Maryland has seen some costly bills when school superintendents and school boards decide to part ways.
In the most recent case, the Washington Post reported that former Prince George’s County School Superintendent Millard House left his post with at least $730,000 in severance. House had a contract that would have expired in 2027.
WTOP contacted Rachel White, associate professor of educational leadership and policy at the University of Texas at Austin, to talk about the issue of salaries and severance packages of superintendents. White leads the school’s “Superintendent Lab,” which provides data, research insights and innovation on school district superintendency.
“Superintendent contracts are a touchy subject oftentimes. They are paid a lot of money,” she said.
Part of that is because the job has become more demanding.
“Superintendents are working 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” she said.
Many of the stressors have little to do with what goes on in the classroom.
“About half of superintendents have been or felt personally threatened in the work that they do; 10% have experienced property vandalism and stalking,” she said.
Those are some of the factors that prompt school boards to boost salaries in order to attract top candidates. There are times when school districts can find themselves in virtual bidding wars, especially if they happen to be looking for superintendents at the same time.
In 2022, eight Maryland counties were conducting searches for superintendents, including Montgomery, Frederick and Calvert counties.
Asked why a school board might decide to fire a superintendent with years left on their contracts, White said that, sometimes, it’s the result of changes in the school board after an election. A new slate of candidates may take office.
“They may have a different ideology. They may have different ideas about what the purpose of public schooling is. They may have different ideas on how to spend money,” White said.
Maryland has seen superintendents depart with payouts of more than $1 million. In 2024, Monifa McKnight and the Montgomery County Board of Education came to an agreement that led to her departure. That separation package was $1.3 million.
In 2017, Renee Foose left the superintendent position in Howard County with a payout of $1.6 million.
White said those severance packages often take into account that a superintendent may go a full year before finding another spot, due to the hiring cycles in public education. Most school boards, she said, begin to look for new school chiefs in January and hope to wrap up the process by April or May.
If a superintendent is let go in June, “the job cycle is not ideal for them to be able to find a job” in the next academic year, she said.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
