Retiring Springbrook High Principal To Step into Post Left Vacant by Election of Nancy Navarro to County Council; Term Runs Through 2010

Michael Durso, who retires this month as principal of Springbrook High School, has been appointed by the Montgomery County Board of Education to fill the District 5 seat vacated by the election of Nancy Navarro to the Montgomery County Council. Durso was elected by the Board today on the first ballot, by a unanimous vote of 7-0 and will complete the remainder of the term, through 2010.

“I am honored to be selected and for the opportunity to serve in the District 5 Board of Education post,” said Durso, a Silver Spring resident. “I am looking forward to working with the other Board members in dealing with all of the challenges that face our school system, as we continue our effort to be a first class system in all aspects.”

The vote on the appointment took place on Friday, June 26, following a series of interviews earlier in the day with each of the six finalists selected by the Board.

Durso has served as principal at Springbrook since joining Montgomery County Public Schools in 1996. Prior to that, as part of a 44-year education career—including 38 years as a school administrator—Durso was a principal at Yorktown High School in Arlington, Virginia, and a principal at Woodrow Wilson High School and Lincoln Junior High School in the District of Columbia. He holds a bachelor’s degree from The Catholic University of America in American History and a master’s degree from American University in educational administration.

Durso will be sworn in at a special ceremony on Wednesday, July 1, along with Timothy Hwang, the new student member of the Board of Education, who will serve a one-year term.