http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Chion/do%20111013%20Bridgeport%20superintendent.mp3
Bridgeport officials will conduct a national search for the city’s next school superintendent. A state-appointed Board of Education has fired Bridgeport’s current superintendent as part of its takeover of the troubled school system.
Bridgeport’s state-appointed board of education will part ways with Superintendent John Ramos at the end of December. An interim superintendent will come in to serve while education officials conduct a national search for the city’s next school leader.
Margaret Hiller, executive director of the non-profit Bridgeport Public Education Fund, says people liked working with Dr. Ramos during his six-years as superintendent, but Ramos had difficulty negotiating Bridgeport’s politically charged environment. "I think he had never worked in a district that was this large or..I’m going to use the word..dysfunctional..before. And I think he had a very hard time dealing with the Board of Education that was not supportive of what he wanted to do."
Bridgeport’s schools have struggled for years with low test scores and large budget deficits. The district has been unable to pass a balanced operating budget for the 2011-12 school year.