By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer
msayles@afro.com
Sonja Santelises will lead Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) for another year. The Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners voted 8-1 to extend the CEO’s contract on June 12, weeks before it was set to expire on June 30. Vice Chair Shantell L. Roberts opposed the extension.
Credit: Courtesy photo
The one-year renewal is shorter than her previous four-year terms.
“Tonight, the board is eager to engage in a contract extension with Dr. Sonja Santelises,” said Board Chair Ronald S. McFadden, during the public board meeting. “We remain committed to collaborating with you and all stakeholders as we work to improve outcomes for each of our children and families.”
Santelises has been the head of City Schools since 2016, making her the longest-serving CEO in the district in more than three decades. She previously worked for City Schools as chief academic officer from 2010 to 2013. As superintendent, Santelises is the highest-paid employee in the school system, earning $339,589 in 2023, according to OpenPayrolls.
“I just want to thank the board,” said Santelises during the meeting. “I want to thank team City Schools for the work that has led us to the point where we do see an increased trajectory of outcomes for our young people, but we still have a good amount of work before us.”
For the 2024 to 2025 school year, Santelises will have a $1.786 billion-budget at her disposal, a $42 million, or 2.8 percent, increase from the previous year. It includes investments in math and literacy, early learning centers, career coaching, post-secondary success, summer programming, mental health and educator pipeline development.
Baltimore’s school system has long faced widespread criticism for poor building conditions, chronic absenteeism and low math scores. Under Santelises leadership, the district cut the number of schools without air conditioning from 75 in 2017 to 11 in 2023.
It has also opened a number of 21st Century Schools across the city, with more coming down the pipeline. Math proficiency remains inadequate in Baltimore at 16.7 percent, lagging behind Maryland’s average of 40.3 percent, according to the Maryland Public Schools Report Card.
City Schools encountered spikes in chronic absenteeism during 2021 and 2022, sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic. But, in his 2024 State of the City address, Mayor Brandon M. Scott touted a 12 percent reduction across all schools. Scott and Santelises launched the Mayor’s Attendance Challenge ahead of the 2023 to 2024 school year to encourage students to come to school.
The district has also experienced controversies with Santelises at the helm. In 2022, Maryland Inspector General for Education Richard P. Henry released findings from an investigation into City Schools’ grading. The examination was brought on by claims that teachers were pushed to change failing grades to passing ones between 2016 and 2020. The agency reported that there were more than 12,000 grade changes across City Schools.
The system has since revised its grading and reporting policies, including implementing a technology system for improved tracking and monitoring and ensuring no one person is exclusively responsible for grade entry and review.
In March 2024, an independent audit conducted by consulting firm Alvarez and Marsal reported that there was no evidence of pervasive grade manipulation in the district during the 2022 to 2023 school year.
Commissioner Andrew Coy said he was glad that the school board finally arrived at a contract vote. Typically, contract negotiations are finalized in March or April.
“It was certainly giving me a lot of anxiety to be this late in the school year and not have this concluded yet,” said Coy during the board meeting. “While I know there’s been a diversity of opinion among the board, it certainly makes me relieved to have a consensus for a vote and for the district to benefit for another year of Dr. Santelises’ leadership.”
