Buffalo Selects New Superintendent; Interims Named Elsewhere

  • Pascal Mubenga, most recently superintendent of Durham Public Schools in North Carolina, now leads Buffalo Public Schools, the second-largest school district in New York State.Buffalo Schools Superintendent, Pascal Mubenga

    Mubenga, unanimously appointed by the school board in July, succeeds Tonja Williams Knight, who retired earlier this year after 35 years in education, the last three at the helm in Buffalo.

    Mubenga “brings to Buffalo a wealth of experience from leading a diverse and large school district. He’s demonstrated a dedication to student success, and there is a clear alignment with the values our community cherishes,” board president Kathy Evans-Brown said in a statement released by the district.

    She said the process used in selecting Mubenga included the use of digital surveys and interactive focus groups to gain stakeholder feedback. That input helped identify “the qualities, experience, and vision most essential for our next leader,” she said.

    Mubenga also served as a school transformation coach, district transformation coach, and school transformation team lead at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

    Both Buffalo and Durham enroll more than 30,000 students.

    Interim Leaders Named

    Interim superintendents have been named in several urban school districts.

    Virginia’s Norfolk Public Schools James Pohl is the interim pick, stepping up from his post as chief academic officer for the district.

    North Carolina’s Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is being led by Catty Quiroz Moore, a member of the North Carolina State Board of Education. She previously served as interim superintendent of Durham Public Schools and superintendent of Wake County Public School System, the largest school district in North Carolina.

    Macquline King is the interim superintendent of Chicago Public Schools. She previously was senior director of education policy (PK-16) in the Office of the Mayor for the City of Chicago.

    Texas’ El Paso Independent School District is being led by interim leader Martha Aguirre, the district’s chief financial officer since 2022.

    Fred Podesta, the district’s chief operations officer, was recently named interim superintendent of Seattle Public Schools. As the chief operations officer, Podesta oversaw key functions of the district, including finance, technology, and regulatory services.

    California’s Oakland Unified School District named Denise Saddler as interim superintendent. A lecturer at the Berkeley School of Education, Saddler is a former principal and a former president of the Oakland Education Association. 

    Iowa’s Des Moines Public Schools has named Matt Smith, the district’s associate superintendent, to serve as interim superintendent, following the detention of Superintendent Ian Roberts by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Smith previously served as interim superintendent during the 2022-2023 school year.