City Schools CEO on contract extension: 'I wanted longer' | TV Exclusive (2024)

BALTIMORE —

What was considered by some as an uncertain future, Baltimore City's schools chief will stay on the job, but only for another year.

In a statement posted on X Wednesday night, City Schools said: "Seeking to continue the progress of students and staff, City Schools announced the one-year contract extension of CEO Dr. Sonja Santelises at tonight's board meeting."

| LINK: Read the contract (PDF)

In a TV exclusive interview with 11 News on Wednesday night, Santelises told 11 News that while she wanted more than a one-year deal, she's happy to be staying around regardless and that there are always openings for conversation. She also said she's glad to have stability from the top down.

"The goal has always been stability, but also making sure that our young people, our staff, folks can continue with some continuity," Santelises exclusively told 11 News. "While we work things out -- and there was high anxiety as we approached June 30 -- and now, you know, tonight with the board, we were able to make the announcement and it's good. You know, I wanted longer, but it's OK."

June 30 was the deadline to get a deal done, and the negotiation wore on with little details of why.

Before Wednesday's announcement, some speculation indicated the school CEO's future with the district was unclear despite investments made in the classroom that resulted in improved test scores.

In 2022, while Santelises had two more years left on her contract, she hadn't disclosed whether she'd stay on the job beyond then.

During the 11 News exclusive interview Wednesday night, Santelises touted a drop in chronic absenteeism and promising reading test scores.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott pledged his public support in 2022 for Santelises, who heads a school system that has made headlines over questions about academics. In June 2022, City Schools responded to a report by the Maryland Office of the Inspector General for Education that found high school staff changed more than 12,000 failing grades to passing.

According to test results released in 2023, only 7% of students were proficient in math in Baltimore City compared to an overall 20% across the state. At the time, Santelises cited the pandemic as a reason for the decreased test scores, as well as chronic absenteeism and a lack of support for teachers.

Then, newly released results from the 2023 Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program indicated city students scored higher than in 2022 and, in some cases, higher than before the pandemic.

Santelises said that certain results are nothing to aspire to but that the trajectory for students was heading in the right direction.

"We know we're not there yet. But if you look, say, six or seven years ago, we were close to one in 10 students in Baltimore City reading at proficiency. We're now at one in four," Santelises said in September 2023.

Districtwide, the MCAP scores showed that third through eighth graders saw improvement in English language arts in the spring of 2023, compared to 2022. Only 10th graders saw a slight decrease.

A veteran City Schools administrator, Santelises was first appointed to lead City Schools in 2016. Watch her one-on-one interview with WBAL-TV 11 News education reporter emeritus Tim Tooten here.

Santelises will be a guest on "11 TV Hill" this Sunday at 11:30 a.m. to discuss her new contract further, her report card for the school system this year, and her hopes for the future.

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