HOLYOKE — The city’s state-appointed receiver-superintendent has announced that he will be stepping down at the end of the school year.
Stephen Zrike made the announcement in a letter to the community on Thursday. Zrike was appointed to the position by the state education commissioner in 2015 — the same year Holyoke Public Schools were placed in state receivership.
In his letter, Zrike said he had initially made a five-year commitment to serve in the role, and that he wants to spend more time with his wife and young children.
“It’s time for Holyoke to have another leader,” Zrike said Thursday. “I think five years is a long tenure for an urban school leader … It’s the right time for a new leader to come in and take the district to the next level.”
Zrike said that his family lives north of Boston, and that there have been many weeks when he doesn’t see his children until the weekend. His children are now in elementary school, and he said being away from his family for so long has weighed on him.
“I want to be around, I want to be more present and I want to be more involved as a father,” he said.
Zrike’s resignation comes a little more than a month after voters overwhelmingly rejected a debt-exclusion override to build two new middle schools. Zrike said that result had nothing to do with his departure.
Zrike said he is proud of his work in the city, citing among other successes an increased graduation rate, expanded pre-K, creating academies at the high-school level and a dual-language program.
As for plans after his resignation, Zrike said he hasn’t found a new job.
“I also didn’t want to be searching for my next role in a clandestine fashion,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that Holyoke, the community, knew my intentions.”
Because Holyoke is in receivership, it is up to Education Commissioner Jeff Riley to appoint a new receiver-superintendent. Zrike said the state has said there will be a community engagement process before his successor is named.
Zrike was appointed to his role by then-commissioner Mitchell Chester. He said he was treated fairly by Holyoke, even though he came to the city to fill an unpopular position as an unelected receiver.
“I feel like I’ve been treated well, I feel like folks have really wanted to work hard through what was a challenging entry to the district,” he said.
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.