Superintendent Search Narrowed to 3 in Wicomico County
The Wicomico County Board of Education on Friday, April 29 announced the names of the three finalists for the next Wicomico Superintendent of Schools, and outlined plans for gathering community input.
Board of Education Chairman Gene Malone said the finalists are, in alphabetical order:
Dr. Frederick L. Briggs, Chief Academic Officer, Wicomico County Public Schools. Dr. Briggs has served as the school system’s Chief Academic Officer since 2017, and prior to that was the principal of James M. Bennett High, Mardela Middle and High, and Bennett Middle. He has also been an assistant principal, dean of students, math teacher and coach, all at Wicomico High.
Dr. Eric L. Minus, Executive Director, Secondary Schools, Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) in 2022, and prior to that the BCPS Executive Director, Research and Data Analytics (2020-2022). Dr. Minus served in executive leadership positions in Montgomery County Public Schools and Howard County Public Schools. He has served as a middle and high school principal and began his education career as a secondary science teacher in Newport News, Va. Public Schools.
Dr. Micah C. Stauffer, Chief Finance and Operations Officer, Wicomico County Public Schools. Dr. Stauffer has served as the school system’s Chief Finance and Operations Officer since 2019, and prior to that was the Director of Secondary Education (2014-2019). He has served as principal of Parkside High and Mardela Middle and High, and assistant principal of Mardela Middle and High and Wicomico Middle. He taught science and coached at Parkside High.
Next week, each finalist will sit down with Malone for a recorded interview that will be posted, along with a short bio, for the community to review. Input on the three finalists will be taken through a survey from May 5-12.
Additional information including finalist bios, links to video interviews and a link to the input survey will be posted on our website on May 5 here:Â www.wcboe.org/finalists. The videos and bios will be added on May 5, along with the survey link. The survey will remain open through May 12.
The Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) will collect the survey input and
provide all input to the Board of Education, whose members are charged with selecting the
next Superintendent of Schools. It’s a responsibility the Board members take very seriously,
Board Chairman Malone said.
“The search for the next Superintendent of Wicomico County Public Schools is one of the top
priorities for this Board, because our school system must continue to have an outstanding
leader. We are pleased with the process so far and we’re excited to announce these three well-
qualified finalists,” Malone said. “We’re looking forward to hearing how each candidate
answers the three questions in the video interview, and we’re glad to provide the entire
community with the chance to watch the interviews and give input through a survey.”
The Board’s goal is to vote to appoint the new Wicomico Superintendent of Schools by late May
or early June. The new superintendent would start work on July 1, 2022.
Current Superintendent of Schools Dr. Donna Hanlin informed the Board in November 2021
that she would retire on June 30, 2022. Originally appointed in 2016, Dr. Hanlin has served six
years as Wicomico’s superintendent. She will retire after a career in education of nearly 43
years, most of it spent in Wicomico County Public Schools.
For the superintendent search, the Board of Education contracted with MABE’s Superintendent
Search Service for its expertise. MABE is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to serving
and supporting boards of education in Maryland. With MABE’s guidance, Wicomico Schools
surveyed the community earlier this year for initial input that helped shape the search for a
new superintendent.
