Farmington Public Schools to seek out interim superintendent

FARMINGTON/FARMINGTON HILLS — The Farmington Public School Board of Education decided it will hire an interim superintendent at a meeting July 26 and is strongly considering Kelly Coffin, who is currently the assistant superintendent of innovation and strategic initiatives, for the position.

“I’m just absolutely thrilled to even be considered,” Coffin told the Farmington Press following the meeting. “It’s definitely an honor to  be considered to take the reins  and have a very smooth transition. So as (current Superintendent Christopher Delgado) transitions on to his next adventure, I, too, will be entering a new adventure, and I’m ready and I’m excited to support the community in this role.”

As it did when it elected Delgado in 2020, the board has formed a superintendent succession planning committee. The committee is composed of a resident, the board’s vice-president and the past president. The committee met a week prior to the board meeting to consider the best process for hiring a new superintendent. The board then heard the committee’s thoughts on the matter and decided to again look at hiring an internal candidate for an interim superintendent position as it weighs in on the long-term decision of who is best suited to lead the district into the future.

Former board President Cheryl Blau said that it seemed to be the consensus of the community as well as her colleagues that they should not choose a new superintendent right away, but rather an interim superintendent. She said doing that would give the board the time to get some extra training and to look closely at the candidates.

“The fact is we have an assistant superintendent that was selected to be the interim if something was to happen,” said Board of Education member Angie Smith. “I think we should follow our lead on what we committed ourselves to and do the work and take our time. … I’m not going to rush it. … I want to do what we promised and what was said.”

Smith also indicated that she and  board President Terri Weems have been speaking independently with parents. She pointed out that as a handful of parents said at the start of the meeting, they want the board to “take it slow and get it right.”

Weems said that there is a significant difference between the duties of a permanent superintendent and those of an interim superintendent. She said that when choosing a permanent superintendent, they will be getting a significant amount of community and stakeholder feedback. However, for purposes of an interim superintendent, the school board has the ability to  determine what it feels is appropriate for an interim. She said the committee favored internal candidates for the interim position as they are interested in stability and continuity.

Weems said that for the interim superintendent candidates, they will be looking for some stability and the desire to honor current goals established by the previous administration. She said the committee has a desire to continue the work left at hand and to avoid major shift changes.

“As an example, there has been a lot of really great work at the elementary level, and there is work underway at the middle and high schools, and so we’d like to see that move forward,” said Weems.  “This does not mean that the committee was interested in anything like status quo at all, but really maintaining the momentum of the really great work that’s been going on and wanting to see that continue.”

Coffin is currently working as the acting superintendent and could easily move into the seat vacated by Delgado, Weems said.

Board member Claudia Heinrich said that they have received feedback from staff and community members that Coffin is the person who is “best positioned”  to keep the district moving forward.

“My personal feeling is that if we want to continue and allow the things that we’ve been working on to move forward we’ve got somebody that’s set to do that, ” Heinrich said of Coffin.

However, Heinrich expressed concern that it would place Coffin or whoever they hire in a difficult position of having to do two jobs.

“I don’t want to put them in the position where they have to be a superhero,” she said.

Board member Donald Walker said that he felt that Coffin has a good team of support staff behind her.

“I think we should look at this opportunity not from a deficit mindset but from an opportunity mindset,” said Walker. “She (Coffin) has put together a heck of a team of individuals. She didn’t get us to this place all by herself. No disrespect intended. It was a team effort that got her there. And so whatever duties  she will take on should she be the person to take that role, it will give an opportunity for others to step up from their collective roles and maybe pull from people who are looking for opportunities to demonstrate themselves a little further as well. In my personal and professional experience, that’s how we cultivate talent.”

Walker said he believes that if they frame this decision right that this is an opportunity for the district to cultivate talent.

Blau agreed, saying that the district has a “tremendous” amount of talent within its teachers and staff. She said she is confident that they can find people within to fill the deficit that has been created.

The board will make an official decision on who the interim superintendent will be during its Aug. 13 meeting. The interim superintendent will commence duties Sept. 1.