Pittsburgh Public Schools names longtime administrator as interim superintendent

Pittsburgh Public Schools has named one of its longtime administrators to serve as interim superintendent to replace Anthony Hamlet, whose resignation is effective Friday.

Wayne Walters, who serves as assistant superintendent of professional development and special programming, was named interim superintendent during a school board meeting Wednesday.

Walters will be paid $210,000 to work in the post, with the salary pro-rated depending upon how long he serves, at most a year.

The board will begin a national search for a superintendent in December.

Walters, 51, has been an assistant superintendent since 2017.

Prior to that he was principal of Barack Obama Academy of International Studies 6-12 since its inception in 2009. Walters also was principal of the Frick International Studies Academy 6-8 (2000-2008) and assistant principal of Northview Heights Elementary School (1999-2000).

He has worked for the district since 1991, when he started as a teacher at King Elementary School on the North Side.

Walters will serve as a temporary replacement for Hamlet, who tendered his resignation Sept. 8 after the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission found that Hamlet violated state ethics laws in his travel expense reports, accepted cash for speeches and failed to make required financial disclosures between 2016 and 2018.

The ethics commission ordered Hamlet to pay $5,000 — $3,250 to the district for use in the Pittsburgh Promise program and $1,750 to the ethics commission — and to forfeit 14 days of vacation time.

The commission’s investigation into Hamlet was prompted by a complaint filed by Pittsburgh Controller Michael Lamb, who also is controller of the school district.

After Hamlet resigned, Lamb said it was time for the district to “turn the page” and move forward.

Hamlet’s severance package was nearly $400,000 and includes one year’s salary plus the value of his benefits.

The board’s vote to name Walters to the interim post was unanimous. He is also welcome to apply to be considered to fill the role permanently, board President Sylvia Wilson said.

“I just want to thank the board and thank the candidates who stepped forward to fill this role,” board member Sala Udin said. “We have some very talented administrators who we interviewed, and Dr. Walters is going to walk into a position that has a lot of help by some very talented people, people who know this district, who know education.”

Udin called on the administrators to work as a team as until a permanent superintendent is hired.

“I want to thank Dr. Walters for stepping forward and wish him well,” Udin said.

Wilson called Walters “the best of the best” of the internal candidates the board interviewed for the post. She declined to say how many people were considered for the job.

The board held nine closed-door meetings to discuss personnel issues, among them the situation surrounding the superintendent, since Hamlet tendered his resignation.

Walters has an “unwavering commitment” to the district and will be able to provide the “stabilization and healing” the district needs moving forward, Wilson said.

Walters, 51, is a native of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. He came to Pittsburgh at age 16 to study music at Carnegie Mellon University and never left.

He started as a teacher with the district when he was 21 and has since worked in several roles in the district.

He is filling the role at a “pivotal moment in Pittsburgh Public Schools’ history,” Walters said.

“I am well prepared. … I have remained committed for the past 30 years. This is my life and what I love doing best,” Walters said.

The son of two educators, he noted the support they, along with the teachers who taught him, have played in his life.

“If we stay focused on what’s best for students, we’ll be right in most every action we take,” Walters said.

He acknowledged the challenge of working through the pandemic, transportation issues and what he called a “public confidence crisis,” but said he was committed to rebuilding public trust in the district.