New Superintendent

School board President Jo Ann Tollenger believes the days when superintendents stayed in one place for decades are over -- which might explain why neither Larry Lorton nor his predecessor, Robert C. Rice, lasted beyond one four-year term.But others wonder if the board itself should be faulted for plucking its last two superintendents fromschool systems much smaller than Arundel's.Both Lorton and Rice resigned as they approached the end of theirfour-year terms. It has been rumored that both men resigned before board members had a chance to vote against renewing their contracts.

The push for adding elected members to Baltimore County's school board gained steam in the last few years for a good reason. Parents complained, with some justification, that Superintendent Joe A. Hairston was insufficiently responsive to their concerns. And when they sought redress for their grievances - whether it was over the issue of air conditioning at Ridgely Middle School, the canceling of PTA craft fairs or his order that the district use a time-consuming, proprietary grading system developed by his top deputy - they got little support from the all-appointed school board.

The search for Baltimore's 19th school superintendent has been narrowed to a precious few candidates, and the questions swirling about have a familiar ring:Should the new superintendent be an "insider," knowledgeable about the system and the people in it, or an "outsider," not familiar with Baltimore but with no preconceived notions? Do we need another educator like Richard C. Hunter, the dismissed incumbent, or should we hire a business manager who may or may not have the credentials of an educator?

Seven months after a committee called for improvements at the Naval Academy, the Pentagon says it is working toward implementing the committee's 16 recommendations, although the overhaul will take time, money and congressional approval.Navy Secretary John H. Dalton wrote in a recent report that efforts to create a stronger military presence at the academy, to ensure tighter oversight by the board of visitors, to be more open to the news media and to give women and minorities more opportunities "will go far in making a great institution even better."

Three months after the resignation of Superintendent C. Berry Carter II, the Anne Arundel County Board of Education has made no visible moves to find a replacement, leaving parents and others increasingly curious as to how the search will be done."

Evoking images of the Stalinist reign of terror, those who hadescaped the purges rallied to declare their support for Fearless Leader. Their motivations of self- preservation and self-advancement were evident, but did not validate their sincerity.So it was that 100 principals and assistants of Baltimore County schools assembled this month to proclaim support for Superintendent Stuart Berger and the havoc he has wreaked in his first year.Baltimore County has never seen such turmoil in its schools, and the unprecedented magnitude of parent and teacher protest against such unreasoned, poorly constructed and badly implemented programs.

Pointing to allegations of personal financial problems, Montgomery County's school board sidetracked yesterday what appeared to be the imminent appointment of a new superintendent -- Elfreda W. Massie, a high-ranking Baltimore County school administrator.Days after Massie was named the leading contender to head the 128,000-student district, school board President Reginald Felton said late yesterday afternoon that he had learned of problems "related to the filing of one or more bankruptcies" on her behalf.

When the 1991-92 school year opens next week, some teachers will be working for new principals or, in Baltimore City's case, a new superintendent, and some students will inaugurate new schools.But all the various jurisdictions will share one goal: Doing more with less, as government budget growth slows while enrollment grows.A report from around the metropolitan area:ANNE ARUNDELThe budget, or, more precisely, the reduction of one, is what school officials in Anne Arundel County must deal with as more than 66,000 students return to school.

It's not often one sees two appointments to top school posts in Maryland occur at virtually the same time. Yet by a curious stroke of serendipity that is what happened this week with the appointments of Renee A. Foose and S. Dallas Dance as superintendents, respectively, of the Howard County and Baltimore County school systems. In both cases, it looks like county school board members - who, it turns out, were competing against each other for the two same candidates - made promising choices.

The Annapolis Area Christian School announced on Tuesday that it has chosen a California school leader to replace its superintendent, who stepped down this year amid accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation. Rick Kempton, the superintendent at Friends Christian School in Yorba Linda, Calif., will take over in July, the AACS board of directors said Tuesday. He will fill the post vacated by George J.W. Lawrence Jr., who was accused by three employees in December of improper conduct in a suit against the school's association.