Post updated at 7:05 p.m. Monday, Aug. 12:
The Lawrence school board on Monday unanimously approved a contract with the interim superintendent, including a salary of $194,482 for 10 months.
Jeanice Swift will serve as interim superintendent for Lawrence Public Schools from Aug. 30 through June 30.
The board’s vote also gives Deputy Superintendent Larry Englebrick authority to act as superintendent until Swift’s first day.
Previous Superintendent Anthony Lewis’ final day in the district was Friday. He was selected to lead Durham, North Carolina public schools, and his first day in that role was Monday.
Lewis’ last negotiated contract with the district included a salary of $229,295. Swift will be paid the equivalent of a $235,000 annual salary prorated for 10 months, plus benefits, according to her approved contract. Her 10-month salary would be equivalent to about 4.4 starting annual salaries of first-year teachers with bachelor’s degrees ($43,983).
Swift’s contract also includes 33 days of vacation, sick and personal leave, and benefits. See the full contract at the bottom of this article.
Swift said after her contract was approved that she is committed to listening, learning, falling in and working alongside in the “most critical work of serving our children and ensuring a high quality education for every child on every day.”
“It takes a village, and I have felt, every visit to Lawrence, the presence of that village,” Swift said. “That’s what drew me to Lawrence, and that’s what confirms my part of this decision tonight.”
She had already participated in some community events, including being present for the Lawrence Schools Foundation’s Kids Expo on Saturday at district offices and a meet-and-greet ahead of Monday’s board meeting.
She is planning to tour school buildings as school gets underway this week.
Board President Kelly Jones said the board’s confidence in hiring Swift is rooted in her career accomplishments as an educator as well as feedback from both Lawrence Public Schools employee unions and district administrators, as well as parents and community members who serve on school board committees.
“We want Lawrence to be led by someone that has the type of experience that Dr. Swift has, and I am excited that we have this opportunity,” Jones said.
Pay gaps between teachers and administrators have been on a decline in recent years, although teachers have expressed concerns about an inequity in raises. The largest increase to the Lawrence school district superintendent pay in the past decade was an 18% bump between the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years.
The largest bump to superintendent pay — including salary plus fringe benefits — in the last 10 years, an 18% increase, was between the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years.
Rick Doll resigned with total pay of $179,193 in June 2016 after seven years with the district. Kyle Hayden, then-assistant superintendent of business and operations for the district, was named superintendent with total pay of $211,557. In May 2017, he announced his plans to step down into a new position, chief operations officer. He resigned from that position in July 2019 to become CFO of Blue Valley schools.
Anna Stubblefield was selected in June 2017 to serve as interim superintendent for the 2017-18 year with pay of $211,798. Lewis was selected from two finalists as the next superintendent in January 2018 and started in the job in July 2018, coming to Lawrence from Kansas City, Missouri Public Schools. His total pay for the 2018-19 year was $239,121, a 4.7% increase.
See more about superintendent pay and how it compares to other districts in this article.
Jones on Aug. 7 announced the board’s selection of Swift, who was one of three finalists who participated in an interview process. Thomas Ahart, of Iowa, and Englebrick were also being considered.
Swift has been working as a consultant since January, according to the district.
“A 36-year veteran educator, Dr. Swift has served as an educational leadership consultant since January, supporting PreK-12 education leaders, leadership teams, and board trustees,” according to a news release from the district.
“She previously served the Ann Arbor Public Schools as superintendent for over a decade,” the release continued. “In Colorado Springs School District 11, she served as assistant superintendent, executive director, principal, assistant principal, resource coach, and secondary English and Spanish teacher for 15 years. She also taught ten years in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford School District in Texas. Dr. Swift earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Arlington, her master’s at the University of Colorado, and a doctorate at the University of Denver.”
She had some controversy leading up to her resignation from the Ann Arbor, Michigan school district in September 2023. WXYZ 7 Action News Detroit reported that a school bus aide was convicted of abusing a second grader who has autism, and close to 100 parents in the district signed a letter that called for Swift’s resignation and said special education families didn’t feel safe in the district among other concerns.
Swift previously said although she understands concerns around the incident, she looks forward to addressing questions and continuing conversations with the Lawrence school district community. (Read more in this article.)
All seven school board members were present and voted in favor of the contract — Jones, Vice President GR Gordon-Ross, Bob Byers, Carole Cadue-Blackwood, Anne Costello, Yolanda Franklin and Shannon Kimball.
“I also wanted to welcome Dr. Swift to Lawrence Public Schools and to the Lawrence community,” Byers said ahead of the vote. “I think we hopefully will have a long future.”
Gordon-Ross said he was excited for Swift to tour the district and meet more people this week.
“Thank you for being here and excited for the year that we’ll have,” he said.
Jones said the board will interview candidates for the permanent superintendent position in the late fall or early spring. The board has said they will seek community engagement to make that decision. The next permanent superintendent will start with the 2025-26 school year.
Here’s Swift’s contract, as approved by the board Monday; click here to open it in a new tab:
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
