Guido said the board took no action at Friday’s executive session, as Lolli’s official resignation will have to be accepted at a public board meeting this week.
“This certainly will add another layer of challenge we’ll have to deal with as the school year begins,” Guido said.
The Monroe Local School District was placed on fiscal emergency status in May by the Ohio state auditor. The district is facing a $2.2 million general fund deficit and $3.1 million legacy debt, according to school board officials.
Lolli began her appointment in Monroe in 2008 on a four-year contract with an annual salary of $112,000. Guido said the school board approved a two-year contract extension last year.
Lolli said she is being hired as a consultant by the Butler County Educational Service Center to focus on curriculum and instruction. Lolli said she will be working with staff members on professional development, coaching and mentoring. Lolli said she will likely begin her new role in mid-September.
“It started to unfold on Monday of this week (Aug. 13),” Lolli said, of receiving another job offer. “I’d been approached for a couple other jobs last spring and summer. I wanted to wait until things were in place for the new school year and if something became available.”
Guido said the school board will meet this week to start the process of finding an interim superintendent. At the request of the school board, Lolli said she is working with the board on a transition plan and will stay with the district until an interim superintendent is chosen.
“We don’t have a lot of administrators left; I’m not sure it can be filled internally,” Guido said.
Lolli previously served as superintendent of Barberton City Schools, an urban district in Summit County near Akron. Lolli said when she started with Monroe, the district as a whole and elementary schools were on separate improvement plans from the state.
“Within two years we were rated excellent (by the state) and have been for three years; that’s extremely positive for us,” Lolli said. “Academically the district is strong even in the midst of fiscal emergency.”
Lolli said it was “an important piece” for the district that the state’s audit report in June cleared the superintendent and school board members from having involvement in the misuse of bond retirement funds dating back to 2005 which reportedly lead to the $5.3 million debt.
“The decisions we’ve made to right the course of the district have been done extremely well,” Lolli said. “The audit found evidence the school board and I didn’t even know about it; there were no transactions signed by myself and the board and were in fact signed by the former treasurer.”
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