With a heavy heart, Mendon Community Schools Board of Education made an emotional but necessary decision Monday to appoint an interim superintendent.

With a heavy heart, Mendon Community Schools Board of Education made an emotional but necessary decision Monday to appoint an interim superintendent.
At a board work session Monday, the first assembly since the Dec. 26 passing of former superintendent Roger Rathburn,  Leasa Griffith was tapped to serve the role until a permanent chief is sought later in the year.
Board president Regina Schinker said she and district officials are still coming to terms with Rathburn’s untimely death, the result of a tree-trimming accident at Sauganash Golf Course.
But, as the board was reminded Monday by St. Joseph County Intermediate School District Superintendent Teresa Belote, the district can’t leave the post unfilled.
Schinker said Griffith is a logical choice.
“Leasa has been what we call a ‘select administrator,’ so she had been working closely with Mr. Rathburn … one of Roger’s greatest skills was working with people to bring out their leadership abilities and hone their skills and be more seasoned administrators,” Schinker said. “He highlighted Leasa as an internal leader early on. I don’t know if I should say he was grooming her but he certainly highlighted her as someone who could potentially lead our district down the road when he did actually retire at some point.”
She said the board is fully comfortable and confident having Griffith in the high-profile position. Schinker said Griffith and Rathburn shared similar leadership philosophies and were in tune with the direction for the 550-student district.
Details of Griffith’s contract will be ironed out and approved during the board’s Jan. 22 meeting. Griffith also serves as a teacher and coach in the district.
Schinker, a five-year board member who was reappointed Monday as board president, said the district is fortunate to have someone internally willing and able to step up to fill a key role under such unfortunate circumstances.
“Mr. Rathburn’s passing has been absolutely devastating. There is comfort in the fact that he and Leasa had such a solid, positive working relationship and she is so familiar with his leadership style, that it feels like a really good move for the district … we have total confidence in Leasa,” Schinker said. “As a parent and a board member, I’m happy for Leasa and I’m happy for our district. But it’s tinged with sadness; a dichotomy of emotions. We are still grieving and, frankly, it’s a loss we will never really recover from.”
For 2 1/2 years, Mendon Community Schools was fortunate to have Rathburn and benefit from his generosity, kindness, time and expertise, Schinker said.
The board has been afforded strong guidance over the past few weeks from Belote, Schinker said, at a time when the board needed someone to  lead it through a difficult period.
“Teresa is amazing … the ISD is so fortunate to have her,” Schinker said.
Schinker said the board knows it faces a mammoth task in finding Rathburn’s permanent replacement.
With school scheduled to resume today after a one-day respite because of weather conditions Monday, Schinker said from what she was told, high school home room teachers will read a statement about Rathburn’s passing. She said grief counselors will be made available to students all day.