Edward Kelly, Longtime Pr. William Schools Chief, Dies
Saturday, January 7, 2006; Page B01
Edward L. Kelly, 63, who retired last year after 18 years as superintendent of the Prince William County public schools, died Thursday night of complications from a fall in his home last month.
When Kelly, a Missouri native and former science teacher, took over the Prince William system in July 1987, it was dogged by overcrowding, run-down school buildings and a School Board bruised by the high-profile firing of his predecessor.
  Edward L. Kelly, 63, who retired last year, had suffered a fall in his home. (Jonathan Ernst) |
But Kelly was ready, admirers said. With five years of experience as superintendent in Little Rock, Kelly eagerly tackled the challenges of transforming a once-rural school system into one that met the expectations of suburban parents in a rapidly growing county.
The school district, which had 38,000 students -- most of them white -- when Kelly arrived, has expanded in diversity and size. About 53 percent of the county's 66,000 students are black, Asian or Hispanic. Kelly hired more minority teachers, established specialties at the middle and high schools and made a name for himself by pushing a new approach to school management.
Tagged with the wonkish label "site-based management," the approach allowed principals more authority over spending, hiring and curriculum, on the theory that they knew better what their students needed than central office administrators did.
Yesterday, the county mourned its loss.
"He had such integrity, and he grew to be a wonderful leader," said Supervisor Maureen S. Caddigan (R-Dumfries), a member of the School Board that hired Kelly in 1987.
School officials redesigned the school Web site, http:/
Kelly had been undergoing treatment for a brain tumor since 2002, and last month he celebrated his last day of chemotherapy at a surprise luncheon, Caddigan said.
On Dec. 21, he was helping his wife carry groceries into their Manassas home when he tumbled down some steps and hit his head. He never regained consciousness. "He died at 10:01 p.m. Thursday. All four kids were there, and I was holding him when he died. It was beautiful," said his wife, Lynn Kelly, 59.
County Executive Craig S. Gerhart was teary-eyed as he reflected on his friend's unexpected death. "You think he should have had more time after his retirement," he said. "It feels unfair."
In September 2004, Kelly withdrew his request for a contract extension after School Board members told him that the district could benefit from new leadership.
