I know a good thing when I see it. I felt that way when I met my wife, some 40 years ago, and when we bought our first home. And I know a good school district when I see it…and this is one of them, and I’m proud to be here!

I chose education as a profession, and that too has served me very well. My name is Jeremy Hughes and I have been an educator for more than 40 years. I have been a superintendent in Haslett and Dearborn, and I have held several positions with the Michigan Department of Education…including Interim State Superintendent. I have been a high school principal and a high school Latin and English teacher.

Most recently I have been a consultant for schools throughout the state, and I have been fortunate enough to have done some work at the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park. I was very involved in the redesign of the leadership model at the Park. Through that experience, I recognized what a special place this is, and how fortunate this community is to have such wonderful schools.

When I got an invitation to help lead this District, I knew it was a good opportunity for me. I truly believe that if all schools in Michigan operated and educated like P-CCS, we wouldn’t have an education crisis in our state. While I know things have been a bit turbulent over the past several months, I see a brighter future for our schools.

I came out of retirement to take on this task, but I want you to know that I don’t plan to “just mind the store” and not rock the boat while I’m here. P-CCS doesn’t want to stand still for a year – it wants and needs to move forward. This is not going to be a permanent position for me, but I will do all I can to provide some leadership and stability over the next several months.

My first job will be to help the Board balance the budget. As you may have heard, the State of Michigan is substantially cutting the the amount of funding it gives districts for each student enrolled. For P-CCS, that will be in the neighborhood of $16 million less next year. Reducing a budget by 10 percent is never easy, especially when the District has been cutting the budget for ten years. This will involve some tough choices, but I am confident that our Board of Education is giving proper attention to this matter and will make good decisions.

Another important task I have is to fill several vacant administrative positions, most of which have been created by retirements. I plan to roll up my sleeves this summer and have all of those positions filled with permanent replacements before school starts in the fall. That’s a tall order, but an important one to ensure that our students and staff continue to grow and thrive and that the district starts the next school year with stability in leadership positions.

Finally, I will do my best to communicate with our audiences clearly and often so that we are all on the same page. That is a recipe that has served me well throughout my career. I welcome your questions and suggestions.
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this fine district.

Sincerely,
Jeremy M Hughes, Ph.D.

Dr. Jeremy Hughes