WASHINGTON — Robert R. “Bud” Spillane, the Fairfax County superintendent who headed Fairfax County Public Schools for 12 years in the 1980s and 1990s, died July 18 in Boston.
Spillane, who had just undergone a successful heart valve surgery, died of pulmonary disease, his family tells The Washington Post. He was 80.
Spillane came to FCPS in 1985 after rescuing Boston’s troubled school system.
During his tenure, FCPS rose in prominence nationally.
The school system saw the percentage of students going to college increase to 84 percent from 79 percent, while the proportion of schools enrolled in upper-level math classes jumped from 17 percent to 50 percent. More students also began taking Advanced Placement classes.
Spillane is credited with starting the school system’s night classes for immigrant students.
Spillane is survived by his wife of 58 years, Geraldine Shea Spillane, of Pawcatuck, Connecticut; children, Patricia McGrath, of New York City; Robert Spillane Jr., of Ormond Beach, Fla.; Kathleen Orsi, of Oak Hill, Va.; and Maura Francis, of South Riding, Va.
