by Bridget Cook ‘14 and Mary Nickerson ‘12

Joshua Starr, formerly the head of the Stamford Public School system in Connecticut, has been unanimously selected by the Montgomery County Board of Education to serve as the next MCPS Superintendent. Starr replaces Jerry Weast, who steps down after serving as superintendent since 1999. The change comes during a period of budgetary stress and increased demands on teacher quality. Starr has not disclosed any imminent plans for change to one of the top performing school systems in Maryland.

“It is an honor and privilege to be the next superintendent [and] to make MCPS a national model of excellence,” said Starr in a letter to Montgomery County School personnel. The new superintendent has a four-year contract starting July 1.

In March, the Montgomery County Board of Education reviewed applications from 30 candidates from 15 different states who applied for the position during a national search. From the group of applicants, the Board identified three finalists to interview. A Community Committee that consisted of students, parents, multicultural and civic organizations, employee unions, non-profit organizations, career and technology associations, special needs advocates, post-secondary institutions and county agencies interviewed the finalists.

The Board conducted second interviews with each of the finalists. Based on input from the Community Committee and the Board, the preferred candidate was identified. According to the MCPS website, each finalist went “through a screening interview, reference checks, and a complete and comprehensive background check conducted by an independent third party company.”

“[Starr] demonstrated that he is passionate about public education and the role it plays in the success of all our students,” said Board Member Phil Kauffman. “His educational philosophies were consistent with the MCPS approach.”

Michael Durso, another Board of Education Member, said that Starr will be a “hands on” superintendent who will be “visiting schools, students, and employees to get an idea of MCPS overall. “[Starr] will make changes as needed, but in a very deliberate manner,” added Durso.

Before his selection, Starr was superintendent of the 15,000-student school system in Stamford, Connecticut. He was named to lead Montgomery County’s 144,000-student system in April. Some have expressed concern that Starr may have problems in moving from a system with just 20 schools to one with 200. “We need to see how he translates from that small district to this large district. I think he understands what’s in his future here,” stated Montgomery County PTA President Kristin Treble in a May 11 WUSA newscast.

Nearly everyone agrees that a shrunken budget is the major issue facing Starr for the foreseeable future. According to Christopher S. Barclay, President of the Board of Education, MCPS has made more than $300 million in difficult cuts over the past three years. Starr is going to have to make do with less. Starr “will need to manage a school system that is growing in enrollment, as well as an increasing number of children with intense needs, with diminishing resources,” said Kauffman.

In addition, Starr inherits a strained relationship between the Montgomery County Board of Education and the Maryland State Department of Education. Weast and outgoing State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick, who will retire in June, had differences over Maryland’s participation in the federal Race to the Top school reform grant. Montgomery County was one of two school districts in Maryland to opt out of the Race to the Top program, a decision which cost county schools $12 million. Starr has the opportunity to promote Montgomery County’s successful system as a model for Race to the Top program in Maryland. “It’s a question of looking to what we know works,” stated Maryland State Delegate Eric G. Luedtke in a May 4 Gazette article.

Starr, in an interview reported on WUSA by Delia Goncalves, seems ready to continue in the path Weast has taken for the last twelve years.  “Equity means very high standard for all children and giving teachers the right tools for success so that all children can achieve it,” Starr stated.