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WRIGHT TWP. — With one member absent, the Crestwood School Board unanimously voted to appoint Assistant Superintendent Brian Waite the district’s acting superintendent until a replacement is found for retiring Dave McLaughlin-Smith.

While holding the position for up to one year, Waite will receive a weekly stipend of $700 on top of his roughly $104,000 annual salary.

This is McLaughlin-Smith’s last week on the job, though he has been using remaining vacation time. The board had voted 5-3 in November to appoint Fairview Elementary Principal Margaret “Peg” Foster to replace McLaughlin-Smith, despite objections from three men who had won seats on the board in the November election.

One criticism leveled against Foster in November by all three men — Ron Sturgeon, Joe Kaminski and Bill Jones — was her lack of a state “letter of eligibility” to be a superintendent, though several board members at the time said they were confident she would get all that in order before assuming the job.

When those three were sworn in Dec. 10, the board voted 6-3 to rescind Foster’s appointment, making it necessary to name an acting superintendent by the end of this week. The board plans to re-advertise the superintendent post, but has not yet done so.

Waite, 50, declined comment when asked if he had applied last year for the superintendent job, and similarly declined when asked if he would apply this time.

A Fairview Township resident who has worked more than 14 years in the district, Waite said he has all state certifications required to fill the superintendent’s post.

Thursday’s special meeting was called for the limited purpose of appointing an acting superintendent, though there were two other items on an agenda that filled less than half a letter-sized sheet of paper. Board member Norb Dotzel, who was absent, submitted his resignation as board secretary, though he will remain on the board.

The board accepted the resignation, then appointed Maureen McGovern to replace him as secretary.

By Mark Guydish

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Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish