CHCCS superintendent retires after 23 years

When Neil Pedersen moved from Ohio to Chapel Hill more than 20 years ago, he never expected to leave his job as the longest-serving superintendent in the school district’s history.

Pedersen, now 60, came to Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools in 1987 as an assistant superintendent. This month, he announced his plans to retire after the 2010-11 school year.

Pedersen said he doesn’t have any other jobs lined up. He’s just ready for a break from the daily grind.

“This has been a 24-7 job with lots of late nights,” he said. “I’d like to disrupt my routine and change the type of work I’m doing.”

Pedersen and his wife Deborah have two children in their thirties. They both live in California, and Pedersen said the job hasn’t given them much vacation time to visit their family. This year, the Pedersens will get to visit them over Thanksgiving break.

Deborah said she will continue to work as the chief learn-and-earn officer for N.C. Virtual Public School, a state program that allows students to take classes online. She said that while she isn’t ready to retire, she is happy her husband can get away from the stress that accompanies his job.

“I want him to get into his own rhythm when he doesn’t have to get up and put on his suit and tie everyday,” she said.

School board chairman Mike Kelley said the search for a new superintendent is in progress.

The district plans to hire a firm to find Pedersen’s replacement, who Kelley said should have leadership skills and the ability to analyze data.

District officials hope to have a firm picked by the end of October. A replacement should be chosen within six months of the firm being hired.

During his term, Pedersen saw more than half of the system’s 17 schools constructed and established the first nationally certified environmentally-friendly school in the southeast—Smith Middle School.

Pedersen said his favorite features of the school are the rainwater collection for bathrooms, irrigation and natural light.

“It sort of looks like a space station,” he said, describing the school’s lighting system.

Pedersen said his main focus as superintendent was to narrow the district’s achievement gap. To work on accomplishing this goal, he established the Blue Ribbon Task Force, which features after-school activities and a mentoring program.

Pedersen was a mentor when the program first started. He said he is still in contact with his mentee, Kevin Cruz, who now works for Estes Hills Elementary School.

“While we’ve made progress, we still have significant disparities in groups of student achievement,” he said.

Pedersen, who said he has always worked closely with the school board, attributes a lot of his successes to this partnership.

“We have a culture in our school system where stakeholders work together well that I hope will be maintained,” he said.

District spokeswoman Stephanie Knott has worked with Pedersen for five years and said his ability to challenge students and staff is empowering.

“I really appreciate his attention to detail and focus on excellence,” she said.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.