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Warren Supt. Hellweg moving on
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Warren Superintendent Kathryn Hellweg
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
Warren Board of Education has accepted the resignation and retirement of Superintendent Kathryn Hellweg, effective Monday.
Board President Kevin Stringer, who along with other board members commended Hellweg for her work on instruction, building projects and finances, said Tuesday night that the resignation was her idea.
Hellweg, Stringer and Treasurer Angela Lewis signed Hellweg’s separation agreement earlier Tuesday. It pays her about $55,000 to buy out the last five months of her contract and about $46,000 more in separation pay and unused vacation.
The board accepted her resignation 5-0.
Lewis and Associate Superintendent Loree Richardson will run the district until a new superintendent has been hired, Stringer said.
Hellweg has been under scrutiny by the board and some in the community since at least late 2009 when she received a lukewarm approval rating in her board evaluation.
Among the issues was the district’s failure to improve its state report card rating of academic watch, the ranking next to the bottom.
The board gave her a score of 2 out of 3 on improving student achievement, and 2.1 of 3 for her relationship with the board, and wrote that it hoped for a “more open climate both internally and externally” in 2010.
The board suggested that she devise a “better mechanism for dealing with controversial issues ... rather than creating the adversarial relationship [with the public] we have now.”
In more recent months, Hellweg came under fire from the citizens group, Citizens for Educational Reform, which urged the board to get rid of her quickly so a new superintendent could be in place for the 2011-12 school year.
“It’s nothing personal. You say [Hellweg] needs more time. The ship is sinking,” the Rev. Robert Stringer said at a board meeting in November.
Ed Bolino was among the board members to say that educational achievement in the district has not progressed as desired during Hellweg’s tenure, but her work is likely to produce that outcome after she’s gone.
Bob Faulkner was among the board members to commend Hellweg for her oversight of a Ohio School Facilities project that eliminated 19 school buildings and replaced them with five new ones.
He added that she “has a wonderful reputation at the Ohio Department of Education and on the national level.”
Others commended her for her “tenacity,” “logistical ability,” and “passion for children.”
In a prepared statement, Hellweg acknowledged that the district’s state report card scores are not “where we want to be,” but said the district is “operating on a sound fiscal base,” has excellent facilities, and “instructional programs in place that are based on best practice and sound research.”
Conversely, “significant instructional improvement will never happen without both parent and community support of our children and staff,” she said, adding that more than 70 percent of Warren students have one or no biological parent at home.
Hellweg, who has worked in education 43 years and is originally from Nebraska, said she and her husband will continue to live in Warren.
“I’d like to take some time to decide what to do,” she said.
Annette McCoy of Citizens for Educational Reform said she looks forward to the opportunity to work with new leadership and hopes the board will allow the “community to be involved in the program.” The organization “felt we didn’t have a voice” under Hellweg, she said.