Oxford school board selects new superintendent

The Oxford Community Schools board on Tuesday selected a superintendent to lead the district, nearly a month after it announced three finalists were up for the post that begins July 1.

The seven-member board voted unanimously to select Tonya Milligan, executive director of K-12 teaching and learning at Columbus City Schools in Columbus, Ohio, as its new superintendent. The vote took place at a special meeting at Oxford Middle School on Tuesday evening.

"This process has been educational, its been exciting, its been informative and I think its been inclusive and transparent," said board President Erin Reis. "I'm happy to see that we're able to work as a board. Selecting a superintendent is one of the most important decisions we'll make as a group for our students, for our families and for our communities."

Following the tally, Reis said she would contact Milligan and the school district's attorneys to begin the negotiation process for Milligan's contract. The contract would then be presented to the board and made available to the public for review and execution prior to Milligan's start date, Reis said.

Milligan is slated to assume the role as the Oxford school district's chief executive July 1. The position pays between $215,000 to $230,000. The district has 5,700 students in pre-K-12 and 855 school staffers.

The selection comes after the board in March announced it had selected three finalists for it's superintendent post.

Among Milligan in the selection pool were Cormac Lynn, superintendent of the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw; and David Raleigh, superintendent of LaRue County Schools in Hodgenville, Kentucky.

Reis said Raleigh had "withdrawn from the selection materials" prior to site visits for Lynn and Milligan on April 5 and April 12, respectively.

The board president described the two finalists as "excellent educators"; other board members lauded them for their qualifications.

Some board members raised concerns about Lynn heading a private school district, while Milligan was a leader in a public school district.

Milligan "already understands and works well within the public school system and all the parameters that are around us and the things that we need to be sure that we do," said Treasurer Mary Hanser.

Current Oxford schools Superintendent Vickie Markavitch, who was appointed in January 2023, will leave the post June 30. Markavitch replaced interim superintendent Anita Qonja-Collins, who was appointed after the sudden retirement of former superintendent Ken Weaver on Nov. 22, 2022.

Mark Gillim, an Oxford parent of a student who was a freshman in November 2021, commended the board on its selection, but criticized members and current superintendent for not disclosing topics discussed in closed sessions.

"In my opinion, you're still stuck in the first phase of trauma: that is denial," he said of the 2021 mass shooting that killed four students and injured seven people, including a teacher.

"... The community is not going to let this issue go until there's full accountability for the board and staff members directly involved," Gillim said. "... Leadership in the school flows from the board members. Everything rises and falls on leadership, and right now, our school is on fire, with the help of Vickie Markavitch."

The district still is dealing with the aftermath of a student who fired his weapon 33 times in an attack at the school in November 2021, that killed Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; and Justin Shilling, 17. Ethan Crumbley is serving a life sentence for the attack.

The shooter's parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, were convicted in jury trials of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced 10 to 15 years in prison April 9 for their gross negligence that contributed to the shooting.

The district is entangled in lawsuits, and parents continue to demand change and transparency from school leaders. The complaints allege the district failed to protect students and downplayed the threat the killer posed to the school by taking actions, they say, that created or increased the danger.

jaimery@detroitnews.com