Superintendent

If you were choosing the next superintendent of Howard County schools, what qualities would you like the person to have? Let us hear from you, in 30 seconds or less, on our comments phone line, 410-715-2830. Or, in 50 words or fewer, send e-mail to howard.comments@baltsun.com, fax to 410-715-2816, or write to What's On Your Mind?, The Sun for Howard County, 5570 Sterrett Place, Suite 300, Columbia 21044. You must include your name (it will be published), where you live and your daytime phone number for verification.

The Baltimore school board has narrowed the search for a new school superintendent to a group of leading candidates -- including the former head of the Los Angeles schools, the first black president of the Maryland State Board of Education, and high-ranking school administrators from Baltimore, Baltimore County, Prince George's County and the District of Columbia, candidates and sources close to the selection process said.The candidates were among a pool of 18 applicants interviewed by board members over the telephone in the past week and a half.

County Council and school board members, who have been at odds, will vent their frustrations to a former school superintendent in the next three weeks.Dr. Edward Anderson, superintendent of Anne Arundel County schools from 1968 to 1984, agreed earlier this week to volunteer as a consultant to the council and the board, interviewing schooland county officials to discover the reasons behind the tension. He conducted his first interviews yesterday, starting with Councilman George Bachman, D-Linthicum.

THE GAME is an old one. Blacks were once told that if they got the proper education they could go far in life. Now that many of them have achieved advanced education, qualifying them to run major urban educational systems, the rules have been changed. Now it is trendy to say that professional educators are not necessarily the best equipped persons to run school systems. The magical term "manager" is now being chanted. "Manager," of course, translates into corporate exile, usually white.A black school superintendent is important for Baltimore for several reasons.

Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke's invitation to former state school Superintendent David W. Hornbeck to become a candidate for the city school superintendency has revived speculation on a recurring question: Can the black mayor of this majority black city with its majority black school population opt for a white school superintendent?The answer, says Mr. Schmoke, is yes."Race is not going to be the controlling issue," Mr. Schmoke said yesterday when asked about Mr. Hornbeck, who is white. "I know it will be an issue for some people, but I've talked to [parents and community leaders]

There is little good to be said about the Howard County school board's decision to quietly raise Superintendent Michael Hickey's salary by 10 percent last June. Even if Mr. Hickey deserved the increase -- which brings his annual pay to $109,106 -- the timing and manner in which it was granted shows a dumbfounding lack of sensitivity toward the public that the board serves.School board members' belated attempts to make a case for Mr. Hickey's salary increase are shabby at best. They say the superintendent deserves the increase because it is in line with what other superintendents of similar stature make.

Every morning, Carol S. Parham gets down on her knees and prays for the strength to run Anne Arundel County's schools.Perhaps those prayers are being answered. County school board members thought enough of her work to extend her contract as superintendent of schools for another year a month before her evaluation is due in August."Maybe this means we're finally reaching a level of stability," Joseph Foster, the board president, said late last week. "I think there's room for improvement, but I think she's progressing very well."

Saying he would prefer a job in a smaller school system, Anne Arundel County Superintendent Larry L. Lorton confirmed yesterday that he will resign June 30 when his four-year contract ends.Mr. Lorton said that many personal and professional factors persuaded him to resign but that the decision saddened him."The last two days have been really tough emotionally," he said after a 30-minute news conference. "There's such a finality to it."Mr. Lorton, 53, dismissed persistent rumors that the eight-member school board had decided not to renew his contract.

People who stand on opposite sides to duke it out at board meetings stood together yesterday morning to applaud Brian Lockard's appointment as the new superintendent of Carroll County schools.From board members to union leaders to a dissident parent running for school board, they praised Dr. Lockard for integrity, knowledge, leadership and compassion.Dr. Lockard, a Westminster native and second-generation educator, has held the system's second-highest post as deputy superintendent since 1987.

Baltimore officials have decided not to extend the deadline for applications for the position of school superintendent, thanks to a last-minute flood of promising resumes -- including seven or eight from superintendents of larger school districts from all over the East Coast.By yesterday's application deadline, Baltimore had received 89 applications and expects more to trickle in this week, said Robert G. Wendland, the city's deputy personnel director.The batch includes resumes from about 10 deputy school superintendents from both Maryland and the rest of the Eastern seaboard.