Springfield schools superintendent resigns amid tumultuous school year

This story was last updated at 2:15 p.m.

Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Todd Hamilton is resigning from his position, about two months after he had declared his intent to sue the district and less than a week after the school board chair quit the board.

During a school board meeting Monday, Feb. 9, the four remaining board members unanimously approved a motion to negotiate a resignation agreement with Hamilton, who was not present at the meeting.

Hamilton was still serving as superintendent the following day, a district spokesperson said. It was not yet clear when his last day would be. He has been superintendent in Springfield since 2019.

“We are grateful for Superintendent Hamilton’s leadership over the past seven years. He led the District through challenging conversations, including the pandemic, while helping us increase access to student programs, improve student achievement, and achieve record graduation rates for the district and at several of our high schools,” said Brian Richardson, a district spokesperson, in a statement. “The district remains focused on supporting students and staff.”

Richardson said the board has not had a public conversation about naming an interim superintendent. Assistant Superintendent David Collins had announced last August that he planned to resign from the district at the end of the current school year.

The resignation comes after Hamilton and Collins declared their intent to sue the district and three members of the school board.

In a letter sent Dec. 16 to the district, an attorney representing Hamilton and Collins said claims against the district and board members Jonathan Light, Ken Kohl and Amber Langworthy could include defamation, false light (a wrong similar to defamation), retaliation and violations of whistleblower protection laws.

The letter served as a tort claim notice, a necessary first legal document for those pursuing legal action against a public body for personal damages.

It is unclear if Hamilton and Collins will continue to pursue a lawsuit against the district. Richardson said the district does “not comment on discussions related to potential or pending legal matters.” The attorney representing the two administrators, Dan Thenell, said he was unable to comment.

Hamilton’s resignation adds to the district’s recent wave of turmoil as it grapples with layoffs and other high-level resignations — including the abrupt resignation last week of Heather Quaas-Annsa from the Springfield school board. She was serving as board chair at the time.

The background

Notable events in the last six tumultuous months in Springfield Public Schools include:

Aug. 6: Complaint against school board member for overreach, “misuse of authority.” Hamilton and Collins filed a formal complaint against Light, who was then serving as chair of the school board, for contacting the Oregon Department of Education to inquire about an ongoing investigation into Springfield Public Schools’ elementary curriculum without authorization from other board members or district officials.

Aug. 25: Allegations of information leak, retaliation. Collins and human resources director Dustin Reese filed a formal complaint alleging that someone on the Springfield school board disclosed the complaint against Light illegally, as evidenced by an Aug. 22 Community Alliance for Public Education social media post. The post rallied people to show up at a school board meeting in support of Light. Collins framed the leak as a violation of the board’s whistleblower policy, which protects an employee when they report a potential violation of law or policy of their employer, and he said he believed he was experiencing retaliation and intimidation.

Aug. 25: Collins announces end-of-year resignation. On the same day that Collins filed the complaint alleging a violation of his whistleblower protections, he also sent a resignation letter to the board and the superintendent, announcing his exit from the district at the end of June 2026. According to the letter, which Lookout obtained via a public records request, Collins said he was resigning due to the retaliation and intimidation he experienced from the complaint against Light being leaked.

Aug. 27: Complaint against Ken Kohl. Finance director Brett Yancey filed a formal complaint against Kohl, the board’s vice chair at the time, for reaching out to the Oregon Department of Education without board or district consent to inquire about Yancey’s job responsibilities. The complaint alleged Kohl bullied and harassed Yancey.

Nov. 3: Board removes Light and Kohl from leadership. After an investigation into district leaders’ complaints, the board voted to remove Light and Kohl from leadership roles, censure Light and require school board governance training for the board members. Quaas-Annsa is elected to take over as chair. Langworthy is elected vice chair.

Nov. 14: The Oregon Department of Education extends its own deadline. The state extended the deadline for releasing the results of its investigation into Springfield Public Schools’ elementary curriculum program by another six months, until May 15. It was the state’s third extension since launching the investigation in June 2024, after a fifth-grade teacher sent a complaint about curriculum noncompliance to the state.

Nov. 18: Complaint against Light, Kohl and Langworthy. Reese, the human resources director, filed a formal complaint against the three board members for violations of board policy, serial communications and retaliation against the superintendent. It outlines several board member comments during meetings that Reese characterized as retaliatory, as well as “coordinated public messaging” by Light, including a letter to the editor published on Lookout Eugene-Springfield by “a known associate of Director Light.”

Dec. 10: Board chair stops public speaker in board meeting. Quaas-Annsa, serving as school board chair, stopped Sarah Bosch from speaking about matters that touched on open board investigations, saying it was a liability risk to the district, especially when referring to an individual who is named in a formal complaint. Bosch criticized “district leadership” in her speech. While it was unclear what investigations Quaas-Annsa was referring to, Lookout received confirmation from the district that there was a formal complaint filed against Hamilton.

Dec. 16: Superintendent and his assistant threaten to sue district and school board members. A letter is sent to the district as a tort claim notice, a necessary first legal document for those pursuing legal action against a public body for personal damages. Lookout first reported the news of the tort claim notice Feb. 3.

Jan. 12: Midyear layoffs announced. Springfield Board of Education members voted to enact midyear layoffs of teachers and other licensed staff, cutting 27 full-time equivalents due to the projected cost of a new union contract. Quaas-Annsa, Kohl and Nicole De Graff voted in favor of the $2.34 million reduction. Langworthy and Light voted against. 

Jan. 26: Residents launch effort to recall three school board members. Residents launch a petition effort to force a recall election against the board members who voted yes on the midyear cutbacks.

Feb. 5: Board chair resigns. Quaas-Annsa said that escalating threats to her family’s safety and “persistent misinformation and false narratives” played the largest role in her decision to leave the board.

Feb. 9: Light elected board chair again. The school board chose Light to become chair again, after Quaas-Annsa’s departure.

Lookout staff members Taylor Goebel, Michael Zhang and Sarah Lorge Butler contributed to this report.

A previous version of this story misstated the time between the superintendent’s tort claim notice and the announcement of his resignation.