Fulton County schools leaders want a prominent Oregon educator to be the next superintendent of Georgia’s fourth-largest district.
Jeff Rose, 43, who has served as the superintendent of the Beaverton school district since 2011, was named by Fulton school board members as the finalist for the position at a news conference Thursday.
Following a 14-day public comment period, which begins today, the board plans to offer the position to Rose with a three-year contract and $295,000 annual salary. If accepted, he will join Fulton County Schools June 1.
He succeeds Robert Avossa, who left last June to become superintendent in Florida’s Palm Beach County.
The board’s announcement follows news last month that the educator Fulton initially chose to be its next school superintendent withdrew as a candidate amid criticism over how his administration handled the alleged rape of a Clarke County high school student.
Philip Lanoue, who has been school superintendent in Athens since 2009, announced last month he was no longer in the running to lead Fulton. Lanoue was named Fulton’s sole finalist Feb. and was slated to start the job May 1.
Fulton school officials said there were three finalists for the job. In accordance with Georgia law, the two unsuccessful candidates were allowed to withdraw rather than have their names released. Rose was among the finalists and was asked by board members to take it after Lanoue backed out.
One of Rose’s key challenges if he’s appointed Fulton superintendent will be managing a larger school system, which has 101 schools and close to 95,000 students; A suburb of Portland, Beaverton has 51 schools and nearly 40,000 students. It’s the third-largest school district in Oregon.
Like Fulton, Beaverton has a diverse student population, nearly half of which are students of color. The largest student group of color is Hispanic/Latino followed by Asian American. The percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch, an indicator of poverty, is nearly 36 percent. In Fulton, that number is nearly 47 percent.
Notably, Rose’s district participates in a research project that includes local superintendents concerned that discipline practices in their districts were having a disproportionate and negative impact on students of color.
With this experience, Fulton school board members believe Rose can help the district close its achievement gap between white and non-white students.
“We are confident we have the right new leader to help us continue to close our achievement gap and build on our current strengths,” said Linda McCain, Fulton school board president, in a released statement.
Prior to coming to Beaverton, Rose was named in 2008 superintendent of the Canby school district in Oregon. An educator for 19 years, he has also served as a teacher and principal.
Rose has a doctorate in educational leadership and a master’s degree in teacher education from Lewis & Clark College in Oregon and a bachelor’s degree in education from California State University, Long Beach.
Rose and his wife Lisa have a 12-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son, who plan to attend Fulton schools.
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