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11/10/2020 11:00 PMBoard of Education (BOE) Chair Katie Stein is stepping down from her position leading the board, though she will continue to serve as a regular member, she announced at the board’s Nov. 10 regular meeting, citing her numerous other personal and professional commitments.
First elected to the board in 2015, Stein earned another four-year term in 2019, and has served as chair for the last three. Her stepping down will be effective Dec. 2, coinciding with Madison’s new permanent superintendent of schools Dr. Craig Cooke beginning his tenure.
She will chair her last BOE meeting on Dec. 1, she said.
Stein told The Source that she had originally intended to step down in the spring, but after the resignation of Madison’s former superintendent Tom Scarice, she said she felt it was “important to continue on and work with the board through the superintendent search process.”
“Now that [the search process] is complete, it seemed like an appropriate time to transition. It has been an honor to serve for the past three years and I am very much looking forward to working with the board and Dr. Cooke as he begins his work in December,” she added.
Stein also mentioned her high-stress day job, where she works in specialized health care at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, as well as the need to care for her elderly parents.
Stein’s tenure as chair was defined by her high-energy and hands-on approach to leading the schools, with Madison students, parents, and other elected officials having praised her for listening and collaborating on issues.
Last summer, Stein also led the BOE through the school reopening process, eventually choosing to start in a hybrid model, though that decision saw pushback from a number of parents who wanted a full re-open.
BOE members offered their thanks to Stein for her service, including overseeing the arduous and complicated search for a solution to the schools’ aging facilities, and more recently, guiding them through a global pandemic.
“Nobody has put more of herself out there for the schools or the students, and you have successfully navigated the board through some of the most challenging issues or events imaginable over the last two years,” said BOE member Galen Cawley.
“It’s no small feat what you’ve done,” said another BOE member, Emily Rosenthal.
At the same meeting, the BOE discussed some significant changes to their bylaws that would affect how future chairs and other positions on the BOE are chosen and serve, including imposing two-year term limits and holding votes on these executive positions every year.
Those changes received mixed reactions from BOE members, with many praising the concept of spreading responsibility while also worrying they would create unnecessary political infighting and disrupt continuity.
Stein said the BOE would look to potentially schedule a special meeting to discuss these changes later this month.