Dr. Jeanice Kerr Swift clearly remembers the night the mother of a student stopped her to share the damage of a recent budget cut in the district Swift was leading.

Swift, who was recently started as interim superintendent in USD 497, said the cut had seemed small in the larger scope of that school district, but rethought when the parent described the impact and asked her to consider the impact of cuts to those on the ground level.

“I went back after that night and fixed that thing that she was telling me about, but I always remembered that from her,” Swift said.

Swift believes keeping the everyday experiences of students in mind is essential.

“I want to see that. I want to hear that,” she said. “I want to have that inform the decisions we make at the district. Because that’s how it should work.”

This may reflect the openness that teachers would like to see.

“I’m hopeful that we’ll have transparency — that’s always a big one,” said science teacher Clara Duncan, who is a building rep for the Lawrence Education Association, the teacher’s union. “So [knowing] why she makes decisions that she makes would be really cool. And I think something that we’ve seen from admin at the building level, that’s been great… and I’d love to see that from district admin as well.”

Swift began leading USD 497 this month after former superintendent, Dr. Anthony Lewis, took a job as superintendent in Durham, NC.

Swift has had a wealth of experience serving students. She taught for 13 years, including as an English and Spanish teacher. Her career began in Texas and took her to Colorado Springs School District where she rose to the ranks of assistant superintendent. That put her in close proximity to Columbine High School when 12 students and one teacher were killed in 1999. Even closer to the present, while leading Ann Arbor Public Schools, Swift was just an hour away from Oxford High School when four students were killed in 2021. She reflected these experiences with visible emotions while speaking about student safety in the wake of the Sept. 4 shootings at Apalachee High School in Georgia in which four students were killed.

“We just started school,” she said. “This is supposed to be a time of hope and possibility. You have your first home game tonight. How exciting. And yet our existence is marred by these events. And so at every level of our system local all the way to the White House we must make this a priority. And we can fix it. We can fix it. We know how to fix it.”

In Michigan, she worked with students to advocate for schools being given the ability to restrict open carrying on school grounds — moved to action after the relative of a student openly carried a gun in the front row of a school concert.

“It disturbed our students and disturbed our families, greatly disturbed me,” she said. “And it was from that event that we ended up eventually three years later changing the law. And those students who were at that choir concert performing were with me on the day at the [Michigan] Supreme Court when we won. So it wasn’t me. It was their voice that made that happen.”

One challenge Swift is sure to face is fiscal matters. USD 497 has been dealing with a budget shortfall, which led to closing schools and cutting staff in recent years. Swift has experience dealing with funding shortfalls issues and believes there are four cornerstones to the budget issues schools face. Those include underfunding, declining enrollment, the need to better pay district staff and greater student needs.

“You all know better than most of us that student needs are as high as they’ve ever been,” she said. “We understand now the importance of addressing mental health concerns, social emotional, physical health. I mean, there’s just lots of needs, and we want to meet those.”

Swift believes that these financial concerns are not the fault of any one person — calling them the impact of a “perfect storm.”

“I’m proud of the district and the community for taking some steps that were very hard,” she said. “But they put us where we are financially in a better place. And now it’ll be on me this year working with you all and working with the community to sort out how do we make it stronger. But money matters. Fiscal wellbeing matters. And so that will be one of the major threads running through this year as the district works to increase wages for teachers and class and classified staff.” 

A persistent struggle with public school budgeting is proper compensation for staff and administrators. Swift was hired on a 10-month contract, earning $194,482 in her first year. The rate of pay for a 12-month contract would be $235,000 — or about $5,000 a year more than the last contract with Lewis. She said she understands concerns about administrative pay.

“We want to make sure every staff member is served well and compensated appropriately…to keep an eye on not only the size of contracts for administrators but the number and just making sure that we’re in good balance,” Swift said.”

Swift brings to the district a mix of success and struggle. While working for Ann Arbor’s schools she was named Michigan Superintendent of the Year for 2018, among other awards. She celebrated 10 years in Ann Arbor before her contract was terminated prematurely by the district’s board of trustees in 2023.

In 2021, Swift faced blowback when a school bus aide assaulted a child with special needs and the school took weeks to act according to a federal lawsuit filed by the mother. The district took five weeks after the initial report to move forward with any investigation according to The Ann Arbor Observer. Two years later, that issue was raised when the district’s board of trustees ousted Swift on a 4-3 vote. But The Ann Arbor Observer painted the firing as a complex issue with multiple factors, including political shifts and questions about how the district dealt with the pandemic. Her dismissal drew concerns from former trustees and union officials.

Swift acknowledges what happened with her last district, but wishes to move forward.

“I think whether there’s backlash or not, we are always learning from the situation we’re in,” Swift said. “We’re always reflecting on how we did and what could be done better. As a reflective leader, that is the most important part of being able to do better.” 

Swift knows that some of the issues she faces are at the district office as the district has lost several top administrators. Jeff Plinsky, an English teacher who’s active in the Lawrence Education Association, said it will be essential to fill roles with high quality candidates, but worries about the temporary nature of her job. 

“Doing something for a year and then changing direction creates a metaphorical whiplash that’s hard to overcome,” he said. “And so, I’d like to see the interim focused on making sure that positions are filled, making sure that the district is running smoothly. So whatever direction our eventual superintendent takes, it’s from a solid base.”

Swift said she plans to begin an engagement tour to better understand the needs and priorities of the community.

“I’m looking forward to writing that in the December/January timeframe to really publish a report that’s populated by thousands of voices in our community,” she said. “So I really feel like my role is to gather that information, to share it back with the community. And then to have that information form and inform the next steps in the district.” 

USD 497 will be launching a superintendent search this fall. As for Swift’s future, she said she’s focused on this year.

“I really plan to do the very best job that we can during 24-25, and then we’ll see how that goes,” she said. “And I’m not avoiding your question. It’s just this is really the one thing right now: 24-25.”