Ohio educator selected as new superintendent

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The Minneapolis School Board unanimously selected an Ohio educator as the district's superintendent Monday, pending final contract negotiations.
Thandiwe Peebles, 61, regional superintendent of Cleveland school district, was chosen over two other finalists.
The next step is to negotiate a contract. The board immediately voted to go into private session to discuss a contract offer. The board advertised the job as paying $150,000 to $185,000.
Peebles has 40 years of education experience, including in some of the toughest urban settings, starting as a classroom teacher in Harlem and now leading efforts to improve the worst-performing schools in Cleveland.
She is credited with helping failing Ohio schools increase the number of pupils passing a state test from 9 percent to nearly 50 percent. She expects to be awarded her education doctorate this month.
Assuming a deal is reached, Peebles will replace Carol Johnson, who left last year to become superintendent of the Memphis, Tenn., school system.
The district has since been run by interim Superintendent David Jennings, who will be leaving his position June 30. The board tried to hire Jennings permanently last September, but he withdrew amid opposition to the search process.