PHOTO – HOWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Ellicott City, MD – Less than three years after ending his long tenure as St. Mary’s County superintendent of schools, Dr. Michael J. Martirano is back in Maryland to take temporary charge of one of the Free State’s best systems. Martirano, who left St. Mary’s in 2014 and took the post of state superintendent of schools in West Virginia, will serve as acting superintendent of schools in Howard County until June 30. The Howard County Board of Education (BOE) would then decide whether to name Martirano as the interim superintendent or hire him as the fulltime super of public schools.
Martirano was named Howard’s acting superintendent following the announcement of Dr. Renee Foose that she would be retiring after six years at the helm. According to several stories in the Baltimore Sun, Foose had an acrimonious relationship with the new members of the BOE and the county’s teachers’ union. A buyout package in excess of $1 million is on the table for Foose, whose retirement took effect immediately.
“I am so darn excited,” Martirano told a gathering of school employees in a video posted on the Howard County Public Schools web site. “I’m a teacher first and foremost who just happens to be the acting superintendent of Howard County. Just give me a little bit of a chance.”
The role of acting super marks a return to Howard County for Martirano, who once served as director of Elementary Education in that jurisdiction.
Martirano resigned his position in West Virginia last September, a few months after the sudden death of his wife. At the time of his resignation Martirano said he planned to spend more time with his family.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com