Parent groups and the local NAACP chapter say they were left out of the selection process for the new superintendent in Fairfax County.

dcJohn / Flickr

The Fairfax County School Board selected its next superintendent Thursday night, voting 9-3 to give the job to Michelle Reid, who currently leads a school district in Washington state. The selection was made over the objections of area parent groups, hundreds of students, and the local NAACP chapter. 

“I’m committed to listening and learning from this community so that together we can build on the strengths of the Fairfax County Public Schools while developing schools of the future and not the schools of the past,” Reid said. “I am absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity.”

Reid is currently the superintendent of the Northshore School District in the Bothell, Washington area, a position she’s held since 2016. In 2021, she earned the designation of Washington’s superintendent of the year. 

The Northshore School District has around 24,000 students, compared to around 180,000 who attend Fairfax County’s public schools. As the largest school district in Virginia, FCPS has a $3.4 billion operating budget this year and is the second largest employer in the county. 

At-Large School board member Karen Keys-Gamarra flagged the different sizes of the districts as a cause for concern at yesterday’s meeting. “I am worried about the learning curve,” she said. “It’s a big jump from 22,000 to 180,000.”

Keys-Gamarra advocated unsuccessfully for the board to delay its decision, in response to community pushback in recent days and weeks. Yesterday, students at Fairfax Schools walked out of class in protest of the selection process and Reid as the final choice. 

The Fairfax County NAACP expressed dismay in having been left out of the selection process in a letter last weekend.  The group advocated for the selection of the other potential choice, Omaha Public Schools superintendent Cheryl Logan, who took her name out of the running after it was publicly revealed over the weekend. Earlier this week, the Fairfax Alliance of Black School Educators joined with the NAACP in expressing its preference for Logan, a Black woman. 

In their argument, the NAACP chapter compared the demographics of Reid’s current district, where about 60 percent of students are white, to Fairfax County, where about 38 percent of students are white. “We are very concerned about the likelihood of success for a new superintendent who has no professional experience in any capacity with a school district of the size and diversity of FCPS,” the group wrote.

Reid addressed these concerns when speaking at yesterday’s board meeting, referencing her leadership of the Northshore School District. She said that the district doubled the enrollment of income eligible students in early childhood education and doubled the number of people of color working in administrative roles.

“A core value for me around the equity lens is that I believe if you walk by an inequity, you have lost the moral authority to lead,” she said. “I think that that’s a critical piece that people must know about me, who I am as a person and who I will be as your leader.”

A parent group formed in 2020 to advocate for school reopening, the Fairfax County Parents Association, also protested Reid’s selection and said it felt left out of the process. In a letter shared on Twitter Friday morning, the group wrote the “system has become far too focused on looking good, versus being good,” pointing to issues including “academics, literacy, treatment of special needs students, or dealing with rising behavioral issues and crimes on school property.” 

Reid will take over the role from Scott Brabrand when he departs the role at the end of June. Brabrand, who has been the superintendent since 2017, announced his plan to retire during the summer of last year. He will move on to a new job as executive director of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents.

Filed Under: fairfax county, schools, superintendent,