Dive Brief:
- On Tuesday, Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Mike Miles announced that he would resign, with his deputy, Ann Smisko, assuming control until a permanent replacement is found.
- Miles, who joined the district in 2012 and had his contract extended last year, faced calls for resignation from the Dallas County Commissioner, who said he set the district back 40 years, as well as allegations that district officials were reallocating taxpayer funds for at-risk students to elite and magnet schools, as well as financial reserves.
- The district and Miles are currently in talks about a severance package, but there are no hard numbers yet.
Dive Insight:
The role of urban superintendent is frequently a controversial one. Reform efforts underway in many big city school districts have led to superintendents like Miles drawing fire from teacher unions, parent organizations, and even local politicians.
Miles isn't the week's only high-profile superintendent resignation: Newark’s embattled superintendent, Cami Anderson, is also stepping down. Superintendent churn isn't uncommon in many cities. Seattle, for example, is on its sixth superintendent in the past decade, thanks in part to tension between the city’s highly political school board and district leaders.