By Daniel de Vise
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 28, 2006

The three finalists for Anne Arundel schools superintendent came to Annapolis this week to meet parents, chat with civic leaders and dine with members of the school board, who say they will decide next week which one they wish to hire.

Kevin Maxwell, 54, community superintendent under Montgomery County School Superintendent Jerry D. Weast, interviewed yesterday. Dana Bedden, 39, superintendent of the William Penn School District in suburban Philadelphia, interviewed Wednesday. Tuesday's visitor was Robert Schiller, 59, a consultant who formerly oversaw Illinois' public schools.

The board's selection will be based partly on numerical ratings completed by a cross section of parents, educators and others who met with the candidates this week. Another factor will be chemistry.

Although Anne Arundel has grown into a 74,000-student system with very urban problems -- officials seized a loaded 9mm weapon Wednesday from a student at one high school -- it's also in a place where PTA meetings retain a small-town flavor.

"We want somebody who's going to go to graduations," said Eugene Peterson, a school board member from the Fort Meade area. "We want somebody who's going to go to high school football games."

The buzz around school-system headquarters suggested that all three finalists had made good impressions and that most people who met them would be happy with any as the next superintendent. If there was a clear front-runner, board members weren't telling.

Peterson, school board President Konrad M. Wayson and others said the decision may hinge partly on which man seems to have the strongest people skills. Eric J. Smith, who resigned in November after three years as superintendent, boosted test scores but was criticized for having a blind spot for consensus building.

Schiller, who has run two statewide school systems and five local districts, said in a media briefing Tuesday that he has turned down offers to go "to places like Cleveland and Kansas City" as schools chief since he retired as Illinois state superintendent two years ago amid political turmoil. After decades as a nationally known "change agent" -- someone able to parachute into a school system, turn it around and move on -- Schiller said he is ready to try guiding a successful system "to an even higher level."

Bedden brought his family to Anne Arundel and said they were eager to return to the Washington area. He served as principal of the School Without Walls, an unconventional D.C. public high school, from 1999 to 2003. The school system he leads in Pennsylvania has 5,500 students.

Maxwell lives in Bowie, and his twin daughters attended Anne Arundel schools. A younger daughter rides horses at Tag Along Farm in Davidsonville.

Maxwell logged eight years as principal of Northwestern High in Prince George's County and four at Walter Johnson High in Montgomery before taking the community superintendent post. Among the three, he is the closest to a hometown candidate, some interviewers said.