SEATTLE – The Seattle School Board voted unanimously Thursday to offer its superintendent position to Maria Goodloe-Johnson, currently school superintendent of Charleston County schools in South Carolina.
Goodloe-Johnson had been one of two finalists for the job, along with Gregory Thornton, the chief academic officer for the School District of Philadelphia. Thornton withdrew from consideration earlier Thursday.
Goodloe-Johnson accepted the post, subject to negotiation of final contract details, said Cheryl Chow, school board president. The school board has approved a salary of as much as $240,000 for the new superintendent.
Goodloe-Johnson, 49, will take over from Raj Manhas at the helm of the state’s largest school district, with about 100 schools and 46,000 students.
Manhas is resigning in August when his contract expires. He has made about $178,000 per year.
Leaders of the Fairchild Air Force Base Survival School realize they may lose their four rescue helicopters this summer.
President Bush’s budget proposal calls for moving the helicopters to other bases. Still, the state’s congressional delegation is trying to block the move.
The UH-1N Hueys of the 36th Rescue Flight are used to train Air Force flight crews and rescue civilians.
The specialized survival school trains about 300 airmen a year to survive after they crash or are shot down. It also offers special survival classes for other government and military personnel, Col. Jeff White told U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., on Wednesday.
The Hueys are used to teach trainees how to avoid enemy helicopters that might be searching for them.
In a quick turnabout following a published report, the Army has had a change of heart and now plans to test the air in homes at Fort Lewis.
The Army wants to see if soldiers and their families living in the Madigan housing area are being exposed to toxic vapors. The vapors are from contaminated underground water.
Wednesday’s decision came one day after a Seattle newspaper reported that the Army had known for years about the possible health risk and had neither conducted testing of the air in the homes nor alerted the occupants about the contamination beneath. Army environmental specialists insisted that there was no danger.
On Wednesday, Col. Cynthia Murphy, commander of the Fort Lewis garrison, said:
“To put the minds of our residents at ease, I’ve directed that air quality testing be conducted in the Old Madigan housing area. We are putting together a program to test the air within the homes, and once the test is complete, we’ll tell the community what we find.”
Associated Press
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