Glendale-River Hills appoints interim superintendent after financial errors

The Glendale-River Hills School District's board has appointed an interim superintendent, middle school principal and an interim assistant business coordinator to help in replacing district officials who have resigned due to the district's financial issues.

The board has appointed Anna Young, who is currently the principal of Glen Hills Middle School, to serve as the district's interim superintendent. For Glen Hills Middle School's principal position, the board appointed Willie Williams, who is currently Glen Hills Middle School's associate principal.

As for the district's interim assistant business coordinator position, the board appointed Todd Gray, who the board brought on as a consultant in January to help the district in dealing with its financial challenges, according to a letter from Glendale-River Hills School Board President Danielle Bailey posted to the district's Facebook page and sent to parents. The changes were also announced at the board's April 17 meeting.

All the candidates will start in their new roles July 1.

Young will replace current district superintendent Alyson Weiss, who resigned in February but said she would continue working until June. The district's director of finance, Lindsay Johnson, resigned in January a week after she told board members she had made budgeting errors that grossly misestimated the district's financial position.

In March, the board approved cutting 13 positions, a total of $1 million, for the 2024-25 school year.

Seven of those positions cut were from Glen Hills Middle School, three of the positions cut were from Parkway Elementary School and three were district office positions. Most of the positions were cut via attrition due to staff resigning or retiring.

The cuts were made in part to resolve a $3.6 million budget deficit discovered in January, when Johnson told school board members the district was projected to run out of money by the end of the school year. The revelation differed from what the district's budget workbook had projected, which was ending the year with a $570,000 fund balance after starting the year with a $2.8 million fund balance cushion.

Here's what to know about the background of each appointee:

Anna Young

Bailey's letter said Young has more than 20 years of experience in Wisconsin public schools, having worked as a teacher, literacy specialist, associate principal and principal. She joined the Glendale-River Hills School District in September 2020 as Glen Hills Middle School's principal.

"Ms. Young led the middle school effectively through the COVID pandemic, demonstrating her ability to make strong decisions in difficult situations. She knows our school community’s interests and needs, and she is well-positioned to move into the superintendency. In anticipation of her future role as superintendent, Ms. Young will immediately take the lead in our district’s budget and finance work, while also finishing out the school year as our middle school principal," Bailey said in her letter.

Willie Williams

Williams has 15 years of experience in education, having worked in various positions from elementary to high school education. He is an alum of Morehouse College.

"He joined us as the Associate Principal of Glen Hills in July 2021 and has demonstrated his ability to lead our middle school effectively through culture building and consistent expectations for all. This has spurred better family communication and more student voice. Ms. Young will continue to mentor and collaborate with Mr. Williams to ensure a successful transition to the next school year," Bailey's letter said.

Todd Gray

Gray has experience as a superintendent and business manager in Wisconsin public schools for decades. The district brought Gray in as a consultant in January to support the district "in evaluating budget challenges, problem-solving and correcting financial errors, and finding solutions going forward," saying Gray's experience and expertise "have been invaluable so far," Bailey's letter said.

"In his role as interim assistant business coordinator, Dr. Gray will support and guide our business staff in developing budget forecasts, establishing financial management processes and goals, and implementing sound business practices for the District," Bailey's letter said.

Board approves loan, community survey

In addition to the new appointments, the board also approved April 19 to allow the district to borrow up to $6 million through the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands "for the purpose of financing operations," according to the resolution the board passed. The loan is to be repaid within 10 years with 6% interest, the resolution said.

The board also approved April 19 a community survey to ask residents if they would consider supporting a referendum to raise local taxes for the schools to help the district recover from its deficit.

Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at@AlecJohnson12.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Glendale-River Hills appoints interim superintendent Anna Young