Superintendent

The Anne Arundel County school system has been criticized for operating in the dark on key issues, for not explaining its decisions, for acting as though it couldn't care less what parents think or feel. Such criticism has been deserved most of the time. But county Superintendent Carol S. Parham's plan to transfer more than 60 administrators to different jobs -- a decision that upset some parents who feel they should have had a say -- is one case where complaints are unjustified.Perhaps Dr. Parham would have been wise to have prepared parents by sending out advance signals that she was considering a major personnel shift.

Kevin M. Maxwell will be paid $225,000 a year when he takes over as superintendent of the Anne Arundel County school system July 1, the school board agreed yesterday. Based on salary alone, Maxwell would be the fifth-highest-paid superintendent in Maryland, compared with 2005-2006 salaries compiled by the state Department of Education. When the board voted yesterday to officially hire Maxwell, student board member Pallas A. Snider abstained and Paul G. Rudolph voted against appointing Maxwell, who most recently worked as a community superintendent in Montgomery County.

Sydney L. Cousin was contemplating retiring for a second time during the Christmas holiday. At 62, the superintendent of the highly touted Howard County public schools system said he wanted to pursue new ventures, including the fulfillment of his childhood dream of being a university librarian. He longed to spend more time with his wife of 17 years, Marion, his four children, and four grandsons. A desire to eliminate the achievement gap among minority students combined with a slew of community members begging him to remain in the position persuaded Cousin to express interest in extending his contract with the school system.

Gov. William Donald Schaefer indicated today he wanted "a younger person to move up" to the position of superintendent of the Maryland State Police, which became vacant yesterday when Elmer H. Tippett resigned.Asked if he had a replacement in mind, the governor said he didn't but added he wanted someone from within Maryland.Governor Schaefer said the Dontay Carter case contributed to Colonel Tippett's problems. But he said those problems were compounded when State Police marched on Annapolis "with their guns and hats" to protest proposed budget cuts in October.

Baltimore is well on its way to picking a good school superintendent. This past weekend, finalists for the job were interviewed by representatives of community groups. The interviews were encouraging because they showed the school board's search committee had come up with five quality candidates. They were also encouraging because it allowed more extensive public input.Public involvement is one of the school system's chief goals. Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke and the school board feel -- correctly -- that the best chance for progress comes if the schools gain community support.

BY COINCIDENCE, Baltimore city and the state's only other predominantly urban and black school system, Prince George's County, will both be looking for new school superintendents this spring.Last week the Prince George's schools chief, John A. Murphy, announced that he was leaving his post for the top job in the Charlotte, N.C., school system. Murphy reportGlennMcNattedly has also been offered the job of superintendent in Kansas City, Mo.Meanwhile, Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke asked his school board last year not to renew the contract of Superintendent Richard C. Hunter when it expires in July.

Milwaukee -- The nation's 15th-largest urban school system will open this fall without Howard Fuller -- the superintendent who was fast making Milwaukee a national experiment in reinventing schools for the benefit of the children they enroll instead of the people who work there.The Milwaukee Teachers Education Association ran a slate of anti-Fuller candidates in springtime school-board elections. In a light turnout, four of five triumphed. Mr. Fuller then announced he would resign rather than face ''death by a thousand cuts.

Baltimore County Public Schools' Superintendent S. Dallas Dance will be the featured guest of a Newsmaker Forum sponsored by the Baltimore Sun on Thursday, Sept. 13, beginning at 7 p.m. at the new George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology, 938 York Road, Towson. The forum, which is open to the public, will be moderated by Sun Maryland Voices editor Andrew Green. The event will feature a discussion with Dance about education issues, including those central to Baltimore County Public Schools, as well as opportunities for the public to ask questions of Dance.

CHELSEA, Mich. -- A teacher at Chelsea High School shot the school superintendent to death and wounded the principal and another teacher during a meeting yesterday.Stephen Leith then allegedly threw his gun outside and sat in a classroom, where he was arrested, police said.Mr. Leith, a chemistry and physics teacher, stepped out of a meeting with Superintendent Joseph Piasecki, Principal Ronald Mead and English teacher Phillip Jones, a union representative, police said.He allegedly returned with a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol and began firing.