East Aurora Superintendent Michael Popp has a tough job ahead of him — replacing a popular high school principal who will be resigning at the end of the school year.
It was announced Monday that Spencer Byrd would resign on June 30 after two years leading East Aurora High School. The school board unanimously approved the resignation.
Popp thanked Byrd for his dedication to trying to raise the high school’s graduation rate. Byrd’s attempts included identifying incoming freshman in need of extra academic support and offering students more flexible options for taking courses outside the traditional seven-period school day.
“There’s been a good shift in the focus of getting students to graduate and getting them to graduate meaningfully — meaning they are prepared to take the next step,” Popp said at the school board meeting.
Popp said Byrd had a personality that got staff and students involved and praised his recent work with district staff and the Aurora Police Department on security issues at the high school, which came under the spotlight after a 20-year-old allegedly brought a loaded gun into the school in late January.
“If anybody knows of any great principal candidates, please let me know,” Popp said.
As of Friday, the district had yet to post the opening or a job description on its employment website.
Byrd was known as a principal who would speak directly to students on the loudspeaker, who worked out with students in the morning and was highly visible in the lunchroom and hallways.
Byrd told the Beacon-News by email that he was proud of the progress the high school had made over the past two years, but declined to elaborate on his reason for resignation. The personnel report containing his resignation lists the reason as “personal.”
A few days before his resignation was approved, Byrd met with high school staff to let them know he’d be leaving.
One teacher said it appeared the resignation was over differences in vision with district leadership.
