Daniel Ross, the embattled superintendent of Deer Isle-area schools who was placed on administrative leave after two votes of no-confidence, submitted his resignation on Saturday, effective Dec. 17.
“For the sake of the students in School Union 76, I wish you luck in taking on the many challenges ahead of you.” Ross wrote in a two sentence resignation letter to the School Union 76 board that ended with “Merry Christmas.”
In late November, school staff in the towns of School Union 76, Deer Isle, Stonington, Sedgwick and Brooklin, voted in large numbers that they had no confidence in Ross.
In an email obtained by the Bangor Daily News, Phyllis Hunter of the Maine Education Association said district employees had made numerous accusations against Ross, including that he does not always tell the truth, is rarely present in the school buildings, that they felt unsupported and “targeted” by him, and that students had been negatively affected.
Hunter also said Ross had threatened “to use law enforcement as [a] disciplinary measure or to have people removed from buildings when they have every right to be there.”
On Monday, Sedgwick’s school board voted unanimously that Ross be instructed “to refrain from conducting any business” for the town’s elementary school — which serves students from pre-K to 8th grades — until further notice.
On Thursday, a board overseeing the full district placed Ross on paid administrative leave.
In an open letter emailed to the Bangor Daily News on Saturday, Ross laid out what he sees as problems in the school district and said his attempts to solve them were met with resistance.
“I think a lot of parents and community members are wondering ‘what is going on’ and this message is intended to fill in some of those answers,” he said.
Ross described a “very high rate of staff absences,” including more than 1,000 in Deer Isle-Stonington in each of the last two years, which Ross said has hurt the district’s budget and ability to offer quality instruction.
Additionally, a “significant number” of educators in the district have not received legally-required credentials or have let them lapse, and the teacher’s union has asked that teacher evaluations be put on hold, he said.
“As superintendent, it falls to me to address these issues, both legally and ethically,” Ross said, adding that his attempts to solve the problems were met with “extreme and vicious pushback against accountability” that led him toward the decision to resign.
“I wish the students, educators, staff and community of SU 76 all the best. It has been a privilege to serve in this position, and I wish only the best for my successor,” he said.
