![](https://www.usnews.com/object/image/00000181-4e73-dfad-a9b9-6efba07d0000/gma061022dapc.jpg?update-time=1654879908453&size=responsive640)
BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore County Schools Superintendent Darryl Williams is defending his record after five members of the County Council called for a search to replace him.
The Baltimore Sun reports that Williams sent a letter to the council Saturday covering how he has handled a variety of issues, including school safety, a bus driver shortage and staff morale.
The letter was in response to a call by five of the council’s seven members for the school board to conduct a superintendent search before they consider renewing Williams’ contract, which ends next year. The council members wrote in a letter last week that there is “no accountability” for the school system’s performance and the situation has “reached a crisis point.”
The council’s complaints include what they called infrequent communication and continuing problems with late school buses.
In a statement to the news media Saturday, Williams said the council’s letter “unfortunately, contained numerous inaccuracies.”
Political Cartoons
Williams wrote in his letter that while schools are now open amid the pandemic, public health and education experts have noted that “expectations for a rapid return to normal are unrealistic and belie the lived experiences of families.”
Councilman Tom Quirk told The Sun that the council is continually inundated by parent concerns, not only about buses, but about discipline issues and academics.
Council Chairman Julian Jones, who did not sign the letter calling for a search to replace the superintendent, said the bus driver shortage is a regional and national issue.
“To somehow blame everything on Dr. Williams just seemed blatantly unfair to me,” Jones said.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.