LIVERPOOL’S political opposition leaders last night demanded an official enquiry into the “back door” departure of the council’s education director.
The row has been prompted after the sudden departure of Stuart Smith, who is credited for helping transform the city’s schools.
The 53-year-old resigned after agreeing a voluntary severance package and is now understood to be weighing up future job opportunities.
A memo from the council’s children’s services department reveals he left the council after a 10-year tenure “late on Friday afternoon, sadly without being able to say goodbye to us all”.
And, last night, concerned Liverpool’s Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Warren Bradley demanded a formal investigation into the exit of Mr Smith.
Mr Smith could not be contacted last night, but in a statement said it had been “a privilege” to serve the city and the time was right for “a new challenge”.
Originally from the Midlands, he joined the city council in 2001 as assistant executive director for education. He became executive director of children’s Services in 2006, and executive director for children families and adults in 2008.
His time at the council coincided with the percentage of pupils managing five Cs or above at GCSE shooting up from 35.2% in 2001 to 81.8% this January.
