Weast announces retirement at end of upcoming school year
End of superintendent's tenure "bittersweet," school board president says
Montgomery County Superintendent of Schools Jerry D. Weast said he wanted to leave before the experience of running the state's largest school system turned sour, and that he was confident the right people and programs were in place for the schools to succeed after he leaves.
Weast, who was hired as superintendent in 1999 and had his contract renewed in 2003 and 2007, plans to retire when his current four-year contract expires June 30, school officials announced Tuesday morning.
"I haven't really lost the joy of getting up every day and coming to work. I think it's time to transition now while I still have that joy," Weast said during a news conference Tuesday at the school system's headquarters in Rockville. "Most people don't do that. Most people stay too long, get themselves worn out and overcome themselves with their own [critics]. I don't want to have that problem."
During the news conference, Board of Education President Patricia O'Neill (Dist. 3) of Bethesda said Weast's announcement was "bittersweet" and that from the moment he arrived he began bringing change to the school system.
"In the summer of 1999, as he got to know our system and look at how our children were achieving, he brought a realization to the county that we really were two districts," O'Neill said. "It was a bit uncomfortable at the time with the red zone and green zone maps and highlighting the achievements of our students. He focused our attention."
The search for Weast's successor will not begin until after school board elections Nov. 2. O'Neill said selecting a new superintendent likely will take three to six months and noted Weast was not required to notify the school district about his intentions until February. The timing of his announcement was helpful, O'Neill said.
"I'm not looking for a change agent. I believe we're going in the right direction as a school system," she said.
Phil Kauffman, an at-large school board member from Olney, said school board staff members already were researching search firms, one of which the board eventually will select. The firm will provide the board with a list of potential replacements for Weast.
Kauffman, who said some of Weast's greatest success came in developing staff to succeed in the classroom, said he thought the school system needed a new superintendent ready to take Weast's place immediately after he retires.
"I'm sure Dr. Weast won't be shy about providing his input, but I think this is something [where] Board of Education members will make the decision," Kauffman said.
Some of Weast's major accomplishments included creating a new long-term strategic plan for the county schools and overseeing the "The 7 Keys to College Readiness" program that created a series of benchmarks to help students prepare for college and careers.
Among his successes, Weast counted rising SAT scores, more college scholarships for school district graduates and the creation of the Peer Assistance Review program that helps teachers improve and removes those who do not.
He also focused a great deal of attention on early-childhood education, which he highlighted during the news conference.
"I think everybody in America talks about it and very few people do it," Weast said, referring to early-childhood education. "It's very hard because you have to really work with a cast of thousands — public providers, private providers. The achievement gap, remember this, it's an opportunity gap," he said.
Public officials and others expressed mixed feelings about Weast's announced departure next year.
Board of Education Vice President Christopher Barclay (Dist. 4) of Takoma Park praised Weast for allocating resources to schools that needed them the most; helping attain high graduation rates; trying to provide equity in education; and for his efforts to narrow the achievement gap between different school demographics.
"They are all kind of indicators that say, this work is moving in the right direction," Barclay said.
Weast has been an effective leader, but the time has come for a new schools' chief to step in, Councilwoman Nancy Navarro (D-Dist. 4) of Silver Spring said.
"We need someone who will take us into 21st-century education," said Navarro, a former school board president.
Montgomery County Councilman Philip M. Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg said the council's relationship with Weast and the school board deteriorated during the council's budget deliberations this year. Weast and the school board threatened to sue the county if the council reduced the school system's budget.
"That was an outrageous threat," said Andrews, who is a member of the council's Education Committee. "That was a big mistake on the part of the school board and the superintendent."
Councilman George L. Leventhal (D-At large) of Takoma Park, who was critical of Weast's decision to pursue the lawsuit, said Tuesday he wishes the superintendent well.
"He's accomplished a great deal, and we all have much to thank him for," Leventhal said of Weast.
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) said Weast has been a strong advocate for education in the county and nationally.
"This is a person and a leader we will sorely miss, and I cannot say in words how much he has meant for education and Montgomery County as a whole," Leggett said.
One of Weast's more vocal foes, Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County member Janis Sartucci, said Weast's legacy would be of a superintendent who refused to be actively and visibly involved with parents and the school system in general.
"I could tell you more about Michelle Rhee at this point than Jerry Weast," Sartucci said, referring to the chancellor of public schools in Washington, D.C.
Weast did not always enjoy good relationships with parents and did not do as much as he might have for special education and gifted students, said Kay Romero, immediate past president of the Montgomery County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations.
But she praised him for his work developing academic skills among younger students, and for having good relationships with school district employees and union representatives. Overall, Romero gave Weast a B+ grade for his track record.
"Not everyone's always agreed with him. But then again, when you're superintendent of schools not everyone is going to agree with you," she said.
Staff writers Alan Brody and Erin Cunningham contributed to this report.
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