Lawrence’s newly hired interim superintendent, Jeanice Swift, said she’s got an inkling that this year will be a new leaf for the district.

“I feel like being our fifth year out of, you know, that historic time (COVID-19), this is our year,” Swift said. “We’ve reset financially, for the most part — not that we won’t have to again, we may have to again — but I think we’re turning the corner together. If communities come together, we will continue up.” 

The Lawrence school board on Monday unanimously approved Swift’s 10-month contract after board President Kelly Jones announced her appointment the week prior. Former Superintendent Anthony Lewis accepted the superintendent position in the Durham, North Carolina school district in June and began this week.

Swift’s been spending her time hopping around to every school, familiarizing herself with the community during this first week of the new school year in Lawrence. Each person she’s met is “laser-focused on making a difference for children,” she said.

At the district’s first annual Kids Expo last weekend, and then again at district offices for an hour before Monday’s board meeting, Swift mingled with community members. She’ll also be present for the Back to School Safety Fair, set for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at South Park. 

“This is just going to be a great time to have solid conversations, and I’m anxious to listen and to learn,” Swift said during an interview Wednesday, sitting at district offices along with Julie Boyle, district spokesperson. “And from that, I believe always in the collective wisdom within a community. I already hear it. … This is a community who cares for our children, and we’re gonna do that together.”

A new chapter

Swift has been doing education consulting work since January, following the end of her last employment.

Previously, she served as the superintendent of Ann Arbor Public Schools — one of the largest school districts in Michigan, with enrollment of about 17,000 students — for 10 years. Lawrence’s enrollment for 2023-24, for comparison, was about 10,600. 

The Michigan Independent reported that in May, the Ann Arbor school board approved a budget reduction plan for 2024-25 that included cutting more than 100 teacher and other staff positions. The cuts resulted from a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall. 

Swift said Ann Arbor is no exception to the post-COVID-19 pandemic financial struggles public schools are facing.

Four factors right now are driving these financial crises, Swift said: declining enrollment, because state funding is based on enrollment; escalated student needs, especially regarding mental health support; economic inflation; and the objective to reach competitive wages for employees. Her comments mirrored many from Lawrence school board members and district administrators over the past several years. 

“I will be a superintendent who speaks the truth on those issues, because, quite frankly, school districts — wherever they are, fill in the blank — are having to make some decisions right now that they should not have to make,” Swift said. “Those kinds of facts I will be calling out during my tenure, whether it’s short or long. The truth needs to be spoken.”

Swift’s resignation from the Ann Arbor district came after 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, WXYZ Action News Detroit reported. It also cited allegations of racism and antisemitism in the district and an overall discontentment with district leadership.

WXYZ reported that a school bus aide, who was employed by a transportation agency, was convicted of abusing an Ann Arbor second grader who has autism on the school bus. The child’s mother said she was kept in the dark for five weeks – causing a community uproar – and filed a federal lawsuit against the entire district, the principal of the elementary school her child attended and the transportation company.

But Swift said neither the bus aide incident nor that parent letter had a bearing on her separation agreement, which came in September 2023.

She said she was just as alarmed by the abuse the child endured and by other complaints as the parents and community members who shared their concerns.

Regarding the allegations of antisemitism in the parent letter, Swift said “I worked closely with all of those organizations in town. We worked through all of those — I worked with the rabbis, with the Jewish Coalition. I’m very close with them. You can interview them, if you like, but we’re always working. Julie in her work, me in the superintendent’s role, we’re always working on concerns as they arise.” 

In November 2022, Ann Arbor voters elected three new school board members and returned one 20-year veteran to the seven-member board, area media outlets reported. They took office in January 2023. Swift said it was “a very natural time for change.”

“A new board was elected. That chapter came to a close,” she said. “I worked with my team and with that board on a transition so that we could move in an orderly fashion. So that’s really all I think that’s worth saying unless there’s something important you need to ask.”

She did not elaborate further on specific reasons for her departure. 

“I stand by the 10 years, and in all things — your life, Julie’s life, my life — chapters come to a close,” she said. “And that’s exactly what happened in Ann Arbor.”

As part of the resignation agreement, Swift and Ann Arbor school board members agreed not to make any statement disparaging each other or the district. 

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‘A part of the continuation’

Swift said she’s grateful for the opportunity to have served a generation of students, and she couldn’t be more honored to focus on this next generation of Lawrence students.

She joins Lawrence Public Schools at a time of ongoing change.

In 2014, Swift introduced Ann Arbor’s first STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) school, giving her experience as Lawrence launches its new STEAM curriculum at Liberty Memorial Central Middle School this year.

The Lawrence Education Association, the certified staff union, and PAL-CWA, the classified staff union, both participate in annual negotiations with the district. Notably, PAL-CWA continues to fight for a living wage for all staff members it represents. 

Swift, a former union member who said she’s been a longtime union advocate, has met with representatives from LEA and PAL-CWA and said she looks forward to their ongoing conversations.

Prior to Michigan, Swift also held superintendent jobs in Colorado and Texas. Education is her calling, she said, and she’s been doing it for 35 years.

“What I love about this work is we come to it as a part of the continuation,” Swift said. “It’s a tradition and a heritage in a community that we plant.” 

Swift didn’t divulge whether she envisions herself leading the Lawrence school district past the interim, as the permanent superintendent. She said she’s focused on the work for 2024-25.

“You know, where I’m focused on now is really getting into the district and the community, listening to folks,” she said. “My favorite word is ‘onward’ — we’re moving on.”

See Swift’s board-approved contract, which includes a salary of $194,482, at this link. Deputy Superintendent Larry Englebrick is filling in until Swift officially begins in her role on Friday, Aug. 30, and her contract runs through June 30, 2025. She is currently looking for a place to live in Lawrence. 

School board members have said they plan to engage the community in the search for a permanent superintendent, who will start with the 2025-26 school year. 

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.

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