Dr. Eugene M. Karol distributes dictionaries provided by Rotary to an elementary school in Calvert County.
Port Republic, MD – Former Calvert County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Eugene “Gene” Karol has died. Karol, who was 83, died at his home in Port Republic Wednesday, Jan. 25.
Karol, a native of Pennsylvania and former science teacher, became Calvert’s school superintendent in 1980. Prior to moving to Calvert he had held a similar post in Somerset County. During his 13 year tenure, Karol presided over a period of amazing growth for the rural county public school system. The growth was in student population, school workforce and physical plant, as several new schools were built between 1980 and 1993. The system also grew in student achievement.
“I remember that during Dr. Karol’s tenure, the public had gained a newfound respect for the school system, and we discovered that families were actually moving to Calvert so they could enroll their children in our schools,” wrote then-Calvert Education Association President Ann Brown in a 2000 Letter to the Editor supporting Karol’s campaign for school board. “And I remember that teacher pride was at an all-time high.”
Karol resigned from the superintendent’s post in 1993. He ran for the Board of Education (BOE) in 2000 but lost in the General Election. In 2002 he made an unsuccessful run for county commissioner. He narrowly won election to the BOE in 2006 and was reelected in 2010. He was defeated in a bid for a third term in 2014.
According to Rausch Funeral Home, services for Dr. Gene Karol will be held at St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Prince Frederick. Visitation will be held at the church Tuesday evening, Jan. 31 from 6 to 8 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 11 a.m. with burial in the church cemetery. Contributions in Dr. Karol’s memory may be made to Rotary Foundation.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com