Kelley: No One Stays Forever

Joe Hairston could announce Tuesday his decision to not seek a fourth contract as superintendent of the Baltimore County Public Schools system, but not everyone is in a tizzy over the news.

Sen. Delores Kelley, who has been a long-time supporter of Hairston, didn't have much to say regarding  from the county after 12 years.

"People retire when they want to retire," Kelley said.

Hairston has been the superintendent of the county schools system, the 26th largest in the country, since 2000.

A 2010 survey released by Washington DC-based Council of Great City Schools lists the average tenure of current school superintendents it surveyed at just over 3.6 years.

Theodore Kowalksi, a professor at University of Dayton, was quoted in an article on Changinggears.info, a website focused on manufacturing issues in the Midwest, as saying his research showed school superintendents nationwide stay on average about seven years. That average drops to below three years on average for superintendents of urban schools systems.

"I've been a supporter of the school system," Kelley said. "I think he's achieved a lot but none of us stay in any job forever."