After working as head of the Edmond Public Schools system since June 2021, Superintendent Angela Grunewald announced this afternoon she will retire at the end of the current school year.
“Serving as your superintendent has been the highlight of my career. I continue to have so many dreams for this district to help us better serve the students,” Grunewald said in Friday’s press release. “I have no doubt many of those dreams will come to fruition, just under the next leader.”
In the same statement, Grunewald said the Edmond Public Schools Board of Education — which has its first regular meeting of the new calendar year scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday — will begin searching for the next EPS superintendent immediately.
“I’m confident that a leader equally or even more passionate about education and Edmond schools will be found,” Grunewald said.
EPS Board of Education President Marcus Jones confirmed that Monday’s agenda would include an item to start the search process. Ideally, he said, the board will have chosen a candidate before school concludes in May.
“I think she has a legacy at Edmond Public Schools to be proud of,” Jones said. “I was glad to come onto the board during her tenure and think she’s done things that will stick with Edmond Public Schools for a long time.”
Grunewald, who joined EPS in 2003, spent much of her four-year tenure as superintendent squarely in the sights of State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, as EPS repeatedly butted heads with the state official who sought to exercise direct control over local districts. The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled against Walters last summer after he attempted to dictate removal of specific books from Edmond Public Schools libraries. At one point during the saga, Walters threatened the district’s accreditation status. He also jousted with the district on social media after Grunewald’s administration reportedly asked a student not to fly an American flag from his vehicle on school grounds, a situation which resulted in new rules for flying flags on campus.
Most recently, Grunewald became one of several superintendents statewide who opted not to show a bizarre clip of Walters praying on camera to classrooms, despite an apparent instruction to do so.
Edmond students’ last day of school this year is set for Wednesday, May 21, according to the EPS online calendar.
