The School District of Beloit has a new interim superintendent in place, but not every school board member was fully on board with the hire.

The board voted 5-2 to approve the contract for Dr. Daniel Keyser to begin July 1, with board members Amiee Leavy and Megan Miller voting against the hiring Tuesday night.

The interviews and board discussion on the interim superintendent candidates took place in recent closed session meetings, but on Friday, school board president Kyle Larsen issued a press release about the board choosing Dr. Keyser as their finalist.

“Dr. Keyser brings with him experience, leadership skills and an effective communication style that are required to be successful in this position,” Larsen wrote. “His passion for education will benefit our students, staff and community. The board looks forward to introducing Dr. Keyser to our District and our community.”

The board’s public vote in open session Tuesday night did not include back and forth discussion, but Leavy made the following statement to the board, to add context to her vote:

“The work that lies ahead for the board includes but is not limited to: reexamining how students are evaluated for services such as 504s and IEPs, how we manage discipline once we’re reopened, how the expulsion process is handled as well as issues of inclusion and access for our students. In order to serve all of our students well, we will need to take an honest look and address issues of implicit bias, institutional racism and equity. With emphasis on the concerns that I just outlined, I do not believe that Dr. Keyser is the best fit for our district. With that being said, if the board votes to install Dr. Keyser, I will work with the board and administration to make decisions that are in the best interest of students, families, our staff and our community.”

Dr. Keyser will work with current interim superintendent Sue Green next month on transitioning into the role ahead of the 2020-2021 school year.

He is currently the director of secondary teaching and learning for the School District of Waukesha, with previous experience in the Madison, Monroe and Janesville school districts.