By Andrea Stevens
AFRO Staff Writer
astevens@afro.com
As Baltimore City Public Schools prepares to select its next chief executive officer, community voices are playing a central role in determining candidate requirements. A telephone town hall meeting hosted by Mayor Brandon M. Scott gathered input from families, students, educators and community members to help define the qualities and priorities most important for the district’s next leader.
“I’ve been so grateful for the stability that our current CEO Dr. Santelises since day one and is the longest serving member of my cabin. At the end of this year her contract is up and the system has made great progress under her leadership,” said Mayor Scott.
Zayra Chicas-Guzman, the student commissioner on the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners, opened the town hall discussions by explaining the CEO’s role to the attendees on the call, helping them understand why selecting the right person is so critical.
“The CEO’s responsible for the educational programs, staffing performance, operations budgets and finance of the districts. CEOs are also charged with lobbying for resources, funding and establishing partnerships in support of city schools,” said Chicas-Guzman.
Mayor Scott followed by stressing the importance of community involvement in shaping the future of the school system and holding everyone accountable for student success.
“This is about our young people and the future of our city, and we want our residents to be deeply engaged in this effort,” said Scott. “The responsibility of making sure our young people are where they need to be, especially in reading and math, falls on us all as a community.”
The attendees were encouraged to ask questions to the board during the call, so their voices could be heard. During the town hall, an attendee asked about the timeline for selecting the next CEO and how the transition would be handled.
“We have segmented the work into several different phases that will lead to a successful selection and onboarding of our superintendent by June 30, 2026, which is Dr. Santelises’ last day,” said Robert Salley, chair of the Board of School Commissioners. “We hope to select our candidate through the interview process as early as March of 2026. Our goal is to ensure that there is some overlap between the two superintendents so that the onboarding is as smooth as possible.”
Ashiah Parker, vice chair of the Board of School Commissioners, emphasized the importance of community involvement in such a critical decision. The input will help shape the candidate profile, which outlines the key traits, experiences and priorities that residents want to see in the next CEO.
“So we are having these forums so we can see what our community needs from the next CEO, so we’re taking all of that input and putting it into what we’re calling a candidate profile,” Parker said. “Ultimately the Board of Commissioners will be voting and hiring the next CEO, but we are the community along with every step of the process.”
During the forum, one attendee asked whether the board would prioritize a local candidate rather than someone from out of state. Salley replied that the board is committed to finding someone qualified and connected to the city.
“We want candidates that want to be here in Baltimore City, who want to work with our young people, who want to build relationships with the community,” said Salley. “As much as we’re doing a national search, we’ll be looking far and wide but also looking at candidates that are here locally.”
The search for the next CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools is still in its early stages, with more community forums planned in the months ahead. Officials say continued public engagement will remain a key part of the process, ensuring that the next leader reflects the values and needs of Baltimore’s students, families and educators.