Philadelphia's interim schools chief takes Rhode Island post

Interim Philadelphia schools chief Tom Brady will become superintendent in Providence, R.I., officials announced yesterday.

Brady, 57, a retired Army colonel, was in Providence for an afternoon news conference, but planned to return to Philadelphia last night and present the Philadelphia School District's preliminary budget statement at a meeting today.

Brady, who became interim chief executive officer of the 167,000-student district last June, said he would depart in early June for the Providence district, which, with about 25,000 students, is less than one-sixth the size of Philadelphia's. Arlene Ackerman, hired as Philadelphia's schools CEO last week at an annual salary of $325,000, begins work June 1.

Brady could have remained in Philadelphia as chief operating officer, but he said Providence provided a better option.

"It's always better to be the person in charge," Brady said in an interview.

Brady's departure will create a vacancy, but Gov. Rendell has said that it would be up to Ackerman to pick her team. Rendell had floated the name of his budget secretary, Michael Masch, for a top finance post in the district.

Brady reportedly will earn $190,000 in base pay in Providence with an additional $63,000 possible in deferred compensation and performance pay. His interim Philadelphia post paid $275,000.

Brady chose not to apply for the Philadelphia job after a majority of commissioners and citizens made it clear they were looking for a lifelong educator. Some parents and commissioners urged him to apply anyway, but he refused.

Brady has been in public school administration for about 81/2 years. He came to Philadelphia in March 2007 as chief operating officer, a post he held in the Washington public schools. He graduated from the Los Angeles-based Broad Superintendents Academy, which trains non-educators to be superintendents.

He said he looked forward to the Providence job, which he began to consider in early February.

He cited the mayor, who is "totally engaged in education," and a school board that is "into policy and governance."

"It appears that they have the plans, but they need some execution. I think the framework is here for making a difference, and it suits my skill set," said Brady, a native of New York and son of a New York City police officer.

In Philadelphia, although money woes persist, Brady was credited with calm, steady leadership following the departure of Paul Vallas, who split with the commission and left the district fractured.

"I'm very pleased as I look back," he said. "The team brought some stability and did some good, hard work on taking care of the deficit. . . . That was pretty heavy lifting."

He said the one-page proposed budget statement that the commission is to consider tomorrow would include a deficit, but he declined to provide more details.

"In the short term, I think we'll continue to see some challenges," he said.

The district previously said that it anticipated closing the current fiscal year with a $26 million deficit in its $2.18 billion budget.

Brady said his "prime mission" in his final days in Philadelphia will be to work on an "orderly transition" with Ackerman and move the budget process. The district must adopt its budget by May 31.

Commission Chairwoman Sandra Dungee Glenn yesterday issued a statement praising Brady for his interim leadership.

"Mr. Brady has exhibited exemplary leadership at a critical juncture in our school reform movement here in Philadelphia, providing stability during a period of leadership transition," she said.