Columbus Schools Superintendent To Retire

Columbus City Schools Superintendent Gene Harris announced her pending retirement on Thursday.

Harris, who has been superintendent for the past 11 years, announced her retirement at the King Arts Complex -- the same place the board decided to hire her as superintendent in 2001.

Harris began her career with Columbus City Schools 25 years ago as an elementary school teacher. She plans to retire in July 2013.

She said retirement has been something she has been considering for more than a year. She added that it was a decision made with considerable thought.  

"Today, I am back at Garfield to announce another milestone in my life, my retirement from Columbus City Schools," Harris said on Thursday. "Over the next year, I will make sure the transition to new leadership goes smoothly. That means seeing the current investigation into attendance irregularities through and getting to the bottom of it."

In recent months, Columbus along with several other Ohio districts, have come under fire for school attendance reporting.

Harris said earlier that none of the allegations could be linked to the district's gain-sharing program, an incentive that gave bonuses to staff for improving student performance. She said that she never encouraged staff to manipulate data and said that that the state auditor would shed light on what might have gone wrong.  

"We want to right the ship," Harris said in June. "We want to make sure this community feels like they can believe in the Columbus City Schools and the work that we are doing." 

Harris is credited with improving the district's graduation rate during her tenure. 

The superintendent currently receives a base salary of $186,480. She has declined raises the last two years in partnership with other school employees who took wage concessions, according to the school district officials. 

Her contract is scheduled to run through July 2014.

"I always said I would stay through the class of 2012, and I am actually staying with the class of 2013, and I think it's just time," Harris said. 

Watch 10TV and refresh 10Tv.com for the latest news.