The leadership drain within Prince George's County Public Schools -- now that the associate superintendent is going to the Montgomery County school system – has many wondering who is running the school system in the interim.
When former superintendent Dr. William Hite resigned from the Prince George’s County school system last summer, it set off a domino effect of top administrators leaving the county’s school system, including deputy superintendents and department directors. Now Associate Superintendent Andrew Zuckerman is leaving to serve as chief of staff for Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr.
“We have other assistant superintendents and we have people in the pipeline to fill that role,” School Board member Edward Burroughs said.
Even with more than half a dozen system administrative positions filled by “acting” members the system continues to move forward, Burroughs said.
“The acting term is used because we don’t have a current superintendent, and the superintendent has the right to have whatever executive staff they choose,” he said.
A few weeks ago, interim Superintendent Dr. Alvin Crawley announced that he would be leaving the system a full month earlier than expected, possibly leaving a gap at the head of school operations.
“Even if he’s not in the official capacity of superintendent, he’s made the commitment to ensure that this is a smooth transition, that we open schools up on time,” Burroughs said
While the leadership of the school system is in transition, parents and students shouldn’t worry, Burroughs said.
“There’s a lot of maybe confusion at the top, but honestly a lot is not going to change even under this new structure,” he said. “The principal will still be there, the teachers will still be there, the buildings will still open up on time. I don’t see a lot changing under this new structure.”
Interviews for the new schools superintendent can officially start June 2, when the county's new school governance legislation becomes law. County Executive Rushern Baker and the state have a team in place ready to pick a new superintendent and the new members of the Prince George's County Board of Education.
