School Chief Westerman Quits To Leave In June, Stunned Board Told

Ann Arbor's superintendent of schools, W. Scott Westerman Jr., 45, told a surprised Board of Education last night lie will resign the position he has held for nearly four years on June 30- the day his contract expires. Westerman gve no detailed reasons for his intended resignation, but he said it is his "firm conviction that this decisión is in the best interest of all concerned. I announce it now in order to give the board six months to select a successor." The school board had invited the superintendent to renew his three-year contract, and the trustees seemed genuinely shocked and dismayed at the news. All expressed regrets. The board members were told of the decisión in a private meeting with Westerman minutes before the meeting began. Westerman explained his decisión by saying that "in this time of rapid change, it is my strong belief that the school district will benefit more from a new superintendent with fresh perspectives and energies than from continuity of leadership. This belief is compatible with other judgments I have made concerning my personal and professional needs." Westerman told the board and the few members of the audience that his decisión is a final one and he asked not to be pressed to change his mind. The veteran educator says he has not accepted another assignment for next year, "although I have been encouraged to believe that other opportunities will develop." He added that the "one certainty is that the time has come to conclude my 11 years of affiliation with the Ann Arbor Public Schools." Westerman told The News he has "not ruled out" the possibility of accepting a superintendency in another school district, although he is keeping his options open. A former junior and senior high school teacher and University of Michigan professor, Westerman became acting superintendent of schools in September of 1967, following the resignation of Supt. Jack Elzay. Westerman was appointed superintendent in March of 1968. "A four-year tenure, including six and a half months as acting superintendent, is not a long period of service," Westerman told the board in a prepared statement. "However, these years have been a period of intense activity and challenging transition. There have heen (over pleaiJI SCHOOL CHIEF WESTERMAN... tions and disappointment. There have also been victories and joys." Westerman promised the trustees that his remaining six months will be ones of "vigorous leadership" and he said he will commit his energies so the school district will be in "good condition for my successor."' The board is expected to launch a search soon for a replacement for Westerman. All seven of the board members wno attended last night's meeting expressed sadness at Westerman's decisión. Trustee Robert Conn said he sympathized with the superintendent because he had "not always received good direction from this board." Conn said Westerman has "much to offer" any community, and he said he I hopes Ann Arbor citizens realize what I service the superintendent has rendered I to the school district. I Trustee Ted Heusel said he stands the stress of the' job, but regrets the departure. Trustee Cecil W. Warner said he tried, along with other trustees, to persuade Westerman not to read his statement of resignation. "I'm very sorry to see it happen," he said. Trustees Paul Carrington and Henry Johnson expressed "profound regrets" at Westerman's intended departure. Johnson praised the superintendent for his "highest level of dedication to this school district." School Board President Harold J. Lockett thanked Westerman for his services to the district, and said the board had hoped to have the "benefit of the superintendent's leadership" beyond June 30. He said Westerman's leadership had been "productive and forwardlooking and in the direction the board had hoped." He added that it will be "most difficult" to find a successor of Westerman's caliber. Westerman told the board in his statement that the school district in Ann Arbor today "provides one of the finest programs in the nation, no matter what criteria are employed as measures, in these turbulent times. It has attempted to keep pace with the requirements of a changing social order and the prospects are bright that it will accelerate its efforts to do so. I am particularly proud of the staff, which is of exceptional quality, and of the tradition of community involvement and support. One serious deficiency, however, is our critical need for additional classrooms." The search for Elzay's successor, which ended with the selection of Westerman, took about seven months in 1967 I and early 1968. At that time, 40 I dates from across the country were I chosen by the board for consideration. The seven finalists came from the I states of California, Washington, I sas, Indiana, Michigan and Connecticut.