GERMANTOWN — Former Reading Schools Superintendent Sherry Parr has accepted a job as superintendent of Valley View Local Schools in southwest Montgomery County.

Mrs. Parr

        Mrs. Parr, 49, was hired Thursday by the Valley View school board. She was given a two-year contract that begins Aug. 1 and will be paid $85,400 annually.

        She replaces Michael Eckert, who is retiring after 30 years in the district.

        “We saw her as very personable, very energized — a visionary,” said Fred Gehron, president of the Valley View board. “She is a consensus builder and an effective communicator.”

        Mr. Gehron said the board was aware of the circumstances under which she left Reading, but said the Valley View board did a thorough background search and made three visits to Reading, each time talking with parents and community and business leaders. Mrs. Parr also was the top choice of a nine-member committee of community members who interviewed her.

        “We did an intensive background check and made site visits. We were very pleased with what we heard,” Mr. Gehron said.

        Last month Mrs. Parr was put on administrative leave, two months after the Reading Board of Education decided not to renew her contract. The vote caused a public outcry as parents rallied around Mrs. Parr and asked the board to either reconsider its decision or explain why her contract was not being renewed.

        Mrs. Parr said she is pleased to be going to a district where she is welcome and has the support of the board. When she was named superintendent two years ago in Reading, it was on a split 3-2 vote. She had been Central Elementary School's principal for eight years before being named superintendent.

        “I'm thrilled. It's a growing community,” Mrs. Parr said of the 67 square-mile district. “I have felt the support of the board. When a superintendent and board work together as a team and make decisions together as a team, a vision can move forward. That's critical.”

        Reading parent and teacher Micki Imbronyev said Valley View was fortunate to get Mrs. Parr.

        “We're going to miss her leadership and strengths,” Ms. Imbronyev said Friday.

        Valley View is a growing, once-rural school district that is slowly becoming suburbanized. There are about 2,000 students, compared with Reading's 1,465.

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