Board of Education Unanimously Renews Superintendent Jerry D. Weast’s Contract for Four More Years

The Board of Education unanimously voted Tuesday to extend the contract of Superintendent Jerry D. Weast for an additional four years.

“For the last eight years, Dr. Weast has provided outstanding leadership for Montgomery County Public Schools. Our students are performing at levels never before seen in our community, and I know that we are poised for even greater success with Dr. Weast at the helm,” said Nancy Navarro, president of the Board of Education. “The Board knows that there is much more work to do to close the achievement gap and to truly give every single child a world class education. We are confident that Dr. Weast is the right person to lead these efforts to ensure that every child succeeds.”

“I appreciate the confidence the Board has shown in me today by extending my contract so that we can continue the work together we began eight years ago,” said Weast, who was first appointed in August 1999. “Yes, our students have accomplished much under the excellent guidance of our staff. But we have so much more work to do. Together, we are going to do everything in our power to eliminate the achievement gap.”

During Dr. Weast’s tenure, students at all levels have achieved record success. For example:

-The Class of 2006 set numerous historic highs in participation and performance in Advanced Placement (AP) courses. The Class of 2006 broke the previous AP record set by the Class of 2005, with 56 percent of the class taking at least one AP exam and 45 percent scoring well enough to earn college credit.

-Performance by the Class of 2006 was three times higher than the national average for 2006 graduates and twice as high as the average for graduating seniors in Maryland.

-Newsweek magazine once again ranked all 23 eligible high schools in the top 3 percent in the nation, including 5 in the top 100.

-88 percent of kindergartners are reading simple text, and there is no achievement gap between White students and their African American and Hispanic peers.

-46 percent of fifth graders are taking sixth grade math, compared to 2 percent six years ago.

Dr. Weast is only the second Montgomery County Public Schools superintendent since 1953 who will have served longer than eight years. The terms of Dr. Weast’s new contract remain the same as the previous contract. He will be paid a salary of $239,754. The contract also provides for a retirement plan, life and health insurance, a flexible spending account, and a car.