Hartford superintendent prepares to step down by end of school year

“This is a place that I deeply, deeply love,” Hartford Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Leslie Torres-Rodríguez said.

Torres-Rodríguez was first a student within the district when she moved to Connecticut from Puerto Rico.

“If it were not for public education, I would not be where I am today,” Torres-Rodríguez said. 

Torres-Rodríguez has served as superintendent since 2017. Her contract was extended through June of 2026 but recently, she announced she is stepping down at the end of the school year.

“It’s a perfect time for a new leader to come in and continue to work alongside our outstanding and capable students, staff, families and communities,” Torres-Rodríguez said.

As part of her legacy, she led the district through the COVID-19 pandemic. She said she created new curriculums focused on strengthening literacy and navigated several budget deficits.

“When we go through the years, and I reflect back during my tenure, I’ve had to mitigate $140 million over the years,” she said.

Looking ahead to the 2025-26 school year, Torres-Rodríguez said the district could face a $30 million deficit in part due to a new teacher's contract.

“It is about $7 [million] to $9 million more, we are committed to make sure our staff is compensated well and then we have other costs that continue to rise,” Torres-Rodríguez said.

During her time left as leader, Torres-Rodríguez said she will continue advocating for more funding both at the local and state level.

“Advocacy is part of who I am,” Torres-Rodríguez said. “I will say I am hopeful; I’ve had many conversations with our elected officials locally and at the state level, and I continue to hear that they are looking at the challenge that we have.”

Looking back on her tenure, Torres-Rodríguez is very proud of her team for increasing the graduation rate by 10% and also nearly doubling the amount of community schools in the district, where families can receive critical services.

“They are families who might need counseling support, maybe they need access to meals, we have food pantries, they might have to access our dental clinic that are in our schools,” she said. 

Looking ahead to the future of the district, she said her team has laid out a 10-year plan that will be presented to the Board of Education next month.

“It’s like a road map, it really is the road map that says, 'OK these are the priorities for the next 10 years' and then as part of that, there is a three-year plan,” Torres-Rodríguez said. 

Torres-Rodríguez hopes to help as much as possible with the transition period. As for what's next, she said she is keeping those details very close to her heart.

“I am excited about the next chapter,” she said.