Burnsville school chief retires

Randy Clegg is leaving at the end of the school year. He has come under criticism, most recently in a lukewarm job review this month.

September 18, 2012 at 12:31AM
Randall Clegg
Randall Clegg (./The Minnesota Star Tribune)

After receiving a less-than-flattering job review from the school board this month, Burnsville Superintendent Randy Clegg announced his retirement on Monday.

Clegg, who took over the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District in 2008, said in a notice that he will leave his post at the end of the school year on June 30, 2013.

The announcement comes about a week after the job review concluding that Clegg had failed to meet three of seven standards for such things as ethics, management, vision and goal achievement. The board did not specify publicly which standards Clegg failed to meet.

In reviews in the previous two years, he'd been given a passing grade on all seven standards.

This year, Clegg came under criticism in the aftermath of the district's $255,000 payout to former human resources director Tania Z. Chance. Before signing the separation agreement that included the payout, Chance had filed complaints with two state groups, including at least one against Clegg. The nature of the complaint has never been publicly disclosed.

The agreement and Clegg's future figured to be an issue in this fall's school board elections, in which four incumbents, including chairman Ron Hill, are seeking another term.

Last week, several of the challengers said they would either not reappoint Clegg or take a more critical view of his tenure if they were elected.

The district said that Clegg has a 35-year career in public education, including 28 years as a superintendent. He began in District 191 on July 1, 2008, after serving as superintendent in Clinton, Iowa, for 12 years.

"On behalf of the Board of Education, I want to thank Dr. Clegg for his years of service to the students and our community," Hill said in a statement.

Clegg, 56, in the statement posted on the district website, said that it was a difficult decision, but he felt it was the right time to retire. He said he chose to make the announcement now to give the school board time to search for his replacement.

"I've had the privilege of working with incredibly talented principals, teachers and staff in District 191 and I'm very proud of what we've accomplished together with the board over the past four years," he said.

Clegg has helped develop a strategic road map for the district and has overseen the addition of new magnet schools, curriculum improvements, free full-day kindergarten and the updating of 17 school buildings.

Heron Marquez • 952-746-3281

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Herón Márquez Estrada

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