Plymouth-Canton School Board Meeting on Strategic Planning Delayed

The Plymouth-Canton School Board will likely take up the issue of strategic planning at a special meeting in January.

Originally slated for Tuesday, the special meeting was canceled when not enough board members could attend, board president Steven Sneideman said.

Tuesday's special meeting of the Plymouth-Canton School Board, aimed at discussing strategic planning, was canceled.

"Not enough members could make it, so we're going to switch it to January," board president Steven Sneideman said.

The postponement marks a temporary break in an otherwise tumultuous year for the school board. Several meetings this school year have been jammed with teachers unhappy about contracts and a board members split over whether to renew the contract of Superintendent Craig Fiegel.

The board voted 4-3 Sept. 28 not to renew Fiegel's contract, some member saying he did not collaborate well and, by the same margin, voted to install Assistant Superintendent Ken Jacobs as chief operating officer, giving him many of Fiegel's responsibilities.

The board's last regular meeting for this year is Dec. 14. That meeting will likely focus on routine business, said district spokesman Frank Ruggirello, along with a special presentation from the Salvation Army on how schools have helped the charity this year.

The meeting agenda will be posted later this week, Ruggirello said.

Sneideman, who wanted to renew Fiegel's contract, said he hopes to have a special meeting early next year, possibly Jan. 4, to talk about strategic planning and about either hiring an interim superintendent or creating a search committee to find Fiegel's successor.

But in January, school board members must vote for new officers. Sneideman said he was not sure he'd be re-elected as board president.

"I don't know. It's been 18 months. It would be good to have a break," he said. "I've also enjoyed the role of leading the board meetings. Even if there's controversy, it's still interesting to me. But, you never know. If I'm not, I'm still pleased to be on the board and working for the community in that way."