For O’Neill, Weast Retirement ‘a Little Surreal’

Montgomery County school board President Patricia B. O'Neill joined Superintendent Jerry Weast at his retirement announcement, calling the moment "bittersweet and a little surreal."

O'Neill (3rd District) of Bethesda is the only sitting board member to have been on the board that hired Weast in 1999.

She recalled sitting in the same room at the Carver Educational Services Center in Rockville to announce Weast's hiring.

Weast's predecessor, Paul L. Vance, also faced criticism, O'Neill said.

"I would venture to say that if the next superintendent is here 12 years from now, there will be people who will be asking, 'Did they adequately address their critics?'" she said. "It's the nature of the superintendency."

O'Neill credited Weast for working to dispel "myths" that Montgomery County does not have children who are living in poverty, who are underachieving or who have limited English skills.

"In the summer of '99, as he got to know our system and look at how our children were

achieving, he brought a realization to the county that we really were two districts," O'Neill said. "It was a bit uncomfortable at the time with the red zone-green zone maps and highlighting the disparate achievements of our students. He focused our attention."