For the better part of the last six months, some members of the public have been calling for change at the top in the Liverpool Central School District.
Last week, they found out they’ll be getting their wish.
Superintendent Janice H. Matousek announced Jan. 7 that she will be retiring effective July 31. Matousek said she decided over the holidays that she wants to spend more time with her aging parents and young daughter living at home; she also has two daughters in college.
“My parents are in their 90s,” she said, “and I’d like to be able to spend time with them, as well as my younger daughter. I haven’t really been able to spend as much time with her as I’d like since I’ve been superintendent.”
Matousek said the public pressure for her to step down didn’t play into her decision.
“I know people were coming to the meetings and calling for a change,” she said. “But I also received many letters of support and e-mails and phone calls from the staff and from members of the community, encouraging me to stay the course. That showed me that people do recognize the good things I’ve done.”
Successes of the administration
Among those good things, she said, were the connections she made to her students during her years of teaching.
“I’m really proud of the fact that I was able to connect with my students and their families,” Matousek said. “I still see the parents of people I taught, and they remember me and share stories about their kids. I feel as though I was very connected with the people I taught.”
Matousek, as president of the teachers’ union for the district, also played an important role in the construction of Willow Field Elementary.
“As a teacher, I was instrumental in getting Willow Field built,” she said. “I worked very hard on that referendum, and then I moved over and taught there. I’m very proud of that.”
As an administrator, Matousek said she also had numerous successes, including the establishment of full-day kindergarten, increasing graduation rates and implementing universal pre-K, as well as the alternative high school at BOCES done jointly with North Syracuse and Baldwinsville. She said she was also proud of her ability to negotiate good collective bargaining agreements for the staff.
Board of Education President J. Mark Lawson agreed with the superintendent’s assessment of her accomplishments.
“Jan was personally interested in those initiatives and she saw to it that they went through,” Lawson said. “The biggest, I think, were the strides we made in terms of graduation rates, and that was because of some key hires we made at the high school at the administrative level. She was also a big proponent of personalizing the high school and implementing steps that she felt would serve our students well.”
Faculty favorite
Matousek was well-liked by many members of Liverpool’s faculty and staff, particularly in contrast to the administration of John Cataldo. The feeling was mutual; in her letter announcing her retirement, Matousek commended the district’s employees.
“The hallmark of a great school district is the staff,” Matousek wrote. “I have had the privilege of working with the best We have been committed to a vision of providing students with the best opportunities possible to achieve both academic and personal excellence.”
Sara Daggett, president of the United Liverpool Faculty Association since 2002, a position Matousek once held, said she’s known the superintendent for more than three decades.
“I’ve known her for all of my 32 years here, first as a teacher and then as an administrator,” she said. “The last few months have been very difficult for everybody here in Liverpool, but no matter what side of the fence you fall on, you can’t diminish her commitment and compassion for our students.”
Daggett said she wasn’t sure what the next steps would be for the district, but she was sure that commitment would continue.
“For the remainder of this year, we will continue to show that commitment to Liverpool’s students,” she said. “And we certainly wish Jan the best.”
What now?
Lawson said it’s too soon to speak as to how the district will proceed.
“Obviously, first we need to find a new superintendent,” he said. “But it’s premature to speculate as to how we’re going to do that. That’s a discussion I’ll have to have with the board.”
He expected those discussions to begin in the near future. The board formally accepted Matousek’s retirement at its Jan. 12 meeting.
At that meeting, several residents questioned the search process.
“With Jan announcing her retirement, has the board considered how they’re going to proceed?” asked Ed Roesch, a former BOE member. “I think this district deserves a national search. I think they deserve the best possible person they can get, whether it comes from within, whether it comes from the suburbs or New York state. The teachers deserve the best, the taxpayers deserve the best and the children deserve the best.”
Jeff Crook agreed.
“Are you going to be going through BOCES for a national search?” he asked.
Lawson again said the board would have to discuss the issue.
“This is literally the first meeting we’ve had since Jan announced her retirement,” he said. “We’re going to have to talk about it as a board.”
As for Matousek, she said she doesn’t have anything lined up yet.
“Right now, I’m reviewing my options,” she said. “I’ve received some calls and offers from people in the community. But no matter what I do, I want to stay committed to making positive change for students.”
