Buckeye school district terminates interim superintendent, despite community pleas to keep him

The governing board for Buckeye’s Liberty Elementary School District has terminated the contract of its interim superintendent, but many community members are not happy about the decision.

Earlier this year, the community gathered signatures to recall former President Bryan Parks and current Vice President Kris Kenyon, who they say created an environment where teachers and staff no longer felt valued or supported.

Trevor McDonald became interim superintendent in July. Parents went to a governing board meeting earlier this month to show their support for McDonald, and the district itself called McDonald a "fierce advocate for student well-being."

But board member Kellie Zimmerman is the only one who voted against removing him on Wednesday.

“I do not believe he acted with any mal-intention for the district. I think he made student-centered decisions," Zimmerman said. "He empowered staff to do their best for students and I think he clearly understood the role of the board and clearly understood the role of the superintendent and worked to establish those boundaries to make sure that the district ran smoothly as he was given that role by this board by a 5-0 vote.”

In an email to KJZZ, board president Michael Todd said:

"This is a personnel matter and we are not able to comment further. Rest assured the board acted [in] the best interest of the school district. Moving forward we have a very capable assistant superintendent and cabinet who will continue to lead our district. The Governing Board had always planned to conduct a search for a permanent superintendent and we will continue to do so."

Todd said in the coming days, the board will hear from several search firms that will be considered to help the district attract and hire "a highly qualified superintendent."

"Each board member takes their job seriously and we will always act in the best interest of the school district," Todd said.

But several parents, who did not want their names used in this story, told KJZZ they do not think the board is making decisions that are in the best interest of their children and that the termination seems more political than anything else.

Governing board agendas and posts in a community Facebook group indicate the decision to terminate McDonald may be over an alleged violation of the Arizona School District Procurement Code.