School & District Management News in Brief

Recovery Officer’ to Head Philadelphia Schools

By Christina A. Samuels — January 31, 2012 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The board that runs the Philadelphia school system has created a new management structure for the 146,000-student district, in the hope that the new leaders can tackle a looming $61 million budget shortfall.

Thomas Knudsen was hired with the new title of chief recovery officer, a position in which he will function both as superintendent and chief financial officer. Mr. Knudsen, who previously led a turnaround effort as chief executive officer of the Philadelphia Gas Works, will work on a six-month, $150,000 contract.

Penny Nixon, formerly the associate superintendent for academics, becomes the chief academic officer. She and Mr. Knudsen, who has no background in education, will report directly to the district’s governing board, the School Reform Commission.

Leroy Nunery, who had been the acting superintendent, and Michael Masch, formerly the chief financial officer, are both staying on as special advisers, but will take pay cuts.

Mr. Nunery will also report directly to the commission and focus on examining how business and services are delivered to schools—essentially heading an effort to decentralize some of the district’s operations. Mr. Masch will report to Mr. Knudsen and continue to work on financial matters.

After former Superintendent Arlene Ackerman resigned last summer, Mr. Nunery became the acting schools chief. Now, with Mr. Knudsen assuming those duties, district leaders are hoping they can close the shortfall in the $2.8 billion budget for fiscal 2012 with salary cuts and reductions to programs such as gifted and bilingual education.

But a report released last week by the city controller raises questions about the district’s financial viability. In the report, the controller estimates that the district needs to pare costs at a rate of $400,000 a day through the end of June to balance the budget, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. If the district could not formulate a plan to address the funding gap quickly, the controller indicated he would include a warning in the financial report that is sent each year to bond-rating agencies and bondholders.

A version of this article appeared in the February 01, 2012 edition of Education Week as Recovery Officer’ to Head Philadelphia Schools

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management Opinion A Good Principal Knows When It's Time to Leave
I didn’t leave my job because of burnout; I stepped away from being a school leader because it was in everybody’s best interest.
Matthew Ebert
4 min read
Conceptual illustration of someone handing off a baton to someone else over a completed puzzle.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
School & District Management Principals Tell Politicians on Capitol Hill: We’re Burning Out
Students' mental health top principals' growing list of concerns.
6 min read
People walk outside the U.S Capitol building in Washington, June 9, 2022.
Visitors walk outside the U.S Capitol building in Washington on June 9, 2022.
Patrick Semansky/AP
School & District Management Women Superintendents Experience Bias on the Climb to Leadership
Interpersonal slights and inequities make it hard for women to land the job and stay in it.
3 min read
Woman stands in front of a staircase in different colors. She is about to walk up the stairs. Concept of standing in front of a challenge and finding the right solution and courage to move on.
mikkelwilliam/E+
School & District Management Fewer of Today's Superintendents Are at Retirement Age
A new survey of superintendents adds to what we know about the people who lead the nation's school districts.
4 min read
Conceptual illustration of money, salaries and data.
iStock/Getty