Michael Martirano, who abruptly retired as superintendent of Howard County schools last year, will soon take the helm in Allegany County.

The Western Maryland school system announced Tuesday that Martirano will begin his four-year term as superintendent on July 1, which would have been the start of his last year in Howard. He left in January 2024, 18 months into a four-year contract, following a rocky start to the school year.

Born and raised in Allegany County, Martirano considers his new job a homecoming. He grew up in Frostburg and graduated from Beall High School, which closed in 2007.

“I am so enthusiastic, energized and excited about this opportunity as I get to return home to the place that raised me and educated me,” Martirano wrote in a LinkedIn post. “All that I am today is owed to the Allegany County Public Schools.”

As a student, Martirano wrote, the school system cared, educated, nurtured and believed in him.

“Now, it’s my turn to give back, in such a meaningful way, and work collaboratively with the Board of Education and total educational community of Allegany County that cares for all young people and values education,” his LinkedIn post reads.

Allegany school officials did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.

Martirano called the past year a “sabbatical,” rather than a retirement, as a Howard County Public School System news release framed his departure.

“I loved the superintendent position, but I wanted to take some sabbatical time to reignite and recharge,” he wrote on LinkedIn. “However, I consistently missed the energy and rhythm of running a school system.”

Martirano served as the Howard school system’s superintendent for seven years, leading the district of 78 schools and 57,000 children through a contentious redistricting process and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“He inherited a system in chaos and led it to a place of stability and prominence,” said a school system news release when it announced Martirano’s retirement in November 2023.

Martirano departed shortly after thousands of students were left without a ride to school in the first weeks of the academic year. He publicly apologized for the flub.

Bill Barnes, previously Howard’s chief academic officer, took over this school year.

“I am grateful for the leadership that Dr. Martirano provided to the Howard County educational community for more than six years,” Barnes said in a statement late Thursday. “He was a wonderful mentor for me, and the educators, students and families of Allegany County are fortunate to have him coming home to once again be a part of their school community. I wish him nothing but the best, and I look forward to having him as a colleague once again.”

Martirano has been in superintendent roles for 19 years. His previous school leadership positions include the state superintendent of schools in West Virginia and superintendent at St. Mary’s County Public Schools.

During his “sabbatical,” Martirano kept busy, he wrote on LinkedIn. He enrolled in American University’s leadership coaching for organizational performance program, joined University of Maryland’s College of Education Board of Visitors and is a senior fellow with the Center for Digital Education.

He also traveled, played golf and “learned to 3-ball juggle (LOL but true),” Martirano wrote.

The Allegany County school system has 14 elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools, a technical school and an alternative placement program.