Donna Hargens, interim superintendent of Wake County Public Schools through a period of intense public attention, has made a bid to leave the system as one of three candidates for superintendent of New Hanover County Schools, officials announced in Wilmington.
Hargens, a veteran of more than 20 years in the Wake system, has been running the 140,000-student operation since being named acting superintendent in March, then interim superintendent in April. Her predecessor, Del Burns, resigned as superintendent in February after a newly elected school board majority made clear it would end a diversity-based student assignment system which Burns helped develop.
The news about Hargens came as the nine-member board already faced a full plate of issues at today's meeting as well as a downtown public protest of its decision to ditch the diversity policy. The Wake system, North Carolina's largest school district, is also in the midst of a search firm's efforts - at a cost of more than $80,000 - to find a permanent successor for Burns.
School board member Dr. Anne McLaurin, noting that Hargens was Wake's chief academic officer before her promotion, said her departure would be a blow to the system.
"It would be a tremendous loss for us," McLaurin said. "She's been a very valuable resource at a difficult time. It would be a tremendous challenge for Wake County."
Efforts to reach Hargens were unsuccessful Monday.
Board member John Tedesco noted Hargens had not applied for the top job in Wake but said he'd like her to return to her former post of chief academic officer if she is not hired to head New Hanover's 24,000-student system.
"This is about her career; this isn't about anything else here," Tedesco said. "It's not about her not liking the board or us not liking her."
Board members meeting today are to take a second vote on a measure which lowers the educational requirements for the superintendent's job, allowing the board to hire someone with no academic background, such as a military or business leader.
Officials in New Hanover have said they'd like their new leader in place by this fall, but Wake doesn't expect to be able to hire a new superintendent for six months or so.
"If she leaves before that's resolved, that's going to be a big void for the system in such a turbulent time," said Amy Womble, a Wake parent and activist who has opposed the board majority's changes.
At 10 a.m. today, a protest organized by the NAACP will begin at the Raleigh Convention Center.
Members of groups opposed to the current board's direction are also expected to show up at a regular school board meeting at 3 p.m. at school administration headquarters at 3600 Wake Forest Road.
