MONROE — Following a late-night, marathon meeting last Monday, Jan. 13, the School District of Monroe Board of Education announced it had accepted the resignation of Superintendent Rodney Figueroa and the appointment of another district official, Joe Monroe, to the job of acting superintendent. 

The move comes after one successful referendum on Figueroa’s short tenure — approval and construction of a new high school — and one failed operating referendum. The latter initially prompted the board to try for another operating ballot question, but survey results and feedback in the wake of its defeat led the board to assume the public would not support another try to raise money for schools.

“It has been a privilege to serve as superintendent, and I am thankful for the dedication of our incredible staff and board members, as well as our progress in achieving district goals,” Figueroa said, in part, in a Jan. 10 statement. “I take pride in what we have accomplished together.”

And then the leader known to everyone as “Fig,” gave the bottom line: “After discussions grounded in mutual respect, the board and I have agreed to part ways.”

The board agreed to hire him in May 2022. 

He also declined to comment on his decision when contacted Thursday, Jan. 16, by the Monroe Times, saying “that’s my only comment” — referring to the previously reported statement. 

Not only does the board face the task of seeking a new superintendent, but it must find and make cuts to offset revenue it normally gets from operating referenda. The size and scope of those cuts has not been finalized, at least publicly.

But they are likely to be well beyond the referendum’s asking price. 

Figueroa’s plan for a round of about $3 million in various cuts — assuming no new operational referendum money — was approved by the board last March. The board later moved to cut about $1 million for the 2024-25 school year.

Figueroa emailed district families to give more details on the upcoming planned budget cuts for the 2024-25 school year, and he blamed a combination of a sun-setting 2016 operational referendum and a lack of state funds going back more than a decade, and exacerbated since the COVID-19 pandemic, for leaving Monroe more than $3 million in the red.

Board president Rich Deprez presided over the just shy of four-hour, closed-session meeting Monday to discuss the resignation before the board voted unanimously to accept it in open session. Their only comment in open session was to read from a previously released statement on the matter: 

“The board would like to thank Superintendent Figueroa for his commitment to the students and families of the School District of Monroe and wish him well for his continued success,” said board president Rich Deprez, in the statement. “The school board is committed to ensuring a seamless transition to the next superintendent.”

Figueroa was selected from among the top three candidates, all of whom came to Monroe for site visits. 

He replaced Rick Waski, who was principal of Monroe High School from 2010 to 2013, then served as district administrator until 2022 when he stepped down himself for health reasons.

To replace Figueroa in the short-term, the board also announced the appointment of a familiar face from inside its administrative ranks as acting superintendent — Director of Pupil Services and aptly named Joe Monroe. A renewed search for a permanent superintendent will be commissioned in the future.

“I’m pleased to announce that Joe Monroe will become the acting superintendent, effective immediately,” Deprez said, and with that, essentially completed the Monday-nearly-into-Tuesday meeting.

Prior to the hiring of Figueroa, a search firm, Hazard, Young and Attea, did a “Leadership Profile Assessment” for the future Monroe administrator.

Among other findings, the report offered “three consistent themes” as urgent challenges for the School District of Monroe. Those include the need to focus on academic improvement — especially at the middle and high school levels — the need to focus and support the rapidly growing Hispanic (and English as a second language) population and their families; and the need to improve facilities “hopefully through the passing of the Fall 2022” referendum. 

As part of his role leading Pupil Services, Monroe has overseen the deployment of school counselors, nurses, psychologists, and others to provide additional support to students.

The mission of his part of the administration, according to the district web site, is that it “strives to provide academic, social, emotional and behavioral support to all students to ensure success and improve student outcomes.”