Addison school board names interim superintendent, appoints trustee

ADDISON — A rocky couple of weeks for the Addison Board of Education are starting to even out now that an interim superintendent is settling into the district and a new school board member has been appointed.

Julie Helber, whose first official day with Addison Community Schools as interim superintendent was July 25, and district parent Lauren Bailey, appointed as the newest board of education trustee at a special meeting July 31, are expected to work into their new roles over the next couple of weeks.

Helber, who has been in various educational roles for 35 years and started her teaching career as an elementary teacher, comes to Addison to fill the superintendent leadership void created by the resignation of Dan Patterson in July until the district completes its full-time superintendent search.

More: Addison Community Schools superintendent announces resignation, effective July 31

Recently retired from public education in 2022, Helber was hired by Michigan State University as an assistant professor in the department of educational administration where she works with doctoral students who want to be leaders in education.

Her most recent role as a school district’s superintendent was with Chelsea Public Schools for six years. She has also been in other teaching roles with Milan Area Schools and Saline Area Schools.

“I knew this was a two-month process while (the district) hired the next superintendent,” she said July 31 of the interim role. “I said that I would come over and help.”

Addison is expecting to hire its next full-time superintendent and have that person in place by Oct. 1, according to a timeline provided by the district.

Helber will be in the interim role during August and September when superintendent applicants will be reviewed and interviews can be conducted for the full-time position.

“It was intriguing for me to come to a very small school district comparatively just to learn about the nuances with a smaller school district,” she said. “Right now, it's having those conversations with as many people as I can to find out what I can do in the next two months to set the superintendent who comes in after me as best as I can.”

In almost two full weeks on the job, Helber said she has already met with several staff members, has been “impressed” with the state of Addison’s school facilities and has conducted one-on-one sessions with each of the school board members.

“Even though I am an interim, I think that a positive relationship with the school board is really important,” she said. “... I will work to identify some things that can be of value to the district and try to find some ways that I can support and set the next superintendent up for success.”

Bailey, meanwhile, was one of three candidates who applied for the board’s available seat and was interviewed at the July 31 special meeting.

Julie Tison and Karl Patterson were the other two applicants who interviewed for the school board seat, which was made available by the resignation in July of trustee Lisa Houghton.

Each of the school board candidates were asked the same three questions by board President Andrea Woodring. After the interviews were finished, the board voted for its top two candidates and whichever candidate received the most votes was selected as the appointee.

Bailey garnered seven points, and Tison and Patterson both earned four.

With a kindergartener, a fourth grader and a middle schooler, Bailey said she is invested in Addison Community Schools and will be for some time.

“I’m excited and I’m very vested,” she said. “I have three children (in the district) and I am going to be here for a while. I hope that my voice can be heard.”

Bailey said she regularly attends Addison school board meetings and followed along closely last year when the district was involved with its superintendent search that landed Patterson.

“I have attended meetings in the past to know what’s going on,” she said. “If you want to know what’s going on in your school, attend a board meeting.”

Subscribe Now: For all the latest local developments, breaking news, and high school and college sports content.

Bailey said she has lived in Addison for 14 years and has a background in school finance, which, according to Woodring, was a major reason why several board members voted for her as the appointee.

“I think Lauren’s experience with school boards probably pushed her over the edge,” she said. “In this role, it's crucial that somebody is going to be able to hit the ground running and be able to make those votes and those decisions. She’s prepared for that.”

The next meeting scheduled for the Addison school board is its regular meeting on Aug. 28, at which time Bailey will be seated officially as a new member of the board.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Addison school board names interim superintendent, appoints trustee