BALTIMORE COUNTY
School system official finalist for Wash. job
Christine M. Johns, the Baltimore County school system's deputy superintendent for curriculum and instruction, is a finalist for the superintendency of Evergreen public schools in Vancouver, Wash., Evergreen school officials said yesterday.
Johns confirmed that she is interviewing for the job.
Now 39, Johns was one of the youngest deputy superintendents in Baltimore County history when she followed her mentor, Superintendent Joe A. Hairston, to the 108,000-student system five years ago. In education circles, she has been widely referred to as a rising star.
"You can tell in talking to her and looking at her application, she has a real passion for kids," said Evergreen school board president Joan Skelton.
Johns and three other finalists will appear at public forums next week, Skelton said. The Evergreen board is expected to make its decision by early next month.
With 25,000 students, about 40 percent of whom live in poverty, the growing district is the fifth-largest in Washington. It is across the Columbia River from Portland, Ore.
After Johns recently completed her doctorate from Harvard University, Baltimore County school board President James R. Sasiadek said it was only a matter of time before another system would offer her the top job.
"It would be sad to see her go, but we certainly understand that she has grown and is ready for a superintendency," Sasiadek said yesterday.
Johns said the search firm for Evergreen, where the sitting superintendent is to retire this summer, sought her out. She said she has been selective in where she has applied because "I love Baltimore County."
Two years ago, Johns was a finalist for the superintendency in Seminole County, Fla.
- Sara Neufeld
LAKE SHORE
Motorcyclist, 51, killed in crash with stopped truck
A motorcyclist died yesterday when he struck the back of a stopped truck yesterday on Mountain Road in Lake Shore, Anne Arundel County police said.
Steven James Rackey, 51, of Pasadena died of multiple injuries after his 2005 Harley-Davidson Road King struck a 2000 Chevrolet driven by Leon Dwight Wethington, 31, of Glen Burnie, police said. Wethington was not injured.
Police said the truck stopped eastbound on Mountain Road near Maryland Avenue to make a left turn, but that Rackey failed to notice. Police said Rackey failed to control his speed to avoid a collision. Alcohol was not a factor, police said.
