New Superintendent Hired For Howard County Public School System

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — A permanent superintendent has been named for the Howard County Public School System.

At its May 23 public meeting, the Howard County Board of Education announced that current acting superintendent Bill Barnes has been tapped to become the permanent superintendent effective July 1. He has been filling the acting superintendent role since Jan. 10 after Michael Martirano retired.

After a nationwide search and interview process, the education board chose Barnes to serve as the eighth superintendent for the Howard County Public School System since 1949.

"We appreciate Mr. Barnes' continued service to our youth and are thrilled that he has stepped forward to lead our school system," said Board of Education Chair Jennifer Swickard Mallo. "We look forward to his commitment to change in instructional leadership as well as his ability to innovate and fulfill the promise of the Blueprint for Education. He brings to the job many years of experience and roles at HCPSS in the Division of Academics, his national reputation as a leader in Mathematics instruction and keen mind for problem solving.

"He demonstrated agility as he stepped into the acting superintendent role, collaboratively worked with our county funders and demonstrated heartfelt compassion during challenging budget times. At his core, Mr. Barnes believes in the potential for greatness of Howard County students and for the Howard County Public School System. The board looks forward to supporting his efforts to make this a reality," Swickard Mallon continued.

“I am honored and humbled by the board’s endorsement for me to continue to serve the students, staff and families as superintendent of the Howard County Public School System,” Barnes said. “I look forward to all we will accomplish together as we lift all students to even greater levels of achievement and fulfillment. My work will remain grounded by the students, teachers, support staff, families and community members I show up for each day and whose voices and perspectives will inform our journey forward.”

Prior to becoming acting superintendent in January, Barnes served as the HCPSS Chief Academic Officer since 2017, overseeing the departments of special education, curriculum, instruction, assessment, program innovation and student well-being.