SEYMOUR — Seymour Schools Superintendent Michael Wilson is resigning after about four years leading the school district.
Members of the Seymour Board of Education accepted Wilson’s resignation letter at a meeting Monday. However, he is staying on the job until June.
The Meeting
Prior to accepting his resignation, the board met in an executive session — a gathering closed to the public — to talk about Wilson’s contract. The discussion was added to the agenda at the start of the meeting, which is allowed under the state’s Freedom of Information Act. However, it means that the public was not apprised about the discussion in advance of the meeting.
The board’s lawyer attended the executive session as well.
After about 30 minutes, the school board reconvened in public, and voted 7 – 0 to authorize its chairman, Ed Strumello, to sign a contract with Wilson for the current school year; and to accept Wilson’s letter of resignation, effective June 30.
School board members Jay Hatfield, Strumello, Fred Stanek and Peter Kubik all thanked Wilson for his time at the helm in Seymour.
Watch the video below to see their reactions.
REACTION
Stanek and Kubik pointed out how difficult it has been to be a school superintendent during the COVID-19 pandemic. School district leaders, in consultation with medical experts, had to decide whether schools should go remote, hybrid, or stay in-person.
It’s proved impossible to make everyone happy, Kubik pointed out. Stanek credited Wilson and his team for doing everything possible to keep the Seymour school community safe.
“No one has known exactly how to proceed during this terrible crisis of the COVID-19 virus,” said Stanek. “I think Mike Wilson has handled the COVID situation in an exemplary manner. I’ve been disturbed by some of the comments made by the public about the way the school district has handled the situation. There’s been no right answer and no wrong answer. Mike has strived to keep our children, our staff and the community as safe and as healthy as possible during this crisis.”
Seymour schools are currently on a hybrid model. Recently, some parents were not happy with Wilson and the school district’s policies regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, and submitted a petition calling for a return to full-time, in-person learning. Click here to read a previous Valley Indy story.
Click play on the video below to watch Wilson talk about how it is still too early to return to full-time, in-person learning.
Wilson said he’s leaving to “pursue future endeavors in the field of education,” and that the mounting pressure from parents to not fully reopen schools for in-person learning had nothing to do with his decision.
“I respect and appreciate the opinions of all of our parents,” Wilson said.
Wilson, during Monday’s meeting, didn’t publicly say why he was leaving or what the next chapter holds, but did say he’s honored to take his leave with Seymour High School’s current senior class.
“In some ways I’ll be graduating with the class of 2021 since I came in when they did as freshmen,” Wilson said.
Parent Jessica Nunez, who’s been leading the charge for a full, in-person return option, said Wilson’s resignation “was unexpected.”
“I wish him nothing but the best and am hopeful that the new superintendent will be a voice of reason and work in collaboration with the community and the parents moving forward,” said Nunez.
Strumello said Wilson has made significant strides since coming onboard in 2017, when he replaced former Superintendent of Schools Christine Syriac.
“There have been improvements in some of our testing, and his visibility within all of our schools has been very good,” Strumello added. “Mike doesn’t just show up for the big school events, he often stops by a soccer match, a softball game, a geography bee and school plays, and that is very important to the kids.”
A father of two college-age kids a high school freshman and a college freshman, Wilson came to Seymour after serving as neighboring Ansonia’s assistant superintendent. He previously served as Ansonia High School’s assistant principal, was Ansonia’s K‑12 district coordinator for math and science and taught in several schools in Greenwich and his native New York.
Wilson said thanks to teamwork and cooperation, the district has been able to increase its State Accountability Index (which measures how districts prepare students for success in college, careers and life), and in 2019, SHS was recognized as one of 41 schools included on a list of College Success Awards.
But it’s the daily interaction with students, staff and families that Wilson will miss most.
“Their support over these past four years has been incredible,” he said. “I will miss seeing all of our students in their classrooms on a regular basis.”
Wilson was paid $188,600 in 2019, according to The Connecticut Post.