Posted on 11/24/21
| News Source: WBAL
The impact of COVID-19 is forcing a record number of school superintendents to either resign, retire or quit altogether, according to a national superintendent's association.
Carroll County Public Schools Superintendent Steven Lockard became the fifth school leader to announce he's stepping down in 2022.
The decision to step down was personal and it comes at a time when superintendents across the state and the nation are reassessing their roles as educational leaders in the midst of COVID-19.
Lockard, a Carroll County native and former high school graduate of a Carroll County High School, took the district's top job back in 2018. A few days ago, he announced he will not seek a new contract when his current one runs out next summer.
In a statement, Lockard wrote, "I am making a decision to step back and refocus more on my time with my family and seeking out other professional opportunities."
"It's sad. I know he did a lot for us during COVID and helped us kind of keep the school system up and running. I really appreciate everything he did for the past few years," Carroll County parent Rebecca Pennington said.
Lockard joins school superintendents in Talbot, Calvert, Wicomico and Montgomery counties who have decided to move on for personal or professional reasons.
Dan Domenech, executive director of the national School Superintendents Association said there are plenty of reasons why leaders are stepping away, most of them related to the pandemic.
"Schools being open or not, wearing masks or not, getting kids vaccinated or not, and critical race theory on top of all that," Domenech said.
He said the concern now is who will fill their shoes.