with next year." Future challenges not likely to go away anytime soon, he said, are uncertainties about state aid, escalating retirement and health costs and how to replace one-time revenue sources.   

Superintendent Thomas Moline also received praise from the board for his six years of service before he officially retired Thursday night.

"You've set the bar for (future) superintendents," board member Jeff Brinker told Moline.

Moline said the job had been at times "anxiety-provoking" but always "very stimulating."

"There's always lots of bells and whistles being the head of a major metro school district," Moline quipped. "And the support in this community has been quite phenomenal." 

District improvement goals

In other meeting business, director of instruction Sarah Olson gave an update on the district's accreditation process, which evaluates how effective the district is in meeting core competencies such as education and student engagement.

Olson said Royal Oak must improve in the areas of fostering professional growth for teachers, but the district has a "very strong awareness" of challenges and the "dedication to improve."

District improvement goals for the 2011-12 school year include new approaches to reading and math. The third goal – elevating academic writing – is entirely new for the district. The skill is being elevated across the country and is "crucial" for promoting critical thinking in adulthood, Olson said.

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