Lisa Liu
St. Cloud resident

What started out as a letter sent to our current Osceola County School Board members asking for their continued support of Superintendent Michael Grego and citing impressive facts and statistics on the great job he has been doing has now taken an unexpected change of direction.

Dr. Grego re-signed from his position Wednesday, effective May 31.

As a parent, PTO and SAC member and as a volunteer, I have witnessed firsthand Dr. Grego’s attendance and support at important events at our child’s school and in the county.  He always projects professionalism and dignity but also approachability and genuineness in the way he encourages and welcomes feedback and interaction. This has been a welcome contrast to what we have experienced at times in the past. What a loss his resignation is for Osceola County.  

Dr. Grego, thank you for freeing Osceola County from the unwanted historical title of “lowest performing school district” in Central Florida. We appreciate you and all that you have done for our county, our school district employees, and especially our students. Thank you for the significant difference you have made.   

Now for part two of this letter: the disturbing and hard part of all of this ... the self-examination. Dr. Grego did not clearly define what has led to his sudden departure. But many of us became aware that something was very amiss when we read reports and received phone calls from fellow concerned citizens about what transpired at the February School Board Meeting, specifically regarding Dr. Grego voicing concerns that his job was being threatened and his contract held over his head by current School Board Chairman Cindy Hartig, and the resulting interaction.  

This sudden public turn of events could not have helped but play a role in Dr. Grego’s decision. How can a situation spiral out of control in just a few short weeks? How can we lose such a fine administrator with a proven track record not quite three years after he started? These are important questions we need to ask ourselves and our elected school board officials.  

This is a wake-up call to all of us to stay more involved in our children’s education, to not take success for granted, to let our voices be heard and to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions. Practical ways to do this are to communicate with your student’s teachers, join the parent/ teacher organization and/or the school advisory committee at your student’s school, attend school board meetings or watch sessions online, write, call or e-mail your School Board representative to share your questions and concerns and vote when School Board elections are held. The School Board website is www.osceola.k12.fl.us. Save it in your “favorites” and visit it often.

The accomplishments of the past few years under Dr. Grego’s leadership involved the hard work and dedication of many district employees, teachers, support staff, and also students, volunteers, parents and business partners. We all need to come together and work together now in a professional and respectful way to fix whatever is needed as we begin the search for a new leader and, most importantly, pave the way for the next superintendent to have the support he or she will need to continue the progress that has been made in Osceola County these past three years.