Springfield Public Schools will keep its leader another year, but the vote to do so was divided.
The Springfield Board of Education on Thursday announced a contract extension had been awarded to Superintendent Grenita Lathan, after a review conducted earlier this week.
The vote was split 4-3, with Board President Danielle Kincaid and board members Judy Brunner, Scott Crise and Shurita Thomas-Tate in favor, while board members Kelly Byrne, Steve Makoski and Maryam Mohammadkhani voted against. This 4-3 split has emerged in the past year and surfaced in a number of votes.
The vote was taken in closed session under personnel provisions allowed by Missouri's Sunshine Law.
Lathan's contract has been extended to the 2026-27 school year, and she will earn a salary of $334,234.30.
The split vote differs from last year, where the extension was approved in January 2023 with a 7-0 vote. Byrne, Makoski and Mohammadkhani were on the board last year, and were part of that unanimous vote.
Kincaid said the disagreement this year was rooted in the multi-year nature of Lathan's contract. Like other district superintendents, Lathan has a three-year rolling contract that is extended year after year upon supportive reviews.
“The 4-3 vote doesn't indicate a lack of confidence in Lathan,” Kincaid said. “It expresses disagreement about the length of the contract, and some wanted additional time to evaluate her.”
Kincaid, Crise and Mohammadkhani are running for their seats in the April election, along with candidates Landon McCarter, Susan Provance, Kyler Sherman-Wilkins and Chad Rollins. McCarter and Rollins, who ran unsuccessfully in 2023, are aligned this election with Mohammadkhani. Byrne and Makoski will face re-election in 2025.
Lathan was given the reins of the district in 2021, previously working for Houston Independent School District, Peoria Public Schools and San Diego Unified School District. This marks her third contract extension.
“I appreciate the continued support of the Board of Education and all of Team SPS,” Lathan said in the release. “Springfield is my home and serving all SPS stakeholders as superintendent brings me great joy and a deep sense of purpose. We will continue to dream big while delivering on our promises in the best interests of the students, staff and community we serve.”
The Springfield district is facing challenges to improve student performance, behavior and attendance. During her tenure, she guided development of a strategic plan for the district to tackle those challenges.
Kincaid said board members acknowledged her leadership and direction facing these challenges.
“The board supports Dr. Lathan,” Kincaid said. “We know she has the skill set and experience to move this district forward.”
In the press release, the board listed these strengths and achievements in support of Lathan:
- Progressing toward student mastery of Missouri’s learning standards by establishing a guaranteed and viable curriculum that equips educators to teach essential grade-level standards.
- Aligning instructional strategies to support student proficiency, with Building School Improvement Plans (BSIPs) providing differentiated resources for students, staff and school sites identified as most in need of academic improvement.
- Continuing focus on fiscal responsibility, sustainability and accountability, while preparing for the sunset of pandemic-related emergency relief funds.
- Community engagement with stakeholders, including SPS University, Let’s Talk Live, and the Back to School Bash.
- Monitoring and expanding outreach strategies with SPS employees, including Gather with Grenita, the All-Staff Kickoff and Superintendent’s Solutions.
- Prioritizing and implementing the mission, vision and goals of the district with honesty, integrity and ethical practices.
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