THE ISSUE: Anne Arundel schools Superintendent Eric J. Smith shocked many last week when he announced that he would be leaving his job Nov. 23, four months before school board members were scheduled to consider extending the four-year contract he signed in 2002.
Smith has been credited with boosting academic performance on standardized tests, but he had clashed with the teachers union over pay and workload issues and his management style, and some school board members had criticized him for inadequate communication.
