Head of Sage Hill steps down

In her first year of service, the head of Sage Hill School, Judith Glickman, is stepping down amid turmoil with the school’s board of trustees.

Glickman, 61, was appointed to the position at the Newport Coast school in November after leaving her position as head of La Jolla Country Day School. She followed in the footsteps of former Head of School Clint Wilkins, who stepped down and was with the school since its start, in 2000. The school had an interim head for about a year between Wilkins and Glickman.

“I think it became apparent that there were significant differences in our approaches to the management of our school, basically to our respective roles,” Glickman said. “But because we shared the love of the school, we decided to part amicably — put the school first.”

Dean of School Life Gordon McNeill will serve as interim head as the school searches for a permanent head of school.

“We had always been quite candid with each other, and if things weren’t working well...we let each other know,” Sage Hill School Board Chairman Doug Neff said. “We thought it would be best for the school and for everybody to move promptly.”

Glickman and Neff said it was a difference between how they saw the roles of the head of school, as well as the board, in managing the school that led to their differences.

“In the fair number of [these] situations, the chemistry doesn’t stay quite right,” Neff said. “Sometimes, schools stay in these things for way too long before facing up to them.”

Glickman will relocate with her husband to San Francisco.

Neff said the change would have no immediate effect on the day-to-day functions of the school for parents and students. He also noted no program changes would be made.

“We didn’t seek to have a short-term situation. Neither of us did,” Neff said. “It just ended up working out that way because of the differences over roles and, to some extent, on how those roles interact day to day.”