Photo: School Board Chair Tom Koehler
The Portland School District released the following statement Thursday after the only candidate for the Superintendent’s job withdrew his name:
Today our finalist for PPS Superintendent, Dr. Donyall Dickey, withdrew his candidacy. We know his decision was not made lightly and we respect it. After a thorough and comprehensive process we came to a mutual understanding that our expectations for the job were not in complete alignment.
Dr. Dickey is a talented educator who has an impressive record of improving student success - and he has a bright future in education. We wish him only the best in the next phase of his career.
Our responsibility as a Board is to make the best decisions on behalf of our students and the taxpayers we serve. We now must turn our attention forward.
PPS has a remarkable team. We have an active parent community, an inspiring student body, a creative force of teachers and a dedicated administrative staff led by Interim Superintendent Bob McKean and Deputy CEO Yousef Awwad. We are very confident we will hire a permanent superintendent who will help lead our district in our next phase because of what we have to offer - a vibrant, caring city with a passion for public education.
We will not let this decision distract from the great work happening across our schools or stop us from pressing ahead on important initiatives like literacy adoption, middle school curriculum, health and safety improvements in our schools, and building 21st century learning facilities for all of our students.