HOLLAND TWP., MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – One of three area school districts seeking a new operational leader has apparently filled that vacancy.
The West Ottawa Board of Education, during a special meeting Wednesday, voted unanimously to extend a contract offer to Timothy Bearden for being the district’s next superintendent. The Chief Academic Officer of Detroit County Day School in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills was chosen ahead of Anne Armstrong, the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources with Hudsonville Public Schools.
Both finalists, who emerged from 28 candidates who applied when Tom Martin announced his retirement in August after nine years at the post, toured the district and had final virtual public interviews on Tuesday. “The Board of Education reconvened on Wednesday to deliberate over both candidates,” said Board President Kate McCoy in a letter to the “West Ottawa Community” issued Thursday, “taking into account the candidates’ interview, discussions with references, and feedback from members of the community.”
McCoy added that, after the board conducted “extensive” reference checks on both candidates, “those conversations served to reinforce the excellent qualities both evidenced during evidenced during their interviews.”
A start date for Bearden will be determined after he and the district come to terms on a contract.
Since Martin left on December 31, Assistant Superintendent Jeff Malloch has assumed the West Ottawa operational leadership duties on an interim basis.
At the end of the Academic 2021 year, Dr. Brian Davis and Tom Tenbrink will be retiring from their superintendent posts in Holland and Jenison, respectively, after 13 and 18 years, respectively.
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