The Park City School Board’s vice president, Wendy Crossland, dropped her quest for reelection within days of the board’s president, Andrew Caplan, dropping out.

Even with her absence, the District 3 seat remains contested by candidates Danny Glasser and Kathleen Britton.

“I respect Wendy’s decision to withdraw and would like to thank her for her service,” Glasser said Thursday. “I look forward to engaging in a robust and respectful campaign with Kathleen Britton.”

Crossland, a Summit County victim’s advocate and former diversity, equity and inclusion coordinator and teacher at private Park City Day School, said changes in her career and personal life prompted her decision.

“My decision not to run for another term is not related in any way to the OCR report or any other issue facing the district or the board,” Crossland said Thursday. “It is a completely personal decision based on some changes and new commitments in both my personal and professional life. I do not feel that I could give another term the proper focus and time that I believe is necessary to serve on the board.”

In a statement she distributed early Wednesday morning, she didn’t give a reason for dropping out of the race, while saying she planned to continue to “be a part of the community in other capacities.”

“Crossland is grateful for the opportunity to serve the district and thanks the other board members she had the privilege of working with, Dr. Gildea and the amazing PCSD employees, and the Park City community,” the release says. “She looks forward to serving out the rest of her term through December 2024.

Caplan and Crosslands’ decisions this week came about a month and a half after a recent report from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights highlighted several instances of student-to-student harassment and the district’s shortcomings in handling the issue during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years.

The district’s leaders faced criticism as well after a district construction project left two piles of lead-and-arsenic riddled soil on the campus of Treasure Mountain Junior High School back in 2017. Though Crossland was not a member on the board until 2019, the issue persisted for a few years before the district contracted with industrial hygiene company R and R Environmental to find a solution. Much of the soil has been removed and taken to different facilities reportedly equipped to handle its toxicity.

She expressed her gratitude to the district as well as the community.

She urged new members of the board in January to keep their focus on the district’s students and staff.

“My advice would be, in this contentious and complicated era, to not lose sight of the students in the community and the staff we employ and ensure we are making decisions aligned with their best interests,” she said. “Also, I would encourage someone to focus on civility, thoroughness and thoughtfulness in how they communicate and in their service.”