By Steve Klamkin WPRO News

Just ten weeks after being made interim head of the Providence schools following the resignation of his predecessor, Dr. Javier Montañez is made the acting superintendent for the 2021-22 school year.

Gov. Dan McKee and Rhode Island Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green made the announcement Friday morning outside the Leviton Annex Elementary School.

“I am honored and humbled to have the opportunity to continue leading the district that I love, and I plan to make the most of it this year,” Montañez said.

“It’s not a time for another change,” Infante-Green explained, when asked why Montañez wasn’t given the job on a permanent basis.

“It’s a time to provide continuity and clear and strong leadership as we move forward, and Dr. Montañez has demonstrated that,” she said.

Infante-Green said Montañez can apply for the permanent job, but she did not spell out a timetable for a search.

Montanez has spent his entire, nearly 25 year career in the Providence schools. In June, he assumed the interim position following the resignation of Harrison Peters, who was embroiled in a controversy about hiring an administrator charged with touching the feet of a boy.