Peekskill Schools Chief Calls it Quits
Halfway through a four-year contract, Peekskill Superintendent of Schools James Willis announced last week he was leaving the district, effective July 12.
Willis, who revealed his decision a day after the budget and Board of Education vote, said he was retiring to return to Louisville, Kentucky where his wife, four children and grandchildren reside.
“Sometimes in life, the timing is now,” Willis said. “It has been my deepest pleasure working with Peekskill’s dedicated staff and members of the community. I will truly miss Peekskill.”
Board of Education President Joseph Urbanowicz said Willis first approached the board about a month ago indicating his desire to leave. An undisclosed separation agreement was reached with Willis, who earned an annual salary of $242,511, plus $72,000 in benefits.
Urbanowicz said the board will be meeting over the next two weeks to discuss filling the superintendent of schools vacancy on an interim basis and strategy for finding a permanent replacement. He indicated some of the recent controversies in the district involving guidance counselors being suspended and a faculty member being charged with changing grades on exams would not “impact our pool of candidates.”
“The board will be seeking input from all stakeholders in the district and community concerning the qualities and characteristics that we will seek in our next leader,” Urbanowicz said.
Willis, who created controversy during his first year at the helm when he suggested a fence be built around the Peekskill High School campus to keep students from leaving, offered to lend a hand in his successor.
“I will assist the board in any way they need me as they begin the search for Peekskill’s next superintendent,” he said.
When asked what contributions Willis had made to the district, Urbanowicz responded, “He focused on bringing more technology and on-line learning into the district.”
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