OKCPS administrators want Superintendent McDaniel to reconsider his resignation
A local union consisting of principals, assistant principals and other site administrators from Oklahoma City Public Schools is mounting a letter-writing campaign to convince OKCPS Superintendent Sean McDaniel to reverse course and stay with the district.
They also want to encourage the district’s board to seek to keep him in his current role.
In a surprise announcement Monday, McDaniel said an “irreconcilable” difference of opinion with an as-yet-unidentified OKCPS Board of Education member led him to decide to resign, effective June 30, after six years in the position. That announcement stunned many within the district, including the leadership of the Oklahoma chapter of the American Federation of School Administrators, which has about 100 members.
After an AFSA chapter board meeting Tuesday, the chapter’s leadership wrote an email and sent it to its membership, saying the AFSA board “on behalf of our group wanted to know how we can best support Dr. McDaniel and to determine if there is a pathway for him to reconsider his decision and stay.”
The AFSA board encouraged its members to email OKCPS Board Chair Paula Lewis, OKCPS Board Vice-Chair Lori Bowman and their district board member, telling them how much they have enjoyed working under McDaniel’s leadership, said Melinda Elms, one of the AFSA board members.
“When the news came out about Dr. McDaniel’s resignation, it was really like a punch to the gut,” Elms said. “We were all devastated because he has been such a pillar of support for all of us. As a board, we started talking. One of the things Dr. McDaniel says when he speaks to us is ‘Take care of your people.’ We just decided we needed to show our support to him for everything he’s done for us, our staff and our teachers. The best way to express it was to tell our school board.”
Union doesn't want to assign 'shame or blame' in McDaniel's resignation
The email sent by the AFSA board said the purpose of encouraging the union’s members to write to OKCPS board members “is not to shame or blame. We are not airing our grievances or asking for answers to questions we may have. What we ARE asking for is for them to please do everything they can to make sure we keep Dr. McDaniel as our superintendent.”
The district is scheduled to hold a special board meeting on Thursday night. On the agenda are items for closed-session discussion “regarding the evaluation and employment” of the superintendent, as well as open-session “discussion and possible action regarding the evaluation and employment of the superintendent,” and the selection of a search firm to find a new superintendent.
McDaniel, who started the job July 1, 2018, is the longest-serving OKCPS superintendent since Arthur Steller, who held the job from 1985 through November 1992. Since Stellar left, McDaniel is one of only three people to last at least five years as the district’s superintendent.
Neither McDaniel nor most members of the eight-person OKCPS board have returned messages seeking comment since Monday. The district has issued two statements about the situation, both in the name of Lewis, who has served as the board chair – an elected position – since 2017. Her current term in that position expires in 2025.
Elms said she didn’t know if board members would pay attention to the emails from school site administrators, but “we just decided we wanted to show our unconditional support for everything Dr. McDaniel does for us.”
Elms said if she could speak to McDaniel, she would thank him “for being an inspiration in a pretty tough profession. He’s got great words of wisdom. He’s always believed in the work we’re doing. What I love the most about him is he’s about taking care your people, taking care of one another. That shows what a servant heart he has.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Supt. resigns: Principals launch campaign to encourage him to stay
