Baltimore County Public Schools on Friday afternoon announced the four finalists in the running to lead Maryland’s third-largest school system.

Finalists include the superintendent of Washington County Public Schools, a superintendent from Missouri, an associate superintendent at Prince George’s County Public Schools and the chief operating officer of Anne Arundel County Public Schools.

The search for the next head of county schools has been fast-paced, as Myriam Rogers, who has led the 108,000-student school system since 2023, suddenly announced her departure in February. The new superintendent is expected to begin July 1.

The finalists will take part in a public town hall on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology.

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Here are the finalists.

William Heiser

Heiser, the chief operating officer of Anne Arundel County Public Schools, provides executive leadership for the fourth-largest school system in Maryland. He previously served as a principal in Baltimore County.

Penelope Martin-Knox

Martin-Knox is in her fourth year as superintendent for Raytown C-2 School District, a suburban school system in Missouri with about 8,000 students. She’s no stranger to Maryland, however; the leader previously held several central office leadership roles in Baltimore County.

Edward Ryans

Ryans is the associate superintendent for high schools and nontraditional programs at Prince George’s County Public Schools, Maryland’s second-largest school district. He has previously held classroom roles and has been a principal. .

David Sovine

Sovine is the superintendent of Washington County Public Schools, which enrolls about 22,000 students in Western Maryland. Before that, he served as superintendent of Frederick County Public Schools in Virginia and currently serves as the president of the executive board of the Public School Superintendents Association of Maryland.

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About the Education Hub

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