One of Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza’s nine $209,000-a-year executive superintendents is jumping ship, The Post has learned.
Andre D. Spencer, 49, has been named the lone finalist to lead the school system in Manor, Tex., an Austin suburb, and is expected to start on July 1, Manor spokesman Angel Vidal told The Post. Spencer oversaw schools and superintendents in southern Queens, including districts 27, 28 and 29.
Carranza’s second-in-command, First Deputy Chancellor Cheryl Watson-Harris, is also job-hunting amid the DOE’s struggles with the coronavirus, plans to reopen schools and a citywide fiscal crunch.
She was a finalist for schools superintendent in Sarasota, Fla., but withdrew her application Thursday, the same day Chalkbeat reported it.
Carranza wrote one of her letters of recommendation, which were posted online along with her cover letter and resume.
Some insiders say Carranza and Watson-Harris — once seen as the heir apparent to become the next NYC chancellor — have had a falling out.
Department of Education spokeswoman Miranda Barbot denied the chancellor wanted her out.
“Cheryl told the chancellor about her intention to pursue an opportunity outside of the City in December, before the pandemic. He wrote her a letter of recommendation at that time because he believes in her ability to lead, and he fully supports her in her endeavors,” Barbot said in a statement to The Post.
Soon after Carranza arrived in New York, he promoted Watson-Harris and created the nine executive superintendent positions, adding a new layer of DOE bureaucracy.
The annual $200,000-plus positions raised questions last month after Mayor de Blasio announced $827 million in DOE budget cuts.
Spencer has previously worked in Colorado, Baltimore and Houston, where Carranza left as school superintendent in early 2018 when he was hired by de Blasio.
The DOE would not say whether it will replace Spencer. A hiring freeze was ordered on April 1.
The DOE also would not say whether it will replace an executive superintendent for Manhattan, Recy Benjamin Dunn, who was promoted to chief strategy officer in the Office of Field Support under Watson-Harris. Dunn received a pay raise to $213,976, and a staff of 17.
“No decision has been made,” spokeswoman Miranda Barbot.
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