Stow-Munroe Falls school board postpones vote on new superintendent

The Stow-Munroe Falls Board of Education has postponed its vote on hiring a new superintendent.

According to the original agenda for Monday's special meeting, the board was prepared to offer the position to Felisha Gould, the current assistant superintendent with the Cleveland Heights-University Heights school district. A revised agenda was released Monday afternoon without a vote scheduled. The decision was made "to allow the Board to consider the next steps in the process," according to a media release sent by the school district.

The other finalist for the position, Kristen Prough, has served as interim superintendent since Tom Bratten left the top administrative role. She joined the Stow-Munroe Falls school district in 2017, serving first as director of special services and assuming the role of assistant superintendent/director of student services in 2020. Bratten, who stepped down at the beginning of this year citing health reasons, still remains with the district as a special projects administrator to oversee the construction of the field house and the district's master facilities plan.

Felisha Gould, according to her LinkedIn profile, also worked for the Akron Public Schools for more than 20 years in several capacities, including middle school and high school principal.

In 2021, Gould was one of the four finalists for Akron Public Schools superintendent. She started her educational career as a teacher in Akron and graduated from East High School. Gould also is an adjunct professor at Cleveland State University.

The decision to vote on Gould, rather than Prough, was met with mixed reactions on social media. A group called Stow Collaboration for Change has spoken for hiring Gould, with posts in other social media forums expressing support for Prough.

Regardless, the school board was expected to have only four members voting at Monday night's special meeting following the abrupt resignation last week of Jon Leissler, who cited work and family responsibilities. The board members were expected to vote on accepting his resignation Monday.

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at Lakeview Intermediate School, 1819 Graham Road in Stow.

Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Expected vote on new Stow-Munroe Falls superintendent postponed