Clayton County Schools Superintendent Edmond Heatley’s chances of becoming superintendent of the Berkeley, Calif., school district may be in jeopardy.
Heatley, the only finalist for the 9,400-student Berkeley Unified School District superintendent’s job, ran into public outcry this week over his alleged opposition to same-sex marriage and his management of the 51,008-student Clayton school system. Berkeley school officials said during their meeting this week they will take their time filling the job.
The Berkeley board was scheduled next week to vote on whether to offer Heatley a contract. That vote is on hold now.
Berkeley school board president John T. Selawsky on Friday declined to talk, saying, “This is a pending personnel matter.”
Heatley’s last day as Clayton superintendent is Sept. 30. Luvenia Jackson, a retired 30-year Clayton schools educator, was appointed interim superintendent this week by the school board.
While Heatley’s pending new job may be in limbo, Clayton school officials would not speculate on whether Heatley had a possible future here.
“He’s resigned from our position, and as far as I know, he hasn’t indicated a desire to come back and we’ve already hired an interim,” said Clayton school board chair Pam Adamson.
When asked if the district would consider rehiring Heatley, Adamson said, “I don’t have a clue. Anything I’d say right now would be pure speculation. We’ve done what we needed to do, and now things play out.”
School district spokesman David Waller reiterated the district’s stance, saying, “As of Sept. 30, he will be off the district’s payroll.”
Attempts to reach Heatley on Friday were unsuccessful.
The Proposition 8 flap in Berkeley, a largely liberal community, surfaced this week when berkeleyside.com, a local online news site, reported Heatley allegedly backed a resolution supporting Proposition 8 when he was superintendent in Chino Valley, Calif. Proposition 8, which passed in 2008, recognizes marriage as being between a man and woman only. The California constitutional amendment has been controversial and a source of legal battles.
But a spokeswoman for Chino Valley Unified School District said the uproar over the Proposition 8 incident miscasts Heatley.
“The resolution did not reflect Dr. Heatley’s stance on Proposition 8,” said district spokeswoman Julie Gobin. “It was created by the board member Michael Calta. Dr. Heatley was asked to place a resolution [about Proposition 8] on the agenda. The board member wrote the resolution and gave it to Dr. Heatley.”
Heatley was among 50 candidates who vied for the Berkeley job. Berkeley residents expressed concerns at school board meetings about Heatley’s three-year tenure in Clayton County, which was tinged with controversy. The ex-Marine is credited with helping Clayton regain full accreditation, improving test scores and closing a significant budget gap. But he also sparred with some school board members and drew criticism for having his wife and two children on the Clayton school payroll when teachers were facing layoffs.
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