Plymouth-Canton Votes to Offer Superintendent Job to Michael Meissen

The Plymouth-Canton Board of Education appears to have found the district's new chief. 

The board voted Thursday 6-1 to offer Michael Meissen, supervisor of school improvement and student achievement for Milwaukee Public Schools in Milwaukee, WI, the job as Plymouth-Canton's next superintendent.

If he accepts the job, Meissen will replace outgoing superintendent Jeremy Hughes, who took the post in 2011 on an interim basis and extended his stay in October of that year through 2013 to give the district time to find a successor.

According to the Canton Observer, Meissen was chosen over the district's executive director of business services, Brodie Killian, the only internal candidate to be named as a finalist.

Board secretary Adrienne Davis, who cast the lone dissenting vote, backed Killian, the Observer reported.

Meissen previously served as superintendent of Glenbard High School District 87 in Illinois, and left his $215,665-a-year job in 2012, according to the Daily Herald in suburban Chicago.

It was there that Meissen worked to standardize curriculum, facing some community backlash when some honors classes were eliminated, according to the Daily Herald.

Rod Molek, Meissen's assistant superintendent for human resources and student services, described Meissen as a bold leader to the Daily Herald.

"His style is that of a coach," Molek told the newspaper. "He works with his assistant coaches and players. He's with us in the trenches and wants to do better every day … And he's not afraid to tackle issues you know don't have 100 percent support."

Meissen pursued the superintendent job at L'Anse Creuse Public Schools in Harrison Township in 2012, according to Glen Ellyn (IL) Patch. According to the Daily Herald, Meissen was one of three finalists for that post, but withdrew his name from consideration.

Meissen also was named as a finalist for Racine Unified School District superintendent in Wisconsin in February, but did not receive a job offer, according to journaltimes.com.

Check back with Plymouth-Canton Patch for more on this story.