Christina School District Superintendent Richard Gregg announced today he is stepping down to pursue other opportunities. He joins a parade of superintendents who have come and gone from the district over the years.
Gregg will leave his position at the end of the current school year and is not seeking renewal of his contract, which expires June 30, 2020. He had served as superintendent since 2017.
The Christina Board of Education learned of Gregg’s decision in October, a district release stated.
“My intent is to remain in the district through the end of my contract and assist in the transition to a new superintendent,” said Gregg. “I am proud of the work we accomplished during my tenure in Christina and am pleased to say that I worked with a talented, dedicated administrative staff.”
Board of Education President, Meredith Griffin said, “I want to thank Gregg for his dedication to Christina School District and his many contributions. We wish him all the best as he embarks on the next chapter in his distinguished career.”
The release from the district concluded with the following: “Christina is a great school district with excellent students, parents, administrators, and is proud of the achievements and accomplishments of the entire district team during Mr. Gregg’s tenure as Superintendent. Gregg has served the education community for more than 39 years. The school board will determine what the best process will be for choosing Gregg’s replacement and will begin a search.”
Gregg was credited with bringing a degree of stability to the district that runs from Newark and Bear into the City of Wilmington. He came to the district with a strong administrative background that included serving as principal of Christiana High School and moving on to other administrative positions in area school districts.
The district continues to cope with long-standing issues that include enrollment losses, a revolving door of superintendents, test scores, high poverty rates, an elite charter school in Newark that lures away top students, and financial challenges that were made worse under Delaware’s school aid formula.
Gregg is not alone in departing from the public school districts, with two other counterparts in northern Delaware announcing plans to step down.
The aid formula, which is now being challenged in Chancery Court, is based on a set amount of money per student regardless of academic needs.
Critics claim the approach favors wealthy districts that have fewer children with academic challenges and can allocate money to music, sports and other programs that poorer districts are hard-pressed to fund.
The state has allocated extra money for schools with academic challenges in recent years.
Of late, the district has struggled with pressing financial issues that led to layoff notices for staff, after a bond issue failed by a wide margin.
Blame has often been laid at the feet of the school board, which has seen turmoil that included a candidate running for office and winning the post, even though she said she would not serve.
