Timberland Regional Library (TRL) Executive Director Cheryl Heywood has resigned, according to information announced at a TRL Board of Trustees business meeting on Wednesday.
Heywood tendered her resignation ahead of the TRL Board of Trustees' regular business meeting on Wednesday, March 25. The board voted that night to accept her resignation.
Heywood is released of her duties effective immediately, but will be paid through June 30.
Heywood's contract requires the Board of Trustees to give her 90 days notice if she is terminated from her position, according to the board. However, because she submitted a letter of resignation effective immediately, that termination clause in her contract doesn't apply.
While not required by Heywood's contract, the board is opting to give Heywood the same 90 days she would have gotten if she was fired.
The outcome and the amount paid to Heywood for her resignation is the same as it would be if she was fired, according to Board of Trustees President Brian Mittge.
The TRL Board of Trustees will hold an executive session on Monday, March 30 to discuss interim leadership.
The board is accepting written public comment ahead of that meeting, but the board will not allot time for verbal public comment.
Heywood's departure comes as the regional library system faces a budget crisis that has led to a large wave of layoffs.
Earlier this month, the TRL sent layoff notices to about 20% of its total staff to address a $3.8 million budget deficit.
AFSCME Local 3758-B recently confirmed that all 61 employees set to be laid off on May 15 are “frontline” library staff who work directly with patrons across the five-district library system.
The news led to a letter from eight former TRL Board of Trustees members calling for an investigation into the system's finances.
Many community members who gave public comments about TRL’s budget crisis in recent weeks have called for Heywood’s removal, as well as the removal of administrators Andrea Heisel and Brenda Lane, for their role in creating the budget crisis.
The Board of Trustees held an executive session on March 18 to evaluate the performance of a public employee, presumably Heywood. The details of that evaluation have not been made public.
Heywood started in her role as TRL's executive director in 2013.
"I do want to acknowledge that Cheryl worked for Timberland for a long time. And I just want to acknowledge that service, decades of service, to us, " Mittge said Wednesday, adding, "We're going to be moving forward to address the challenges facing TRL."
Fellow board member Hal Blanton echoed Mittge's thanks to Heywood for her years of service to TRL, noting that her story of falling in love with libraries at a young age is a common one within the TRL community.
"Always her concern was making sure that libraries could be good and and accessible," Blanton said. "I just want to thank her for service, and know that you know we appreciate it. And then Godspeed for for how she moves into this next season in life."
