Board President Andrew Caplan, board member Anne Peters and Crossland will officially leave their posts in the district Wednesday when new board members are sworn in.
Caplan has served on the board since 2016, Peters since 2017 and Crossland since 2019. All three withdrew their campaigns for reelection last year.
In a district podcast episode, Crossland reflected on her time in the district.
She said working to secure the district’s biggest compensation increase for teachers to date was one of her proudest achievements with the board.
“We did it because it was the right thing to do and we value our educators and the staff here so much that it was what needed to happen in order to continue to attract and retain the best staff that we could get,” Crossland said.
The only challenge Crossland mentioned was the COVID-19 pandemic when she said the district received praise and pushback on mask and vaccine policies.
“There was zero playbook on that. There's no playbook from anywhere,” Crossland said. “So you couldn't have learned from how somebody did it last time.”
She didn’t discuss the federal investigation that found over 180 incidents of harassment in the district from 2021 to 2023. The district signed a resolution to resolve the investigation in March 2024.
Crossland also gave some advice to the incoming board members.
“It's really important to continue to listen to one another and try and connect civilly with one another and with the community and the people we serve, always keeping the North Star as what is best for students,” she said.
Crossland also warned the new members to be prepared. Read board documents before meetings and understand proposed policies.
New board members Susan Goldberg, Eileen Gallagher and Kathleen Britton will be sworn in Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. at district offices. The new board will then elect a president and vice president.
Caplan and Peters chose not to participate in any outgoing interviews.
