KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — The sudden resignation of Kalamazoo Public School Superintendent Dr. Rita Raichoudhuri is raising questions among many on why she left.
Raichoudhuri signed on as KPS Superintendent in February of 2020 just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. But at Monday night’s board of education meeting on December 12 was where her tenure came to an abrupt end.
Teacher and support staff union leaders were in the room when an unexpected announcement to address a ‘personnel matter’ was made. There was a motion to adopt a resolution accepting Raichoudhuri’s resignation, effective immediately.
Kalamazoo Education Association president Heather Reid spoke to WOOD-TV 8 saying, “We were stunned, absolutely stunned. Speechless.”
Kalamazoo Support Professionals union president Joanna Miller also spoke to WOOD-TV saying, “Blindsided. We didn’t see anything like that coming. Literally out of nowhere.”
In a joint statement, both the KEA and KSP praised Raichoudhari for “setting the district on a positive track” and said they believed the one-time staff bonus she supported was “the final straw between a strained board-superintendent relationship.”
Comments