Temporary superintendent for St. Paul to be appointed today

Suzanne Kelly
Suzanne Kelly is expected to serve as interim superintendent of St. Paul Schools until the school board names a permanent replacement. The board says it hopes to do that during the 2009-2010 school year.
photo courtesy St. Paul School District

The St. Paul School Board will appoint a temporary leader for the district at a meeting Tuesday morning.

Suzanne Kelly will take over after Maria Carstarphen leaves after this school year. Carstarphen was recently named superintendent of the Austin, Texas district.

Kelly is the St. Paul district's current chief of staff, a job that required her to occassionally serve as acting head whenever the superintendent was absent. Kelly has also worked for the Minneapolis and Memphis, Tenn. school districts.

Meeting students
Meria Carstarphen greets first graders at Zilker Elementary School in Austin, Texas on Feb. 26, 2009, the day she was named finalist for the superintendent's job there.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

The St. Paul school board says it hopes to have a permanent superintendent in place some time during the upcoming 2009-2010 school year.

The district also is in the midst of an overhaul effort called the Large Scale System Change, which Carstarphen helped launch. Board member Elona Street-Stewart said in a statement that Kelly, as interim, will keep that effort going.

"My goal will be to sustain that momentum and provide leadership stability that will allow the Board to focus on selecting Saint Paul's next permanent superintendent," added Kelly, in a statement

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