CEO or school chief? Meet today's superintendent

Jaime Sarrio

They manage budgets that stretch into the hundreds of millions of dollars. They run organizations that rank among Home Depot and Kroger in terms of the number of people they employ locally. Perhaps most importantly, they are responsible for developing precious products, with the outcome impacting the future of the state and region.

Meet the metro school superintendent, a high-profile, well-compensated figurehead who's part of an elite -- but some say shrinking -- class of educators more often compared to corporate CEOs or celebrities than classroom teachers.

The role of these leaders is taking on a renewed relevance in metro Atlanta as three of the state's largest districts look to hire replacements in 2011. Those decisions will directly affect the lives of 250,000 students, 35,500 employees and countless others in the region, said Brad Bryant, state school chief.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at December 8, 2010 1:02 AM
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