As Howard County Superintendent Bill Barnes was speaking to an audience of educators earlier this month, his microphone suddenly stopped working. Without a pause, he said, “These special microphones are reserved for Britney Spears.”
Laughter filled the room. The moment of hilarity came naturally for a humble educator who never expected to become a school principal, but who has now slipped into the role with apparent ease.
Barnes, who is now entering his 16th year with the school district, began his career as a high school math teacher in Baltimore County. He served as Howard County’s math and curriculum coordinator for nearly a decade before becoming chief academic officer in 2017. But he never had his sights set on the top job.
When asked a year ago if he would become the eighth superintendent of the Howard County Public School System, Barnes, 52, would have simply said no. He is more reserved than his predecessor, Michael Martirano, a high-energy, charismatic leader who retired in January after leading the school system for nearly seven years. Barnes is more reserved, modest and a realist.
Faced with budget concerns, education reform and rebuilding relationships with families and staff, some say Barnes could be just the kind of leader the school system needs.
School board chair Jen Mallo, who served under both Martirano and Barnes, said Barnes’ leadership style is more focused on empowering those around him.
“Dr. Martirano was full of energy and a showman, and sometimes you need the person at the top to be a cheerleader like Martirano. (But) right now, as a leader, what we need is not someone who enjoys being in the spotlight, but someone who wants to get the job done and doesn’t care who gets the credit,” Mallo said.
As a child, Barnes said, he was a withdrawn and shy student. He had a difficult childhood. His family was poor and lived for several years in a trailer park in Severn. His father abused alcohol, Barnes said, and sometimes he took out his demons physically on Barnes and his mother. Barnes was a chronically absent student until his last year of middle school, when The school became his safe place.
In college, former teachers suggested Barnes pursue a career in teaching, and then everything clicked.
When Barnes first started teaching math, he had students who lived in poverty, faced academic challenges, or other obstacles. Even as he moved up the ranks and became department head, he scheduled his courses with the students who needed help the most.
“It was a real calling to be there for these kids,” Barnes said.
Caroline Walker, the school system’s chief equity and innovation officer, said Barnes’s job is to make the school a special, sacred place where students can grow and learn without limits.
Mallo added: “He is really focused on his core mission of providing a quality education to every student, and he can and does admit that we are not there yet. And that level of candid assessment and honesty is indicative of his openness and willingness to call a spade a spade.”
Although he never saw himself leading the district, Barnes holds on to the advice his mother gave him years ago. “You don’t want to go through life regretting a missed opportunity,” Barnes recited. He also remembered Martirano telling himself and others, “When you’re superintendents someday,” and although Barnes dismissed that, he felt he was building his skills.
“You’re never really ready for it,” Barnes said. “There’s still a lot to learn, and that’s exciting.”
Ben Schmitt, president of the Howard County Education Association, said Barnes’ leadership is “what we need right now.”
Barnes “is pragmatic and hopeful at the same time,” Schmitt said. “He is realistic and understanding.”
It also helps, Schmitt said, that it hasn’t been long since Barnes was in a classroom. And that as he has climbed the career ladder, he has never served as a principal. That’s very important in educators, Schmitt said, because it means Barnes doesn’t believe everything has to go through the administration; he sees everyone as equals.
John SanGiovanni, the school system’s elementary math curriculum coordinator, said Barnes “hasn’t lost touch with the classroom, and that’s so important. Many leaders haven’t been in the classroom in years.”
SanGiovanni has worked with Barnes for years and appreciates his “honesty and transparency, and he will handle the situation.”
When Barnes took over as acting superintendent, he faced a difficult budget season. Rather than continuing the tradition of ambitious budgets, he recommended a realistic one that brought with it the challenge of figuring out how to address a nearly $100 million funding gap and the need for job cuts.
When Barnes moved to streamline the headquarters and eliminate in-school positions, anyone who wanted to stay in another position was given a chance. But everyone had to undergo an interview, which Schmitt said shows they are all treated equally, regardless of their position.
Despite a difficult budget season, Barnes also managed to visit all 78 schools last spring.
“I know that when he visits schools he is less interested in pomp and circumstance and having his picture taken or walking around with local politicians. He wants to see everything. The good and the bad,” said Schmitt.
Barnes took the time to talk to custodians, students, administration, teachers, art teachers and others, Schmitt said. He did this to make sure he heard a cross-section of the district. Barnes welcomes criticism and knows there is room for improvement, Schmitt said.
Barnes is available. He strives to be transparent with school staff and the community. And it’s noticed.
When Martirano entered the school system, he was the right choice at the time, Schmitt said. “However, many felt that he became more and more distant as his tenure progressed. It took several steps to get to him (directly),” Schmitt added.
That’s not the case with Barnes. SanGiovanni said he’s never seen a leader so approachable and open in his 20 years in the school system.
However, this is not a new approach for Barnes. Even when he was boss, his door was always open.
