By Matthew E. Milliken

mmilliken@heraldsun.com; 419-6684

DURHAM -- Outgoing Durham schools chief Carl Harris is completing his second stint with the Durham public school system and his second stint as head of a county school district.

Harris worked for five years in the late 1990s as a Durham assistant superintendent and then associate superintendent. He departed for his native Franklin County to lead the school system there in 1999 but returned as a Durham associate superintendent four years later.

In mid-2005, Harris was a finalist to become schools chief in Savannah, Ga. He didn't get the job, but soon after he was passed over, the Durham school board gave him an $11,000 raise and promoted him to deputy superintendent.

A few months later, Harris was unanimously appointed superintendent-in-waiting by the school board -- a body that at the time was sharply divided on many issues. The vote took place Oct. 27, 2005, immediately after it was announced that then-Superintendent Ann Denlinger would retire in June 2006.

That announcement, like Harris' on Monday morning, came as a surprise to the general public and Durham public officials alike, although school board members appeared to have a little more advance notice about Denlinger's departure.

This past June, Harris received a one-year contract extension, which left him set to serve as superintendent through mid-2013. Harris received a positive evaluation from the board at the time but, per his request, was not rewarded with any extra compensation.

He is the Durham school district's highest-paid employee, with a salary of $219,216.36, an annual retirement contribution, pending employee match, of $12,237.72 and a $10,200 annual travel allowance.