Last week's revelation that the Howard County Board of Education was ready to risk $200,000 and its reputation to hold on to a superintendent reflects the perilous state of public education.

With resources limited and public concerns rising, quality superintendents are hard to keep, even for a school system as good as Howard's. John R. O'Rourke, with his ambitious goals, looks like a keeper to the Howard board.

So board members are not making any apologies about their legally questionable promise to renew the superintendent's contract when it expires - or pay him thousands of dollars as a penalty.

"I'll tell you right now, you don't want to be looking for a new superintendent," said Jane B. Schuchardt, the board chairman. "It's not an easy process. It's time-consuming and costly. ... We were not going to run the chance of losing him."

During its Thursday meeting, the board approved a resolution - over one member's vehement objections - amending O'Rourke's contract that guarantees him renewal at the first legally possible date: Feb. 1, 2004. If the board reneges, it must pay O'Rourke the equivalent of one year's salary at the end of his term, which could be more than $200,000.

There are no penalties for the superintendent should he decide not to take the offer, though he has promised he would.

Board member Virginia W. Charles complained that the board was trying to skirt a Maryland law that says superintendents cannot have their contracts renewed before Feb. 1 in the year the contracts expire - 2004 in this case.

She also argued that closed proceedings on the subject were a violation of the state's Open Meetings Law, and that passing the amendment now takes away board member-elect Courtney Watson's right to vote on the matter. Watson will take Schuchardt's seat next month.

The board's attorneys say nothing illegal was done, but many people are concerned.

"I find this matter to be quite troubling and just think these actions clearly violated the intent of the law, which is to be an open process," said Howard County Council member-elect Ken Ulman.

"It smacks of the arrogance that this school board has become known for. ... When you have an election, courtesy dictates that you don't make major decisions before the new board takes office," Ulman said.

The resolution contained an addendum to O'Rourke's contract ratifying and reapproving a 6 percent salary increase granted in closed proceedings last year, which raised his salary from the original $180,000 to the current $190,800.

O'Rourke declined a proposed 3 percent raise for this school year, which would have given him $196,500 a year.

His contract states that salary adjustments must be added to the contract in the form of amendments, but that was not done until Thursday - more than a year after the raise was granted, once general counsel Mark Blom advised the board to do so.

Prevents backsliding

School system spokeswoman Patti Caplan said Howard wants to hold onto O'Rourke - who received the 1997 National Superintendent of the Year Award when he held that post in a Rochester, N.Y., suburb - because he has strengthened the school system's relationship with the business community and community college and "really worked to ensure that all our processes are open."

O'Rourke also launched a major initiative this year designed to accelerate student achievement, bring school test scores up to the state's goal by 2005 and eliminate achievement gaps between ethnic groups by 2007.

That goal is less likely to be reached if Howard County loses O'Rourke to another school system, board members say.

"We could scrap all that if he would leave," Schuchardt said. "The dust is just settling from his coming in new, and people are beginning to [back his programs]. If you dare to change him, you would undo all that, and we would have to start all over again."

Raising the ante

This year, the Anne Arundel County public school system agreed to a $300,000 contract in salary and benefits for its new superintendent, Eric J. Smith. The state school superintendent, Nancy S. Grasmick, earns $135,000 a year.

"Dr. Smith was worth the money because of his past record and everything he had done," said Michael J. McNelly, president of the Anne Arundel County Board of Education.

Several years ago, the Anne Arundel school board offered then-Superintendent Carol S. Parham an intention to renew before her contract was up.

High salaries and creative retention are the nature of the game nowadays, said Ronald A. Peiffer, assistant state schools superintendent.

"There is, from all reports, a dearth of qualified superintendents for the number of positions that need to be filled," Peiffer said. "It's not unusual for systems to look - and boards to look - for ways to secure and ensure the continued [employment] of people who are successful."

High turnover

Some accounts put the average superintendent's tenure at between two and four years (O'Rourke has been in Howard County for almost 2 1/2 years), which is not near enough time to make a difference in a system, experts say.

Peiffer says turnover is high because the work is extremely difficult.

"They're very stressful and very high-demand jobs and very political jobs," he said. "You have to have a lot of harmony between the superintendent and the board to work well together, and it's very easy for superintendents and boards to get out of sync."

Howard County would seem to be the exception to the average length of stay. Its last three superintendents held the post for a combined 51 years.

O'Rourke said he was looking for job security when he asked the board to make the intent to renew by Nov. 11, and that the timing - before the new board member's swearing in - was not significant.

"I've committed myself to the school system and am very grateful for the support the board has provided," O'Rourke said. "It's a very strong reinforcement to everyone of the current decisions of the school system. That's a great deal more valuable to me [than the intent to renew]."

But there are still unanswered questions, including the legality of the board's actions, the motivation behind them, the timing in which they happened and what the financial repercussions could be - all of which led Charles to speak up.

"Board members need to be role models for the children that we are educating," Charles said. "And one of the things that we would hope we are [teaching] our children is what is important and standing up for what is right, even if it is not popular."

Divisive move

The working relationship of the board is now on shaky ground, though, with members turned against one another on principle.

"It's been a very troubling couple of days for the board," Schuchardt said. "[Its] professionalism, sincerity, dedication ... all that has been put into question. We weren't trying to do anything underhanded. We were just trying to protect our kids."