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CARY—One of the main reasons school board leaders gave Wednesday for firing Wake County public school superintendent Tony Tata was his 'heavy-handed leadership style'.

Retired area superintendent Ann Hooker worked in Wake schools more than 40 years. However it was her last year, under superintendent Tata, that frustrated her the most.

“Sometimes we just didn't feel what we had to say was that important to him. After a while, you stop offering suggestions or even stop wanting to contribute,” said Hooker.

Hooker said she felt Tata ignored the experience and expertise of longtime senior staffers, like her.

“I would think that being a non-educator as the superintendent, he would value his leadership team as well who was composed of educators,” said Hooker.

Chairman Kevin Hill and Vice-Chairman Keith Sutton held a press conference Wednesday, a day after the school voted 5-4, along party lines, to fire Tata. Hill and Sutton made the point that the decision to fire Tata was not political and cited several reasons for his dismissal, including the transportation problems that plagued the school system in the first couple of weeks of the new school year.

They also said the board had lost trust in Tata, with little or no trust among board members, and also cited his leadership style.

"There was much concern around the leadership style, and of course with Mr. Tata being a highly-regarded general, we know that perhaps, in this situation, in an academic setting, perhaps that style was sometimes a bit heavy-handed," said Sutton.

Hooker hopes school leaders can now find a way to work together.

“We may be at a point now where we can start to heal and start to improve and start to refocus. I would like to think so,” said Hooker.

The board appointed Stephen Gainey acting superintendent for the next 60 days as they determine how to move forward with a superintendent search.

Watch the full news conference below

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