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Steve Guthrie has spent 28 years in the Carroll County school system.

Steve Guthrie has spent much of his professional career working directly with students.

After 28 years in jobs ranging from high school teacher to human resources specialist, Guthrie is enthusiastic about the opportunity to serve as the new superintendent of Carroll County Schools.

A resident of Finksburg, Guthrie and his wife, Barbara, have a son, Sam, who is an eighth grader at Shiloh Middle School, and two step daughters, Lauren Thompson, a guidance counselor at Northwest Middle School, and Jessica Antonakos, who teaches Spanish in Harford County. Barbara Guthrie currently teaches at Stevenson University and was formerly the Supervisor of Guidance for Carroll County.

A Loch Haven (PA) University graduate with a desire to teach social studies, Guthrie entered the teaching profession in California. He stayed for two years before returning to Pennsylvania and a teaching job at Southwestern Middle School outside of Hanover. In 1982, Guthrie came to Maryland to teach psychology at North Carroll High School.

Eventually, he became a guidance counselor and after eight years, moved into administration as a human resources specialist.

“As I grew into the profession and got involved at the county level,” he said, “I became intrigued with the idea of running a school system, with what happens at the center of it all. Moving to human resources really changed my perspective. Seeing the big picture was really interesting to me.”

Along the way, Guthrie earned an MBA from Frostburg State University and moved up to become Carroll County Schools’ director of human resources, where he stayed for a year before becoming assistant superintendent of administration in the county’s school system.

The idea of managing a school system is daunting enough. Carroll consists of 23 elementary schools, nine middle schools, seven high schools, a career and tech center, the Gateway alternative school, and Carroll Springs school for special education students. The system has 3,700 employees and 27,000 students.

Add to that the current economic downturn, and Guthrie has his hands full. But one of the qualities that made 54-year-old Williamsport, PA native attractive as a candidate for the superintendent’s position is that the transition between the administration of retiring Superintendent Charles Ecker and Guthrie’s would be virtually seamless.

Although outgoing superintendent Ecker was not involved in the selection or hiring process, he said Guthrie’s strength included the experience he gained as the assistant superintendent.

“He knows the system, he knows the people,” said Dr. Ecker. “He’s been here for a number of years. He is a good administrator and he could hit the ground running on July 1.

“The economy is bad and I don’t think it’s going to improve in the next two to three years. The amount of money we receive from the state and county may decrease. Our employees have not had a raise in two years. We do not compare favorably with some surrounding counties who have been able to give raises which hurts our recruitment and retention of employees.”

In the context of the economic downturn, Guthrie pointed out one of his challenges will be keeping student achievement standards high despite declining resources. He said that Carroll County has cut the education budget by $12.5 million over the past three years.

“With 85 percent of the budget tied up in staff, we simply have to look at cuts in that area,” said Guthrie. Employees have already had to forego raises. And I don’t take that lightly.”

But finances are not the only challenge that Guthrie faces. Two other critical areas that he will have to deal with are adjusting to the new “Race to the Top” federal legislation, and managing new rules about how the Board of Education can negotiate with employees and resolve employee disputes.

Guthrie said that his goal is to separate his classrooms from administrative problems.

Despite the challenges he will face, Guthrie said that he is excited about his new position and the impact that he will have in making positive changes.

Guthrie enjoys getting out from behind the desk and communicating with people: teachers, administrators, students, parents, community members. He said that he feels it is vital for him to hear from those around him in order to make the decisions that his job requires. In fact, he intends to dedicate a significant amount of time in this “transition year” to meeting with the community and key stakeholders.

One of his first priorities, said Guthrie, is to start building a long-term strategic plan that will “set the stage for my four years here.” His desire to include the community in this process is indicative of his leadership style.

His job, he said, is to “provide resources that people need to be successful. It’s not about authority,” he said, “it’s about responsibility.”

For all the challenges he faces, Guthrie said, he feels he is fortunate to be taking the reins in a county like Carroll.

“The education system is small enough,” he said, “that the superintendent can and does get involved in, or is at least knowledgeable about, what is happening throughout the county.”

One of Carroll County’s strengths, he said, is that “we are a community-based school system. We have so many volunteers that we need a volunteer management system in place. That is a sign of a strong community base. We have motivated students and supportive parents.”