Philadelphia – Today, Superintendent Tony B. Watlington, Sr., Ed.D., announced Chief Operating Officer, Oz Hill, will be appointed to serve as the Interim Deputy Superintendent of Operations, and Deputy Chief of Operations, Teresa Fleming, will be appointed to serve as the Interim Chief Operating Officer. The appointment of Chief Hill and Deputy Chief Fleming will further support the District’s efforts to achieve the Board’s Goals and Guardrails and become the fastest improving, large urban school district in the country.
“Both Chief Hill and Deputy Chief Fleming, bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the District,” said Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr., Ed.D. “These appointments will further support the District’s efforts to achieve the Board’s Goals and Guardrails and become the fastest improving, large urban school district in the country.”
In the new role of Interim Deputy Superintendent of Operations, Chief Hill will oversee the Division of Operations and the Offices of Equity, Information Technology, Safety and Talent. In this capacity, he will be charged with ensuring a safe and secure educational environment for students, staff, families, and visitors; creating and maintaining a user-friendly, secure technology infrastructure and managing the District’s information systems; and assisting the superintendent in transforming the district into a more collaborative, trusted, and results-oriented culture that recognizes and better supports school leadership teams as the unit of change.
As a battle-tested leader with a demonstrated track record, Chief Hill oversaw the direct day‐to‐day operational and logistics support to all District schools and Central Office, supervising the following areas:
● Transportation Services
● Food Services
● Facilities
● Maintenance
● Environmental Management Services
● Capital Programs
Hill managed large-scale renovation and development projects including the construction of two new schools: Thomas M. Peirce Elementary School and Lewis C. Cassidy Academics- Plus School, and maintenance work across the District. Additionally, Chief Hill led emergency management, including all District inclement weather and school schedule changes.
As the Deputy Chief of Operations, Fleming monitored the day-to-day operational procedures and core functions performed by the Division’s 3,500 employees. Deputy Chief Fleming also led the Operations Division’s strategic planning activities, including developing and overseeing the organization’s $1.2 billion annual budget. Additionally, she oversaw all day-to-day operations for the Office of Transportation Services, serving more than 92,000 students daily and managing more than 700 school buses and vehicles. Deputy Chief Fleming also received the Transportation Director of the Year Award from Student Transportation News (STN).
She will now transition to become the Interim Chief Operating Officer. In her new role, she will report to the Deputy Superintendent of Operations and oversee the day-to-day operations of the six areas within the Division of Operations, including transportation, food service, facilities, maintenance, environmental management services, and capital programs.
These appointments will further support the District’s efforts to achieve the Board’s Goals and Guardrails and become the fastest improving, large urban school district in the country. Chief Hill and Deputy Chief Fleming will assume their new roles, effective Monday, August 19. These personnel changes are budget neutral due to the elimination or repurposing of a number of vacant positions that Superintendent Watlington froze upon his arrival.
