A candidate for Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent is bowing out of consideration to lead Virginia’s largest school system. Cheryl Logan, the current head of Omaha Public Schools in Nebraska, has pulled her name from consideration.
Last weekend, the Fairfax County NAACP advocated for Logan as the preferred candidate. The group sent a letter to school board members Saturday that said whistleblowers informed them of the two final candidates, Logan and Michelle Reid, who is superintendent of Northshore School District in Washington state.
In a news release Monday, the Fairfax County NAACP said Logan’s decision to withdraw her name came a week before the chapter released its statement. It also said it doesn’t know the status of the other named candidate, Michelle Reid, the superintendent for Northshore school district in Washington.
“We formally request that the FCPS School Board bring in a superintendent with the qualifications, experience, and knowledge to lead a school system of the size, diversity, and complexity of FCPS,” the Fairfax NAACP said.
In a separate statement released Monday afternoon, the school board said it has “reviewed applicants and looks forward to publicly announcing the final candidate in the next few weeks.”
“We have benefitted from a strong pool of applicants who have demonstrated qualities and track records aligned with those identified during the community engagement part of the process and outlined in the job posting,” the board said.
In its letter, the NAACP said Logan was best equipped to be the new head in Fairfax County and that the Omaha school district better reflected the diversity of Fairfax County Public Schools. The group urged her hiring to make history. She would have been the first Black superintendent in the system’s history, if selected.
But that same day, Logan sent emails that said she has taken her name out of the running for the position in Fairfax County, the Omaha World Herald reported.
“It is an honor to serve as your Superintendent, and I very much look forward to our collective work in the school year to come,” she wrote.
Before Omaha Public schools, Logan worked as the Chief Academic Officer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and as a principal and teacher in Maryland’s Prince George’s and Howard counties.
The school district has been searching for a new superintendent since Scott Brabrand announced his retirement in July.
The hiring of the next superintendent will be finalized with a public vote by the school board, the county said.
“We appreciate your patience as together we make this important decision that will guide the future of our public school community over the next few years,” the school board said.
The Fairfax County NAACP said, “We ask that our School Board consider its fiduciary responsibility to the Fairfax County community and hire a superintendent with the experience to face our challenges head on and immediately.”
