The AP (12/22) reports that Paul Vallas, the former CEO of the Chicago Public Schools "who later went on to lead the Philadelphia and New Orleans school districts, has been named interim schools superintendent in Bridgeport. ... He will receive the same $229,000 annual salary as his predecessor, John Ramos, whose contract was terminated by the board appointed under a state takeover of the district." The piece notes that Vallas "ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for Illinois governor in 2001, losing to now convicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich."
Describing Vallas as "an education reformer who has led some of the nation's most troubled school systems," the Connecticut Post (12/22, Lambeck) reports that he "was named Tuesday as interim superintendent in the state's largest city, whose district has some of the state's lowest test scores and deepest poverty. He starts Jan. 1, and will inherit both a $6 million budget gap and a state-appointed school board whose very existence is being weighed by the state Supreme Court." The Post notes that Vallas expressed confidence and "pledged to stabilize the district and create new financial and academic plans that will not only move the district forward, but generate improvements other systems will envy."
Noting that Vallas "has built his reputation by taking on enormous jobs," the New Orleans Times-Picayune (12/22, Vanacore) reports that he "arrived in New Orleans when schools were in ruins and students were scattered across the country. From there, he moved on to disaster-stricken school systems in Haiti and Chile. So his next act may seem like a head-scratcher: interim superintendent in Bridgeport, Conn." The paper notes that despite its modest size, Bridgeport "does have what seems irresistibly attractive for Vallas -- headaches, among them an $8 million budget shortfall, a power struggle over who will govern public education in the city and dismal scores on state exams." The Fairfield (CT) Sun (12/22) also covers this story.
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