Covington heads north to become chancellor of a statewide Michigan school system

This story was published Aug. 27, 2011.

So, after a few days of confusion and finger-pointing, it turns out John Covington simply had another job waiting.

The news Friday (Aug. 26, 2011) of the Kansas City school superintendent’s new job as chancellor of a statewide Michigan school system set many in Kansas City reeling.

That includes board member Arthur Benson, who had said he would resign with Covington when the superintendent suddenly submitted his resignation Wednesday night.

Benson had blamed the school board and particularly board president Airick Leonard West for frustrating Covington and speeding his departure.

On Friday afternoon, Benson said he felt used by Covington.

“I am completely distraught, “ Benson said.

Late Friday, Covington apologized for the confusion in his “untimely” resignation.

“It was never my intent to cause confusion or alarm,” he said in a statement.

In Detroit, Roy Roberts, the chair of the Education Achievement Authority, which hired Covington, recited the extensive resume of innovations and achievements Covington racked up as superintendent in Kansas City.

Roberts praised Covington’s “outside the box” thinking, eliminating half-empty schools, cutting millions from the budget, engaging the community in strategic planning and reforming the way students are taught.

A unanimous vote cemented his new job — running a new district that will take over the management of the lowest-performing schools, many of them in Detroit. His contract, according to the Detroit Free Press, is for $225,000 a year over four years with a $175,000 signing bonus.

(He makes $250,000 a year in Kansas City, where he just finished the second year of a three-year contract.)

Roberts said Covington was the only remaining applicant for the job.

In Kansas City, West called for a cooling-off respite. Despite the barbs Benson had hurled his way, including a call on Thursday for West to resign, he stood with Benson’s arm around his shoulder, side by side, in a Friday afternoon news conference.

The board was hanging together, West said. None of them was resigning. And the administrative team that Covington was leaving behind was at work, carrying on with the complete trust of the board.

The board plans to meet again Wednesday to start plans for appointing an interim superintendent and to begin planning how it will search for a permanent leader.

Covington’s resignation does not take effect until Sept. 23.

“It is my intent to remain in Kansas City and assist in the transition over the next four weeks if the board so desires,” Covington said in his statement.

“I take full responsibility for the difficulties for which my resignation created.”

He is leaving, he went on to say, because of the opportunity to work with many more thousands of students in Detroit and Michigan’s most troubled schools.

Many people, though, felt they had been taken for a ride.

“I’m really disappointed in Covington’s behavior and the way he handled this,” said Clinton Adams, attorney and longtime district observer. “I have no idea why he’d do this. Apparently he lacked the courage to come forward and say he wanted to pursue other opportunities.”

Said John Fierro of the Mattie Rhodes Center and occasional Covington adviser: “I feel like it’s a cop-out.”

Benson stopped short of saying Covington had lied to him, but the evening Covington had submitted his resignation, Benson said he asked the superintendent if he was seeking or was a candidate for jobs in several specific districts or any district anywhere and Covington answered, “No.”

Benson said he believes Covington either caused or allowed concerns about conflicts with the board to emerge as a reason for his departure, which Benson now says was false.

“I especially feel pained by being ill-used by John Covington,” he said.

Dianne Cleaver, a former school district employee, urged the community to rally quickly.

“We should support the district staff that remains and support the board, then figure out as a community how to move forward,” she said. “The tragedy is every month longer, every year longer it takes us (to fix the schools) is another month we have children who are not well educated.”

Fred Hudgins, a parent leader, said the district and school advisory committees of parents plan to gather over the weekend along with teachers and the teachers union president to remind each other and the community of the good work that continues.

But none of the week’s drama surprised Hudgins.

Not Covington’s sudden resignation, nor the sight Friday of Covington on video in Detroit, interviewing and winning his new job.

Hudgins hadn’t forgotten his first meeting in Covington’s office.

That was in June 2010. Hudgins had just been elected the chairman of the district’s parent and community advisory committee. He stood in Covington’s sparsely decorated office, holding a list of parent concerns in his hands.

When Hudgins pushed too much, Covington pointed to a suitcase in his office.

“He said, ‘My bags are packed and I’m ready to go at any time.’ ”

When Covington rolled into town in 2009, the fact that he wasn’t afraid of losing the job was seen by many as a strength.

He wouldn’t be bullied. He’d stand up to any of the special interests and sacred cows.

But now that he and his bags are on the way out, he has left a community of people like Hudgins, a district parent, who said: “He thumbed his nose at Kansas City.”

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 11:34 AM with the headline "Covington heads north to become chancellor of a statewide Michigan school system."