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Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Stepping Down

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – KDKA has learned that Dr. Linda Lane, who has been the calm superintendent of Pittsburgh's Public Schools for the past five years, has decided to step down at the end of the school year.

Lane was not available for comment and a district spokeswoman would only say that she would be making the announcement Friday, but sources close to the superintendent say she has told them she will not seek an extension when her contract expires in June.

Lane will likely take the high road in announcing her coming departure, but those sources say a contributing factor has been rocky relationships with the board of education, which has resisted many of her calls for higher teacher accountability and cost cutting.

Her style was not confrontational, but she expressed frustration in an interview last year when the board rejected her decision to close the under-used Woolslair School.

"It can't be me," she said at the time. "It can't just be me that wants to do this. It's going to take the will of the board as well."

Lane succeeded Mark Roosevelt and is credited with implementing many of his ambitious reforms, including the creation of smaller specialty high schools.

Those sources say that Lane is making announcement now so that the district has time to search for a successor. There will most certainly be calls for that search to go nationwide to ensure future quality of Pittsburgh Public Schools.

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