Michelle Reid appointed FCPS superintendent
The next superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools will be Michelle Reid, the school board announced April 14.
Reid has been the superintendent of Northshore School District in Washington state since 2016. She will succeed Scott Brabrand, who is leaving FCPS at the end of the school year.
The other finalist, Cheryl Logan, superintendent of Omaha Public Schools in Nebraska, had withdrawn her name from consideration, leaving Reid as the only candidate.
FCPS is nearly 10 times bigger than the Northshore School District (NSD).
NSD has 20,000 students, 2,100 employees, and a budget of $426 million. FCPS enrolls 180,000 students, has 25,000 employees, and a $2.7 billion budget.
The Fairfax County NAACP had raised concerns that the board would choose someone who leads a much smaller district with different demographics and bigger achievement gaps.
NSD has just 2,000 English language learners (9 percent of enrollment) compared to 46,000 (26 percent at FCPS). Twelve percent of NSD students are eligible for free and reduced-price meals, compared to 26 percent at FCPS.
Before coming to the NSD in 2016, Reid was superintendent of the even smaller South Kitsap School District in Washington state. She was previously the district athletic director and high school principal in the Port Angeles School District in Washington.
The board approved Reid by a 9-3 vote. The school board members who voted no on Reid are Ricardy Anderson (Mason), Karen Keys-Gamarra (at large), and Karen Corbett Sanders (Mount Vernon).
The Fairfax County NAACP issued a joint statement opposing Reid. “The superintendent of Northshore School District isn’t the right fit.”
The statement asked the school board to delay a decision on a superintendent and instead of hiring Reid, to “bring in a superintendent with the qualifications, experience, and knowledge to lead a school system of the size, diversity, and complexity of FCPS.”
The school board rejected a motion to delay the selection process.
“Additionally, more troubling information continues to be shared with us including dangerous seclusion and restraint numbers and special education practices,” the NAACP states.
The statement was signed by nine local church pastors, the International Coalition Against Restraint and Seclusion, the Neuro Divergent Liberation Coalition, the Autistic Self Awareness Network, Pride Liberation Project, and Communication First.
“We are all equally alarmed that despite having promised a process that would include community engagement and community voices, thus far it seems this commentary and feedback was not given the weight it merits,” the groups state. “Stakeholders and community panelists are left to wonder if these community engagement opportunities were performative and whether our feedback was dismissed.”
Students organized walkouts April 14 at several high schools to protest the lack of student involvement in the process, WTOP reported.
Related story: Two finalists were considered for FCPS superintendent – then one dropped out
The two finalists were recommended by GR Recruiting, which conducted a nationwide search for the new superintendent.
Reid has been praised for her early pandemic response; her creativity in successfully meeting the needs of students; her equity work; strength in both personal and organizational communication; robust community engagement; and understanding of regional, national, and international issues, states a press release issued by the FCPS school board. She was named AASA National Superintendent of the Year in 2021.
“Everyone has a lived experience,” Reid said. “When you walk by inequity you have lost the moral authority to lead. I am committed to listening and learning from this community so, together, we can build on the strengths of Fairfax County Public Schools while developing schools of the future, not the past.”
“Dr. Reid is focused on academic achievement and outcomes for every student in our Fairfax community,” said Fairfax County School Board Chair Stella Pekarsky (Sully).
“She has previously demonstrated the highest professional standards when it comes to leading a school district and a proven track record of working to build a successful future for students,” Pekarsky said. “We are excited to have her on board and look forward to working closely with her.”
Are those budget numbers correct? With the numbers given: FCPS has 9 times more students than NSD; 12 times more employees than NSD; but the budget is 6,750 times (!) higher than NSD. Yes, ESL and Free and reduced price lunch explain some of this, and maybe higher salaries in the N. Virginia area, but 6,750 times bigger? Is this an apples to apples comparison of budgets?
Actually, I checked their website and the NSD budget is about $400,000,000, so the FCPS budget is about 6.75 times higher. That’s actually pretty good.
Here comes the liberal indoctrination of our students and the downfall of minorities as it relates to testing. Why? Because she and the Fairfax government leadership believe in equal outcomes versus equal opportunity……something that fails every time because we are all different and we cannot all achieve the same level. Our focus should be to be excellent “on our own level.” This is not a collective. And I am an African American and I wish that these liberals would resign.
Now is the time for prayer for the School Superintendents and mothers and fathers of our Nation to demand discussion and solutions of The National Rifle Association association and our Government Representatives. Along with more and better alertness and review of our social media. When our children are not safe at schools —it is war within our beloved Country. I am an 83 year grandmother, a former School Board Member in San Bernardino, California during the Integration Years. There are solutions, we need to look for them.