AACPS Superintendent Won't Return Next School Year

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Superintendent George Arlotto announced Thursday that he will not return for another term as the top official of Anne Arundel County Public Schools. Arlotto said he would have preferred to stay, but the Board of Education did not offer him a third contract. The superintendent will continue his duties until his term ends on June 30, 2022.

"I have every intention to continue my work on behalf of our students and school system until my contract expires," Arlotto wrote in a letter to AACPS families and employees. "I wish our Board, our awesome staff, our families, and the Anne Arundel community only the best as you move forward, collectively, to support, nurture, and love our students."

The school board first appointed Arlotto to a four-year term on July 1, 2014. He started a second term on July 1, 2018.

Arlotto joined AACPS in 2006 after working as a teacher and a high school administrator in Virginia, the District of Columbia and Montgomery County. He was a member of the superintendent’s senior and executive staffs from 2006 through June 2014. In that time, Arlotto served as:

• Director of high schools
• Chief school performance officer
• Assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and school performance
• Associate superintendent
• Chief of staff

"While I may not know where life’s journey will take me next, I am certain that AACPS will continue to thrive," Arlotto said. "As a school system focused on the needs of students, orchestrated by thoughtful, caring, compassionate, talented and professional educators and staff, our students will continue to grow and succeed."

The superintendent was proud to work with a dedicated school system. In particular, Arlotto applauded his workers' innovation during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Over the course of this extended and exhaustive time, they have repeatedly reinvented the education being delivered in our classrooms and the supports we have provided to students," the superintendent said. "Their heart and resolve has been unparalleled."

AACPS did not mention who will succeed Arlotto. The search for a new superintendent will likely include several stakeholder meetings. Details on that formal recruiting process and timeline are not yet available.

Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman thanked Arlotto for his work and wished AACPS luck in its hunt for a new leader.

"Dr. Arlotto is a consummate professional with a huge heart and an unwavering commitment to children and education," Pittman said in a press release. "I am confident that Dr. Arlotto will facilitate a smooth transition, and that the Board of Education will choose wisely after a careful search for the superintendent who will lead us into the future."

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