Cheboygan school board narrows down superintendent candidates

CHEBOYGAN — The Cheboygan Areas Schools Board of Education interviewed five superintendent candidates on Jan. 27 trying to find who will be taking over the role this July.

The search began internally in October before opening the application externally in December. The candidate selected will be taking over for Paul Clark, who announced his retirement last summer. His retirement is effective June 30.

The search began early in the school year to allow for Clark to provide mentorship and training to the next superintendent.

During the six-hour long meeting, the board interviewed five candidates and deliberated over who would be invited back for a second round of interviews. All candidates were asked the same 11 questions and given an opportunity to ask questions to the board.

More:Cheboygan school board hires new teacher, reviews spending practices

More:Statewide report emphasizes importance of catching Michigan students up

The board spent more than an hour discussing which candidates they would be interested in having back. They started by going through each individual candidate and discussed what they liked or disliked about them.

As the board deliberated about what qualities they would like in a superintendent, multiple board members expressed interest in a superintendent that would be interested in helping the district for a long time.

The school board decided to move forward with second round interviews for three candidates. The board voted to offer Spencer Byrd, Dr. Ryan Cunningham and Nancy Spray second interviews. Ron Moag and Martin Prout were not offered second interviews.

Get to know the candidates

Nancy Spray currently works as the principal of Cheboygan High School. She was born and raised in the city and graduated from Cheboygan High School herself. She said she wants to be superintendent because she has a passion for the community that raised her and the students she works for.

“I want to maintain the phenomenal place that Cheboygan Area Schools is,” she said.

The board said that it was clear she had a passion for the community, though they had a concern about a deficit in experience in an administrative role, specifically never having served as a superintendent before.

Spencer Byrd has been in education for more than 30 years. He started teaching at Jackson Northwest before moving to the suburbs of Chicago, working as a teacher for 15 years, as well as coaching three sports. He then worked as an athletic director for four years before becoming a principal for five years. His last six years in Illinois, he worked as a superintendent. Now, he works as the principal of DeTour Schools as well as the athletic director of a cooperative athletic department between DeTour and Cedarville high schools. He’s continued coaching different sports as well.

While Byrd said he is old enough to retire, he does have two children that are freshmen in high school and he stays involved.

“I have a lot of energy and passion for education — I still think I have a lot to offer,” he said.

The board said they appreciated Byrd’s discussion of a strategic plan, specifically talking about the importance of having actionable moves. They also appreciated his extensive resume and interest in using data.

However, they didn’t appreciate that he had a lot of 3-year runs in districts, moving from different districts and positions.

Currently retired, Ryan Cunningham worked in elementary schools before taking over as an assistant principal and athletic director at a high school. He was then hired as an elementary school principal in the Ovie-Elsie school district, where he worked for nine years. He was then hired as the Ovid-Elsie superintendent in 2010, serving until he retired in August 2022.

Recently, a new law was passed in Michigan allowing retired teachers to begin working again if they retired more than nine months prior. Cunningham’s start date would be a little less than a year since his retirement went into effect.

The board said they appreciated how well prepared he was for the interview. They appreciated that he was outspoken about getting to know the community, as well as coming prepared with specific questions for the board.

Seeing as he’s already retired, board members did mention concerns about how long Cunningham would stay in the district.

In Michigan, superintendents usually last about two years in a district.

They also said they appreciated that he mentioned vocational school opportunities and early college opportunities, as well as a level of accountability for all students, even ones that aren’t necessarily college-bound.

“I felt that he was really going to be a long-term individual,” said Marianne Ridings, board vice president. “I felt like he really did want our district to be the best it could be, and that our students become the best that they can be.”

After the interviews, teacher Adam Bedwin read a letter written on behalf of the district's teachers. Bedwin spoke on behalf of the staff because he is on a leave of absence to serve as the region's director for the Michigan Education Association.

“Nancy Spray had an excellent show of support from the community,” Bedwin said. “Her resume may not be as long, but she knows the issues and is invested in solving them.”

Bedwin encouraged the board, on behalf of the teachers and public, to wait to decide who the board will bring back for a second round of interviews. He said he didn’t think the public had adequate time to research the external candidates and thinks the public should be able to provide input before the board moved forward with selecting who would be chosen for a second interview.

Board president Amber Hansen explained that releasing the names a day before the meeting was already abnormal and that the board would be deciding that night.

Subscribe:Check out our offers and access the local news that matters to you

Originally, the board struggled to determine which candidates the district would be inviting back. Hansen asked for a motion to invite back a minimum of two candidates and a maximum of three.

Trustee Roger Cronk suggested the board decide on individuals first, but Hansen was concerned about too many or too few candidates being approved to be brought back.

Cronk's original motion to nominate the three candidates who were ultimately selected for interviews did not pass. Multiple combinations came forward, but the board eventually just made a motion to invite back Byrd and Cunningham.

That motion passed. Separately, Cronk made a motion to invite back Spray. There was no second.

After more discussion, secretary Julie Lohela tried to make a motion to invite Spray back. Hansen said because there was no second originally, the motion was unable to move forward.

After much discussion, the board and audience looked up board rules, and decided the phrasing could change.

Lohela asked the board to reconsider the motion, and after it was reconsidered the board voted to bring Spray back for a second interview.

A set of 19 questions for the second round of interviews have already been compiled by the superintendents hiring committee, though the board may review questions and adjust them in response to the first round of interviews.

The next regular board meeting is scheduled for Feb. 27.

— Contact education reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN. 

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan school board narrows down superintendent candidates