Liberty Elementary board appoints Michelle May as interim superintendent after heated debate over reinstating Trevor McDonald

President Sarah Schmidt opened a Jan. 12 meeting of the Liberty Elementary School District governing board that included extended public comment urging the board to reinstate Trevor McDonald as interim superintendent. Multiple parents and staff said McDonald brought stability and improved staff morale during his brief tenure and asked the board to reverse his removal; commenters produced procurement payment figures and argued financial and operational harms followed his departure.

Several commenters directly accused a board member of improper conduct. Christina Gliomo said, “Michael Todd has been accused of using intimidation to get what he wants” and alleged he used racial slurs referring to a staff member; she urged the board to reinstate McDonald. Megan Canan, citing district payment records, said consultant payments totaled $9,156.37 — below the $10,000 threshold for written quotes — and argued the district paid that amount before McDonald’s termination, saying the procurement failure afterward occurred “after his removal.”

Board members debated options for short-term leadership. Some members, including Miss Zimmerman and President Schmidt, expressed that they believed McDonald could provide needed experience and continuity; other members said legal counsel and their own review uncovered conduct and potential legal exposures that made his return inappropriate. President Schmidt reported that legal counsel said there was no legal barrier to reinstating McDonald but that counsel’s personal view was against it.

After discussion, Board Member Michael Todd moved, and the motion was seconded, to name Michelle May (director of school improvement) as acting/interim superintendent and instruct staff to post an interim superintendent position for a short window of applicants. An amendment to instruct district counsel to negotiate an agreement for May also passed. The amended motion carried 3–2 (Todd, Kenyon, and Sarancione in favor; Zimmerman and President Schmidt opposed). The board recorded that the amendment passed 3–2 and the amended motion then passed 3–2.

The board’s action followed substantial public testimony emphasizing teacher and parent concerns about leadership stability, as well as board members’ repeated references to legal advice and pending inquiries. The motion directs staff to post the interim position for roughly two weeks and to allow the board to interview applicants while May serves in the interim role.

Going forward, the board asked staff to quickly post the interim position, to consider whether an external hire is needed to support May so district-office staff are not overburdened, and to hold a follow-up discussion on district office vacancies during a study session. The amended motion instructed district counsel to negotiate terms with May; specifics of compensation or contract terms were not provided at the meeting.