HCPSS superintendent Dr. Renee Foose was retired from her position this week with 1.6 million dollar package. This probably is one of the highest severance package for superintendent all around the world.
Nearby north, Baltimore County superintendent Dallas Dance resigned without early notice. http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2017/04/18/baltimore-county-schools-superintendent-dallas.html
Nearby south, Montgomery County had a hard time to hire a superintendent. Its current superintendent Jack R. Smith was hired from 70 candidates.
In one article, The Council of Great City Schools, which researches tenure, salaries and characteristics of school superintendents, found in a 2014 report that 3.2 years was the average tenure among superintendents in cities with populations of more than 250,000. Ref: http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2017/04/18/baltimore-county-schools-superintendent-dallas.html
The average 3.2 years’ tenure for superintendent is really problematic. This length of time could not guarantee stability in the school management, execution of any strategy and long term planning of the school development. A good superintendent has to be open, practical, intelligent, friendly and energetic. It is a tough job to battle many fronts at the same time. It is also the most rewarding job since he/she has a huge impact on our kids’ education.