Wake schools superintendent announces retirement
Wake County Public School System Superintendent Catty Moore — who guided the state’s biggest public school system through the Covid-19 pandemic, grappling with online learning and staff shortages — said Thursday that she will retire at the end of the school year.
Moore, who announced her retirement in a message to staff, has led the school system for the past five years.
In that time, her administration has worked with the school board to undertake a school-by-school safety audit, write the district’s first equity policy, propose two new school bond issues approved by voters totaling nearly $1.1 billion, and successfully ask Wake County Commissioners for several funding increases for more employees and employee raises. The district also recently started a new partnership with several area organizations for intensive tutoring services.
Moore's path to superintendent spanned all the ranks of the education system, from teacher to principal to area superintendent to deputy superintendent and, finally, to superintendent.
The school board will hire a new leader as the district faces several growing issues. A new superintendent will need to grapple with ongoing struggles to hire and retain staff, speeding up student learning to combat pandemic-related “learning loss,” and managing student assignment as the district’s population outpaces space in some areas and the district loses students to new charter schools in other areas. A new superintendent will also oversee the ongoing safety audit and actions to improve school safety.
Moore, Magnet Schools of America’s current Superintendent of the Year, signed a contract extension with the Wake County Board of Education in October. An annual review, and maintenance of a four-year contract, are standard procedures in the contract and for the school board. She earns a base salary of $328,504.92.
Moore declined an interview request through district spokeswoman Lisa Luten.
In her four-paragraph retirement announcement, Moore said she’d retire effective July 1.
"I make this decision with a heavy heart but with undeniable confidence in the WCPSS community moving forward," she wrote.
Board Chairwoman Lindsay Mahaffey told WRAL News in an interview that Moore will be “tough to follow.”
“I am sad, to be honest,” Mahaffey said. I love working with Catty Moore. She has been a wonderful superintendent.”
At nearly 160,000 students, the school system is North Carolina's largest and the 15th largest in the nation.
Moore is the 10th superintendent in the school system’s 50-year tenure. She was the first woman and first Latina to be superintendent of the Wake County system.
The Wake County Board of Education will be looking for a superintendent alongside the second-largest school system in North Carolina: Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools, whose board fired its superintendent in April.
The hiring process
The school board will appoint an interim superintendent in July, if it has not hired a permanent superintendent by then.
Mahaffey, in a Facebook post, said the North Carolina School Boards Association would present at the board’s Feb. 21 meeting about how the association helps other school systems search for superintendents.
“Our Board has work to do to maintain excellence in leadership beyond July 1,” Mahaffey wrote. She recalled her prior experience on the board that hired Moore.
“When the Board launched the search for a Superintendent in 2018, we were reminded that superintendents last about three years in a large district,” Mahaffey wrote. “We are fortunate to have found a superintendent committed to this district not just for the past five years but for the past 34.”
Moore’s departure coincides with rising superintendent turnover — a trend that began before the pandemic. At the onset of the pandemic, school leaders nationwide, including Moore and her staff, began working around the clock to adjust to new ways of delivering school lessons.
Since then, schools have received praise for their hard work but also pressure related to students’ declining performance on state standardized tests.
In Wake County, the changes in performance were less dramatic than across North Carolina but still negative. The overall percentage of passing tests in 2022 dropped to 61.4% from 65.2% in 2019. The district generally performs above the state average. However, in Math 1, one of the high school math tests, the district underperformed, with only 30.8% of students passing.
Keith Poston, executive director of the WakeEd Partnership, said Moore has faced challenges that are “unprecedented” for modern superintendents during the pandemic.
“It is a tough job,” he said.
“We need an experienced, seasoned educator,” he added.
He noted young people are increasingly struggling with their mental health and hiring employees has become a major challenge, among other things.
But Poston, citing the quality of district schools and colleges and universities in the area, thinks the school board will make a good hire.
‘My utmost privilege’
Moore became a French teacher at Enloe High School in 1988, after beginning her career in the Nash-Rocky Mount Public School System.
She became superintendent in 2018, after serving as deputy superintendent for academic advancement for seven years.
“How lucky am I to have been a part of our community as a parent, teacher, administrator, and, for the last five years, Superintendent,” Moore wrote.
Moore’s tenure has also included the conversation or updates of more charter schools in the district. Last year, Moore was named superintendent of the year by Magnet Schools of America and was a finalist for North Carolina Superintendent of the Year.
Moore began using her given name, Catty, rather than Cathy, last fall. Moore, whose maiden name is Quiroz, was born in Ecuador before moving to the United State as a child.
“I owe each of you thanks, but I know those words aren’t big enough to express the gratitude in my heart,” Moore wrote to staff Thursday. “Serving our students alongside each one of you has been my utmost privilege and pleasure. I am so grateful for the support you have provided to my family and I during the past 34 years. I will forever cherish the relationships we have built with each other. And I will remain inspired by your passion and commitment to serving each child, every day. Always.”
