ANNAPOLIS – Nancy M. Mann will come out of retirement to be the interim superintendent of Anne Arundel County Public Schools as of Thanksgiving Day, the Board of Education officially announced Wednesday.
The board’s pick to replace Eric J. Smith was expected, and board President Konrad M. Wayson called the announcement “anticlimactic.”
Mann, who retired in June after 35 years as a teacher and administrator in the county school system, said she accepted the position to provide continuity and stability.
“I will have recommendations for the new superintendent but will not make any major changes,” Mann said. “I hope to give back to the school system some of what’s been given to me over the years.”
One of Mann’s first tasks when she takes over on Nov. 24 will be to review the fiscal year 2007 budget and provide input.
“She’s jumping right into the budget cycle,” said board Vice President Tricia Johnson. “We get a lot of action in that time.”
At a salary of $15,000 per month, Mann will lead the state’s fifth largest school system for 219 days, through June 30. The board expects to have her replacement take over on July 1.
After that, Mann said she will return to retirement.
Wayson said Mann was chosen in part because she’s not interested in the permanent superintendent position.
“Personally, I didn’t want someone auditioning for the permanent job,” Wayson said.
The search for Mann’s replacement has begun, and also on Wednesday the board awarded a contract to the Maryland Association of Boards of Education to help with the search. The association also briefed the board on the search process.
The board has scheduled three forums to find out what qualities the community would like to see in the next schools chief. The first will be Nov. 16 at Annapolis High School, and two will be held simultaneously Nov. 17 at Arundel and Southern high schools. All the forums will start at 7:15 p.m.
Mann said she will not be involved in the search for her successor, although she did suggest the next superintendent should be a strong leader who can “take it to another level.”
Wayson said the board has a short time frame to name its next pick.
“We want someone named by the first of May,” he said. “It’s a difficult and long process” to find the next schools leader.
Smith announced his resignation in September, and said he is leaving to take an unpaid position at Harvard University.
Wayson said the board has been in discussions with Smith regarding his last weeks as head of the school system, including talks regarding his annual bonus.
The annual bonus is given at the discretion of the board as reward for improved academic performance and parental involvement, which the board agreed was the case this year.
The board voted, 7-1, to give Smith a bonus of 8 percent of his salary or nearly $17,000.
Three board members wanted to give Smith the highest bonus allowed by his contract, 10 percent, but that motion did not pass.
Paul Rudolph, the only remaining member from the board who hired Smith, said he voted against the bonus because he believes Smith should have received the full 10 percent.
Mann, who was hugged by board members and other county education staffers after the formal announcement, said she made the decision to come out of retirement with her family’s support. “It will be difficult to get up early five days a week and (working) nights too,” she said. “But this is what I need to do.”