Wake County Public School System Superintendent Catty Moore announces retirement

WAKE COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- Wake County Public School System Superintendent Catty Moore announced she will be retiring in July.

Wake County has the largest public school district in the state. Moore has served as its superintendent for the last five years. She made history as the first woman and Latina to lead Wake County Public Schools.

Moore's retirement plans were announced in a letter sent out to employees, according to our newsgathering partners at News & Observer.

"I make this decision with a heavy heart but with undeniable confidence in the WCPSS community moving forward," Moore said in her announcement.

According to current educators, key issues facing the district include security concerns, learning loss from the COVID-19 pandemic and a lack of community engagement.

SEE ALSO: School safety top of mind for Wake County Schools

"We don't always agree with everything," said Keith Poston, president of the Wake Education Partnership. "How are we going to find enough teachers to keep entering the profession and stay in the profession? We're dealing with not enough pay for teachers. Working conditions are tough."

Wake Education Partnership is a non-profit that launched out of the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce 40 years ago to support students and teachers. Poston worked closely alongside Superintendent Moore over the last three years and says the district must prove to parents why their kids should be in its classrooms.

"We're in a period of time where parents have a lot of choices. We've seen a lot of parents choosing home schooling which is the largest growth area in terms of students," he said.

There are nearly 160,000 students attending Wake County Public Schools every day with 10,985 teachers working in its 198 schools.

Christina Spears, NCAE Wake County President, said Moore has done major work around equity during her time here including implementing an equity policy.

"How do we look at equity as it relates to leadership and instruction practices? The hope is the board uses that policy as it makes all of its decisions," Spears said.

Spears has worked for the school district for 10 years in a variety of positions including teaching special education and she's already looking ahead to qualities the next superintendent must have.

"Someone who recognizes the legacy Catty has created," she said. "Someone who uses that rich diversity to make things better for students and teachers."

Lindsay Mahaffey, Wake County School Board Chair released the following statement:

As board chair, I want to acknowledge that our Board has work to do to maintain excellence in leadership beyond July 1. The North Carolina School Boards Association will deliver a presentation at our next board meeting to outline their process for a national Superintendent search and share how they can assist the Wake County Board of Education in engaging our community as the Board begins the work of continuing to move our district forward.
I extend my deepest gratitude to Superintendent Moore for her leadership and dedication to this district.