After 11 years on the Clarkston Board of Education, board Treasurer Joan Patterson has resigned.
“I believe it’s now time to move on to the next chapter in my life and that of my family,” Patterson said in her resignation letter, which she presented to the board before Monday’s meeting.
She said the resignation was effective immediately, and didn’t stay for the meeting. Board Secretary Craig Hamilton said Patterson’s resignation is a loss to the board.
“It’s a shame,” Hamilton said. “I thank Joan for her service to the board. It was a pleasure to work with her.”
Patterson resigned because of the board’s actions this year.
“It has become obvious to me that the direction that the board majority is taking is inconsistent with my core values and beliefs,” she said in her letter. “When student engagement is valued over achievement, a properly developed and appropriate rating of our superintendent is overturned through the use of political maneuvering, and communication and opposing viewpoints are suppressed, it’s obvious that including someone such as myself on the Clarkton School Board is no longer valued.”
Board President Steve Hyer thanked Patterson for her service, but had no comment on her reasons for resigning.
The board voted 5-0 to accept the resignation, and appoint Elizabeth Egan to fill the position of treasurer. Egan, Hamilton, President Steve Hyer, Vice President Susan Boatman, and Trustee Kelli Horst voted “yes.” Trustee Cheryl McGinnis was absent.
The school board has 30 days to fill the vacancy. It will accept letters of intent from candidates through May 1. An application is online at clarkston.k12.mi.us. The board will consider applicants and make its appointment at its May 11 meeting, the board president said.