School board votes unanimously on new superintendent

GROSSE POINTE FARMS — Call it a Christmas miracle. The Grosse Pointe Board of Education — which is known for divisiveness that can border on rancor — found itself in a rare moment of unity when selecting its next superintendent.

The board voted 7-0 to name Andrea Tuttle, 50, its new superintendent during a meeting Dec. 12 at Brownell Middle School in Grosse Pointe Farms.

“I’m pleased that we have come together as a board to pick a candidate,” Trustee Colleen Worden said.

Interim Superintendent Christian Fenton, a retired administrator who worked for the district for 37 years, said he believes the last time the board unanimously voted for a superintendent was in the 1980s.

Tuttle has been the superintendent and human resources director for Owosso Public Schools since 2010. She was a principal in Owosso Public Schools from 2008 to 2010 and worked as a teacher and principal for other districts before that, including a teaching stint in Perth, Australia. She said she has spent 28 years in education and has elementary and secondary teaching certificates.

“It is with immense gratitude and a profound sense of honor that I embrace the opportunity to collaborate with the esteemed Grosse Pointe Public Schools district and its esteemed community team,” Tuttle said by email after the board voted in favor of her appointment. “I am eagerly anticipating the continuation of the rich legacy of triumphs while steadfastly striving towards collective growth, nurturing an environment where every student flourishes. Together, let us forge ahead, dedicated to the advancement and empowerment of each and every student in our care.”

Trustee Terence Collins said he had his own “personal concerns” about Tuttle — he didn’t elaborate further on those — but ultimately felt Tuttle offered the “best opportunity for this district at this time.”

“While I don’t agree (with some who contend) our central administration has been gutted … we must have someone (as superintendent) with experience going into next year,” Collins said. “I have some serious concerns going into our budget next year. I think we need as professional and experienced a person as possible — and it’s still going to be a challenge.”

The district has lost more than half of its central administrators this year.

It’s critical to have a superintendent who can bring everyone together, officials said.

“During almost every one of her (interview) answers, she gave credit to someone else,” Worden said of Tuttle. “That’s important in building a team.”

Vice President Lisa Papas said she was happy to hear that Tuttle was a big advocate of early childhood education and understands the importance of getting the youngest members of the community into the school system.

“I’m very confident she will be a very strong leader,” Papas said. “No prospective superintendent is perfect. … I think she is the right person at the right time.”

Treasurer Sean Cotton said he felt Tuttle “is someone who is going to be transformative” for the district.

President Ahmed Ismail called Tuttle “pragmatic (and) no nonsense,” and said she’s someone who listens to others.

Board members say 39 candidates applied for the post. Those candidates were whittled down to seven who were called in for public interviews Dec. 6 and 7 at Brownell. From those candidates, the board held a special meeting at Brownell on a Saturday — Dec. 9 — to determine who the two finalists would be, with board members ranking their top three from the seven interviewees. Based on those rankings, the finalists were A.J. Staniszewski, a native of the Pointes and director in Mapleton Public Schools in Colorado, and Tuttle.

Staniszewski got considerable support from family, friends and others in the community, who attested to his intelligence, integrity and skills as an educator, but ultimately it was Tuttle’s experience as a superintendent that led the board to select her over him.

“I just don’t think it’s the right time for him (to be the GPPSS superintendent),” Collins said.

Like many other board members, Collins was hopeful the district could find another administrative role for Staniszewski.

Although she’s not a native of the district like Staniszewski, Tuttle has ties to the Pointes. Her mother grew up on Audubon Road in Grosse Pointe Park, “So I spent quite a bit of time in this area,” she told the board during her first interview Dec. 7. Two of her siblings live in the Pointes and her cousin is a part-owner of the Cadieux Café, a longtime east side staple.

Tuttle has a bachelor’s degree in management and fine arts from Alma College, a master’s degree in education and school principalship from Central Michigan University and a doctorate of education in education leadership from CMU.

At press time, the board was expected to work with Tuttle to hammer out a contract. It wasn’t known exactly when she might start, but some officials said it would likely be around Feb. 1.