Grosse Pointe Schools Superintendent Steps Down; Leaving District

GROSSE POINTE, MI — Grosse Pointe Public Schools Superintendent Jon Dean is stepping down from his role before leaving the district all together after the 2023-24 school year, according to district officials.

Dean will move into a consulting role on Sept. 1, before officially retiring on June 30, 2024. The school board approved Dean's decision to leave the district in a 4-2 Wednesday vote and selected Christopher Fenton to work as an interim superintendent.

"I will always be grateful for our GPPSS teachers and administrators," Dean said in a statement to the district community Wednesday night. "They have made this place special for me and my children and will continue to make this a special place for all our students. I will continue to be a champion and supporter of this district. I am fortunate to have had the amazing opportunity to live and serve in this community."

Dean became superintendent in May 2021 and has worked within the Grosse Pointe schools system since 2012. He worked as deputy superintendent for educational services for nine years.

Dean's decision to leave the district comes after the board narrowly approved a $4.6 million budget cut, a move that will include layoffs of teachers and other positions in the district in June.

The decision to rollback part of the budget comes as the district deals with a decade-long enrollment decline. In 2010, the district had 8,390 students, but that number fell to 6,475 students by 2022. The district has also rejected opening its schools up to non-district students as a way to boost enrollment.

The district did recently agree to a bargaining agreement with its teachers for the 2023-24 school year.

The first of school in the district is Sept. 5.