Petoskey board of education approves superintendent contract, begins role Aug. 31
PETOSKEY — Originally from Edwardsburg, Michigan, Dr. Jeffrey Leslie didn’t always plan on being an educator.
When he started his undergraduate degree at Purdue, he wanted to be an engineer. But now, he’ll be the Public Schools of Petoskey's next superintendent.
“I changed gears while I was at Purdue, and it's been a great decision,” Leslie told the Petoskey News-Review. “It's been a very rewarding career. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do together up (in Petoskey).”
Leslie’s contract was approved by the district’s board of education during a special meeting Tuesday morning, officially hiring him as superintendent.
Currently, Leslie is the superintendent of the New Buffalo Area School District. While he was superintendent there, the district was awarded two National Blue Ribbon Awards and was recognized by the Michigan Department of Education for supporting students' mental wellness.
Leslie was offered the job after his second interview July 26, which was open to the public. Around 50 people attended the interview.
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Leslie will officially start as superintendent Aug. 31. He’ll be making $160,000 in the role, $12,216 more than the previous superintendent, Chris Parker, made the year prior.
The search for a new superintendent began after Parker’s May resignation, which came shortly after a report was released saying 90 percent of the participating staff in Petoskey schools described the culture as “broken.”
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A total of 10 people applied for the position and three were interviewed by the board. Leslie was the only candidate offered a second interview.
To help fix the culture in Petoskey schools, Leslie said he wants to listen to the staff, administration, parents and students to hear what their concerns are and then prioritize transparency within the district.
“The first thing I want to do is just try to listen as much as possible,” he said. “There's probably a thousand people that I need to sit down with once I get up there, and immerse myself in the community. (That's) the biggest priority right now.”
When he gets up to Petoskey, Leslie is hoping to figure out the lay of the land and determine which programs are working for the district, and where some changes can be made.
“If things are going well for them, I don't want to upset … things that are working well for the district,” he said. “But if there's some areas where I think we can tweak and do even better than that, I'm not going to hesitate to say, ‘Hey, here's some things that I've done in my past that have worked well. Let's take a look at that and see if that's going to be a good fit for Petoskey.’”
When it comes to concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and potential outbreaks, he said he hopes to form a close relationship with the Health Department of Northwest Michigan to determine the best course of action for Petoskey schools.
Prior to working in New Buffalo, he worked in the Edwardsburg school district. He earned his Ph.D. in educational leadership from Western Michigan University, his master's in education in curriculum and instruction from the University of Southern Mississippi, and a bachelor of science in mathematics education from Purdue.
He also spent much of his life in South Carolina, but since coming back to Michigan, he realized he likes his time in the Mitten just as much.
" I feel like I kind of traded the Atlantic Ocean for Lake Michigan,” he said.
The Petoskey school board has one more meeting before Leslie’s start date. The board will meet Aug. 18. The district’s school year begins Sept. 6.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: New Petoskey superintendent hired, prioritizes district transparency
