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A deputy superintendent has been picked to run the Prince George's County school system until a successor to Superintendent John E. Deasy is selected.

In a move that stunned many in education circles, Deasy announced Tuesday he would leave in February to join a nonprofit that is working to end poverty and improve education around the world.

William R. Hite Jr., who has been a deputy superintendent in the school system since June 2006, will work with Deasy on day-to-day matters.

"Today as we begin to transition, we are assuring students parents and the community that the work of student achievement will continue to progress," said school board chairwoman Verjeana M. Jacobs (At-large). 

Jacobs said the school system will assess in February where the district is and make a decision about moving forward with the search for a new superintendent.

Since 1991, Prince George's has had six permanent or interim superintendents whose tenure has been four years or less.

Bob Ross, president of the PTSA at Surrattsville High School, who was elected president of the County Council of PTAs before its charter was revoked by the state PTA, said he wants to see Hite take over permanently as superintendent.

"He already has been through the vetting process. He already has a working relationship with the board, which is key, and he understands the core principles," Ross said.

Ross said he did not want to see the school system's programs and academic focus change again.

Ross said Hite is already aware of the budget challenges facing the school system.

"We have a guy that's already in place that knows where we need to streamline, and the board can keep working seamlessly. It will be a seamless transition," Ross said. 

Prior to coming to Prince George's, he was assistant superintendent in Cobb County, Ga.

Jack Bailer, who served on the appointed school board from 2002 until 2006 when Deasy was hired, said the board will now have to decide what characteristics they want to see in a new superintendent and choose a consultant to assist in that search.

Bailer also said community involvement is important in helping to choose a new superintendent.

Bailer said the most important question for him in choosing a new superintendent is how the superintendent deals with principals.

"The important thing to me is that you be able to manage and motivate and train principals to support and motivate and manage teachers," Bailer said.

Deasy, who began as superintendent in May 2006, will be deputy director of education for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a nonprofit founded by billionaire Microsoft  founder Bill Gates . It is based in Seattle.

"Today, when nearly half of African American and Hispanic students fail to graduate high school, we're eager to take what Dr. Deasy has learned and accomplished working with the Board of Education and schools in Prince George's County and continue to help students all across the country prepare for college," Vicki L. Phillips, director of the education division for the foundation, said in a statement.

"I am profoundly grateful to the Board of Education and to the youth and parents of Prince George's County," Deasy said at a news conference. "It is a very humbling experience to have worked in this system and to continue to work here until February."

Deasy, who had less than two years remaining on his contract, has been in the spotlight after the University of Louisville in Kentucky launched an investigation to see if Deasy had been inappropriately awarded a doctorate after earning only nine credits at the university and transferring credits from another school.

The university appointed a committee to investigate the matter, and the committee has not yet released its findings.

Deasy declined to comment on the investigation, but he said the foundation had been pursuing him.

Last week, more questions surfaced regarding an incorrect graduation date on Deasy's resume — an error he acknowledged — and a teaching position he had listed at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles as a faculty member in the doctoral program in Educational Leadership and Social Justice. Initially, Loyola officials said they did not have record of him working there, but a school official later acknowledged Deasy had been a part-time staff member.

Last school year, Deasy received a raise, bringing his salary to $273,000, and a $16,666 performance bonus.

E-mail Megan King at mking@gazette.net.