Stow-Munroe Falls school board votes 3-2 to hire Felisha Gould as superintendent

There will be a new superintendent for Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools starting Aug. 1.

The school board voted 3-2 during a special meeting Tuesday to hire Felisha Gould, the current assistant superintendent of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights schools. Board Vice President Pamela Wind and members Antoinette East-Jenkins and Kari Suhadolnik voted for Gould's hiring, while board President Nancy Binzel and member Mike Sheehan voted against. The three-year contract includes an annual salary of $145,000 for Gould.

The other candidate for the position was Kristen Prough, who has been serving as interim superintendent. She will return to the role of assistant superintendent and director of special services once Gould starts.

Gould, according to her LinkedIn profile, worked for Akron Public Schools for more than 20 years in several capacities, including as a middle school and high school principal.

East-Jenkins said she felt that since the school board had already negotiated a contract with Gould, the school board was obligated to offer the contract to her to keep the district out of the courts.

"This has been a very difficult decision because I've worked with Kristy Prough," East-Jenkins said. "I know what she's capable of. But once I got here and realized that there had been a contract offered to Dr. Gould on the 29th of April... unless we want a lawsuit, we need to execute the contract now."

Sheehan argued that while the contract was negotiated, it was never offered.

Wind commended Prough on the work she had done as interim superintendent but said Gould was more qualified.

"We have heard from dozens of community members and teachers how appreciative they have been of the change from our previous superintendent to Kristy Prough," Wind said. "I will say when I was a community member, before I ran for this board, I never got an answer from our previous superintendent. It was always Kristy who got back to me."

The Stow-Munroe Falls schools need someone with experience for a district of this size, Wind said.

"Dr. Gould has more education," Wind said. "She has 10 years of central office experience after well over a decade of administrative experience. She has worked on facilities projects, multiple facilities projects. She has checked off all of those boxes."

Sheehan said he felt the school board made the wrong choice.

"Frankly, she's never accomplished anything," Sheehan said of Gould. "She's coming from two failing school districts. Her presentation was about things that might happen. When I look at what we have in place, are things that are happening. I see a lot of difficulty ahead."

Gould could not be reached for comment.

Staff, community members voice their opinions

More than 100 people turned up at the meeting at Lakeview Intermediate School, with more than 20 people addressing the school board before the vote was taken. The majority of speakers voiced support for Prough.

Dave Segan, the president of the Stow-Munroe Falls Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, read a letter stating the organization "wholeheartedly" endorsed Prough.

But he said the group remains committed to working with the schools.

“While the chamber felt differently and disagreed on the decision made by the school board, we look forward to welcoming Dr. Gould to our district and working in a positive manner to help continue to improve our communities together," Segan said.

Jeff Ladner, a language arts teacher at Kimpton Middle School, said that when he had surgery, Prough reached out to him regularly.

Kimpton math teacher Michael Eckart said the superintendent search ignored a succession plan that had been laid out.

"It's sad things have gotten to this point," he said. "Kristy is the change we need."

He added that Prough is adept at adapting to the state's mandates and shifts "since the state has a habit of flying the plane before it's been built."

"Prough always asked how I was doing," Ladner said. "To me, you have a candidate who has cultivated personal relationships with the staff. I think that is a critical asset that goes beyond resumes."

Gould had at least one supporter among those who attended the meeting.

"I went to the community forums," said Anedra Jones after the meeting. "I was just more impressed with Dr. Gould's presentation. She talked about her 188-day plan and she took questions from the audience. She was prepared. Kristy didn't seem as prepared. While she is local, she doesn't have the experience. The members of the school board made the best choice."

Some of those who came to the meeting became unruly before and after the vote was made, shouting in favor of Prough and questioning the board's decision.

Prough, after the vote, said that she would support Gould.

"We are an excellent school district, we will continue to be an excellent school district, and I look forward to working with Dr. Gould," she said.

Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Felisha Gould selected as new Stow-Munroe Falls schools superintendent