Seattle School Board to offer superintendent job to S.C.'s Goodloe-Johnson

The Seattle School Board today voted to offer the superintendent's job to Maria Goodloe-Johnson, a longtime educator who currently leads the Charleston County School District in South Carolina.

Goodloe-Johnson, 49, would replace outgoing Superintendent Raj Manhas, who is scheduled to leave in August.

Earlier this afternoon, the other finalist, Gregory Thornton, chief academic officer of The School District of Philadelphia, withdrew. He said the move to Seattle would put him too far from family.

Discussing her leadership approach at a community forum last week, Goodloe-Johnson said a superintendent must share information with the elected board and follow its policy and budget decisions.

"We have to work collaboratively as a team," she said.

The Seattle School Board had said it wanted the next superintendent to have a background in education, something the past three superintendents in the 46,000-student district have not had.

The board also had agreed to offer a salary of up to $240,000 for the next superintendent; Manhas makes about $178,000 annually.

Seattle School Board President Cheryl Chow and member Michael DeBell traveled to Charleston and Philadelphia this week to interview people who knew the candidates.

Goodloe-Johnson has run the 43,000-student Charleston district since 2003 and is known for her sometimes controversial efforts to turn around failing schools. She is installing a districtwide curriculum and has implemented thrice-yearly student testing to gauge principals' progress.

Her turnaround record is mixed: A quarter of Charleston County School District's 80 schools were recently commended for closing the "achievement gap" between black and white students, but another quarter are still deemed failing, partly because the standards for assessing schools keep changing.

She would be the second female superintendent in the Seattle district's history; Julia Kennedy served from 1887 to 1890.

On Wednesday, Philadelphia schools chief Paul Vallas said he was resigning after five years, leading to a leadership shuffle in the nation's eighth largest school district. Thornton's role in Philadelphia's future is uncertain.

Alex Fryer: 206-464-8124 or afryer@seattletimes.com