Anne Arundel County?s new schools chief signed his four-year contract last week in an unusually tense atmosphere caused by the threatened firing of two administrators.
Kevin Maxwell, a former community superintendent for Montgomery County Public Schools, will start work July 1.
Budget Director Dennis Hirsch and Government Liaison Bob Leib were told in mid-June that they would be fired to make room for the superintendent?s new staff.
Paul Houston, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators, said new superintendents often bring in a few select staff members, but “it usually doesn?t happen till after the superintendent gets in place.”
“If they?re coming from outside, they?ll want to bring in their own people,” Houston said. “You don?t know the players, and you need someone to watch your back.”
Superintendents often choose to restructure the district?s administration, and there are often vacancies as employees who were hired by a previous superintendent choose to leave.
Maxwell replaces Eric Smith who was hired by Anne Arundel County?s Board of Education in 2002, but resigned in late 2005 after a public disagreement with the board. Anne Arundel superintendents typically sign four-year contracts. Prior to Smith, Carol Parham was superintendent from 1994 until her retirement in 2001, according to spokeswoman Maneka Wade.
Bill Reinhard, spokesman for the Maryland State Board of Education, said turnover in the high-pressure field of education is normal. The national average for public school superintendents to stay on the job is five years, according to the American Association of School Administrators.
“In Maryland where most of the systems are relatively large, it would be unusual to have a superintendent last longer than a decade,” he said. “There are many superintendents who leave for positions in other areas.”
But school boards and superintendents do not always part company on good terms.
Courtney Watson, a member of the Howard County Board of Education, said management conflicts between board members and superintendents often lead to turnover.
“Some superintendents are hired by one board but are fired by the next one,” Watson said. “It?s a real careful balance that has to be struck. Both sides have to understand their roles and responsibilities.”
In Baltimore County, superintendents commit to a five-year deal. Prince George?s County superintendents have also averaged four-year tenures.
Howard County superintendents have had the longest staying power. Prior to 2000, superintendents averaged about 20 years on the job, according to spokeswoman Carol Caldwell.
