BELLVILLE — The Clear Fork school board voted 5-0 Thursday to re-employ Supt. Janice Wyckoff for one more year, despite widespread criticism of the district’s leader.
Board president Lori McKee said the agreement between Wyckoff and the board will allow the district to transition to a new superintendent while avoiding potentially lengthy and expensive litigation.
The resolution to re-employ Wyckoff stated the expiration date of her existing contract was “in dispute,” but that she had willingly agreed to accept a one-year employment contract, provided she can resign without consequences at any time.
Before opening up the floor for public comment, board president McKee read a statement on behalf of the board.
McKee said that under Ohio law, school boards must decide whether or not to renew a superintendent’s contract by March 1 of the year it expires. She went on to state that Wyckoff’s contract is unusual because it requires the board to meet with the superintendent and discuss her contract one year prior to its expiration.
“If the board does not act within the timeframe, the superintendent is entitled to a contract of no less than two years,” McKee said.
Wyckoff’s last contract is from 2018. The contract was written with a July 31, 2021 end date.
Treasurer Jon Mason, who did not work in Clear Fork at the time, said the board allowed Wyckoff’s contract to extend automatically for two more years. Wyckoff earned $108,000 during the 2021-2022 school year and will earn $110,500 during the 2022-2023 school year, according to Mason.
Wyckoff’s new contract is effective Aug. 1, 2023 through July 31, 2024.
“While we recognize that the board’s decision will not be agreeable to everyone, for the reasons explained, we believe this arrangement will serve the best interest of the district and provide the board a clear path to begin to make plans for a new superintendent and allows Ms. Wyckoff time to transition,” McKee said.
“In the next few months, we will have much work to do to transition to a new superintendent, establish the district’s trajectory and set goals for our next superintendent.”
Staff, parents and community members criticized Wyckoff’s leadership during nearly an hour and a half of public comment following the vote. Some condemned the school board’s handling of Wyckoff’s contract.
Wyckoff’s contract states that she is to be evaluated annually by the school board; however, the district only has records of two evaluations – one in 2015 and another in 2018.
McKee confirmed the board has not completed performance evaluations for Wyckoff on a regular basis.
“I am the fourth president in five years and two months,” she said. “I think there’s been a lot of turnover in the board and I think that has led to part of this.”
Both evaluations of Wyckoff were largely positive.
Evaluators praised the superintendent for leading the district through new facilities construction projects, working with administrators to develop a district spending plan, organizing professional development opportunities for staff and spearheading efforts to update district curriculum. Evaluators also commended Wyckoff’s leadership and integrity and recommended efforts to improve communication.
Cheryll Harris, who spoke on behalf of the Clear Fork Valley Education Association, presented a starkly different narrative.
Harris, a field coordinator with the Ohio Federation of Teachers, shared the results of a districtwide survey, which was sent out to the staff union’s 113 members.
According to Harris, 80 percent of teachers responded to the survey. Harris said the full survey results were shared with board members on Feb. 7, which McKee confirmed after the meeting.
Wyckoff was rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the best and five being the worst.
Harris stated that 86 percent of respondents rated Wyckoff’s rapport with teachers at a 4 or 5 and 87 percent of respondents rated her ability to maintain effective staff relationships at a 4 or 5.
When first grade teacher Nichole Rinehart stepped up to the podium, a group of attendees dressed in red stood and faced her as she spoke.
Rinehart said she came to Clear Fork because of its “tremendous reputation,” but described her nearly five years in the district as a “nightmare.”
“I stand before you tonight to speak on behalf of the Clear Fork staff and our students,” she said. “Mistreatment, disrespect and unprofessionalism has become a systemic problem in our beloved school district.
“The demands of teachers are now greater than ever and the support we require is not being provided. We as a staff have pleaded for help from our leadership and nothing has been done … As a result of our pleas, we have been shamed and identified as problems.”
Former school board president Kyle Beveridge publicly took responsibility for the terms of Wyckoff’s contract and told the public they were never meant to be permanent.
Beveridge said the July 31 deadline for renewing Wyckoff’s contract was not in the original agreement, but was added because the district was in the process of building new elementary schools.
Other community members who spoke called on the district to come together.
“Going forward, I know a lot of mistakes have been made,” said Tom Stortz, a Clear Fork alumnus and coach who started an online petition calling for Wyckoff’s non-renewal.
“I think we can come together as a community, as we always do here, and get back on the right track,” he said.
Michael Robison, another Clear Fork graduate and father of seven, called on the school board and community to take responsibility for the future.
“One thing I learned in my 10 years of service in the military is leadership. Leadership comes by leading by example and being respectful, listening to the people that report up to you. And hopefully, there’s learning experience along the way,” he said.
“For all of you sitting on that stage, you’re leaders,” he continued, addressing the board. “Learn from what has taken place here. Don’t repeat it. For the people in the community, learn from what you witnessed and don’t allow it to happen again. But let’s come together and work on it together.”
McKee echoed those calls to come together after the meeting.
“We need to heal and we need to rebuild. We need to move forward,” she said.
McKee and board vice president Ryan Knuckles encouraged members of the public to sign up for a committee that will help guide the district’s future, including its priorities for the next superintendent.
“I think we as a Clear Fork district need to come to an agreement of what our next superintendent looks like,” she said.
“We need to have school staff and faculty as well as community members contributing. We are a community and we need to come together as a community to make this next hire.”
Wyckoff said she is working with the school board to make the transition out of the district as smooth as possible. She also said there would be no backlash from her administration against parents or staff who spoke out against her in the meeting.
“Clear Fork is a great place. There’s good people here. They have the right to speak and have opinions and I’m actually kind of proud of them,” she said after the meeting.
“There won’t be any (retribution.) They have a right of freedom of speech and they used it. There should be no retribution.”
Wes Dingus, the mayor of Butler, was the only person to speak in Wyckoff’s defense during the meeting.
“Everything that I’ve ever invited Mrs. Wyckoff to, she’s been to,” he said. “I appreciate what Ms. Wyckoff has done in this community. She owes me nothing, but I owe her a thank you.”
Janice Wyckoff began her career at Clear Fork as interim superintendent in July 2014. Her full-term contract commenced one month later.
Before joining Clear Fork Valley Local Schools in 2014, Wyckoff served as the superintendent of Black River Local School District in Sullivan, Ohio. She also served as the high school principal at Highland High School in Sparta.
Wyckoff earned her bachelor’s in secondary education, masters in educational administration and superintendent license from Ashland University.
