Jun. 14—Leadership positions in Howard’s public school system will be reorganized in the coming months, including the creation of six new positions to oversee significant divisions of the school system, acting Superintendent Bill Barnes announced at a county Board of Education meeting on June 6.
Barnes will become permanent superintendent on July 1 and has served as acting superintendent since Jan. 10, after previous superintendent Michael Martirano announced his retirement Nov. 17 despite having almost three years left in a four-year contract.
“This reorganization marks a new day for our school system,” Barnes said. “It reflects a commitment to strategic planning and accountability that reflects a commitment to equitable practices, structures and systems. It marks a shift toward greater collaboration and less siloed thinking, and I’m excited to get these teams installed as soon as possible so that we can begin achieving and realizing better outcomes for our students.”
Of 12 newly created positions, the chief academic officer, chief schools officer and chief operations officer will report directly to Barnes, while the chief equity and innovation officer, chief financial officer and human resources executive officer report to Deputy Superintendent Karalee Turner-Little, who reports to Barnes.
The system is also hiring an executive director of secondary schools, executive director of elementary schools, director of high schools, director of middle schools, and two directors of elementary schools, who will work under the chief schools officer. Barnes said the school system will aggressively recruit to fill the new positions.
The deputy superintendent will be responsible for overseeing the system’s finances, human resources, and equity initiatives so that those systemwide departments can benefit from additional attention and accountability, Barnes told the school board. Barnes is likely to realign those divisions after a year, he added.
Risk management will begin reporting to the chief financial officer, rather than being under the purview of the safety and security department, to be better aligned with the bulk of its work in financial risk management, Acting Chief Operating Officer Daniel Lubeley said.
“Change is a natural part of a new administration,” Barnes said, “but that doesn’t make the change less difficult. It will be important to work directly with individuals impacted by these adjustments, and it will be important to communicate to all stakeholders, so that the shifts are understood and so that we can mitigate the operational impact of reorganization.”
The efficacy of school system leadership drew criticism amid what was described as a system failure at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, when bus contractor Zum Services cancelled 20 bus routes it was contracted to service, with 54 runs, leaving more than 2,400 students at 34 elementary, middle and high schools without transportation for as long as two weeks in some cases.
Dan Newberger, father of two Howard County students, was applauded when he said the system’s administration shoulders responsibility for the fiasco, at a town hall meeting hosted by Neighbors for Buses in September.
“We have amazing kids; we have amazing teachers, and we have a third-rate central office,” Newberger said, “and you see it in all sorts of ways.”
The new organizational structure was primarily created to support the community’s shared priorities, Barnes said, including equity and financial structures like the budget process. The structure is intendent to help students by supporting reading by grade three, middle school mathematics proficiency, college and career readiness, attendance, and effective discipline.
“I am committed to developing a dynamic innovative and dedicated team of leaders under this new structure, that align with the beliefs and values that will guide my work with the board over the next four years,” Barnes said, “all with a keen focus on encouraging instructional excellence, removing barriers for students, and ensuring that every student will graduate with their dreams intact. These ambitious goals will be more likely to be achieved through a significant focus on strategic planning, project management and accountability.”
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