Ali resigns from Quincy School Board

QUINCY – After 11 years and a stint as the board’s president, Sayeed Ali announced he was stepping down from the Quincy School Board at Wednesday night’s meeting.

Ali, who was elected to the board in 2013, said he hadn’t planned to run for a third term in 2021, but coming out of the COVID Pandemic followed by the departure of former superintendent Roy Webb convinced him to stick around for the beginning of Superintendent Todd Pettit’s tenure in 2022 as well as the transition of Shelley Arns taking over from Ali as the board’s president.

“When Richard (McNay) and I decided to run, we said ‘let’s just make it good,'”, Ali said. “Then, you know, Richard and I texted each other many times about how I didn’t sleep well. But the people that we had and have on the board, and then getting to know, our team members, our employees and then getting spend time with the students, and, and hanging out with them. I mean, I think it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made my entire life.” 

Ali’s tenure as president saw the building and opening of five new elementary schools as well as going through the Pandemic and a change in leadership at the superintendent position.

Arns, who grew up in the same neighborhood as Ali, said she always believed he would be successful because he has always been a hard worker.

“Listening to his graduation speech on Sunday … he talked to the students about not being afraid to fail,” she said. “He is that kind of hard worker … and I think back to the 6…7…8-year-old boy that would repeatedly hit a tennis ball against the back of his house. I mean for hours and hours and hours. He’s someone that has that drive and that will to succeed. That young, determined boy definitely grew up to lead our school board in a way that increased accessibility, increased transparency and communication, to the entire Quincy community.”

Webb, who retired from Quincy, accepted then withdrew from the superintendent job in Hannibal and is now dealing blackjack at the Bally’s Casino in the Quad Cities, sent a video the board played congratulating Ali on his term.

David Penn, legal counsel for the Quincy Public Schools, said the board has 60 days to fill Ali’s vacancy and that person will have the option to run for a full term in 2025 if they choose to do so.

In other action, the Board:

• Accepted a fuel bid of $253,000 from Niemann Foods Inc.
• Heard about progress on the new track and athletic surface at Flinn Stadium. Construction on the track will be first and then the field will be installed in late June which scheduled completion by the end of July before fall sports practices begin in August.
• Approved an increase in school lunch prices to $2.95 at the elementary level, $3.20 for junior high and high school and $3.70 for adults.