RALEIGH - Wake Superintendent Del Burns, who until early last week ran one of the nation's highest-profile school systems, will serve out his tenure on administrative leave for making what board members said were "totally inappropriate" public criticisms.

Members announced after a closed meeting last week that Burns, 56, will remain available for consultation and will be paid until his previously announced resignation date of June 30.

The move leaves the Wake County Public School System, hailed by some and criticized by others for its focus on keeping schools diverse, without a seasoned chief executive.

The system faces a fiery community debate over its direction as well as a funding gap of at least $20 million for the next school year.

Donna Hargens, Wake's chief academic officer, will become acting superintendent, said board Chairman Ron Margiotta, who began a brief statement by praising Burns' long service to the system before explaining why Burns was put on leave.

"On Thursday, Feb. 18, Dr. Burns held a series of media interviews where he voiced his opposition to certain recent and proposed policy initiatives by this board," Margiotta said in a prepared statement. "His choice to conduct these interviews was a poor decision and totally inappropriate in the opinion of this body."

The session was the third closed meeting that board members had held on Burns' tenure since Feb. 16, when he abruptly announced his resignation and his intention to remain in the job until June 30.

At that time, Burns said he was resigning because he could not in good conscience carry out the directives of the new school board majority.

Two days later, he gave pointed interviews objecting to the majority's plans to make extensive changes in Wake County's diversity-based assignment patterns and other policies including mandatory year-round schools.

Burns, in charge of the 140,000-student system since 2006, said the board was engaging in political partisanship.

Another contentious issue was the new board majority's opposition to one of his favored initiatives, the planning time built into teachers' schedules this school year, resulting in early dismissals that opponents criticized as "Wacky Wednesdays."

Following the media interviews Feb. 18, several groups that supported the new board majority had urged that Burns be immediately stripped of his power to run the school system.

In the end, it was quiet

Board members and their attorney, Ann Majestic, who apparently were the lone deliberators, had remained tight-lipped about Burns' fate.

Earlier meetings were held Feb. 22 at Leesville Road High School and March 2 at the school headquarters.

The board room, packed during many recent meetings, held only board members, security personnel and reporters on March 9 before the panel retired to another room for discussions. Burns was not present.

"I've never seen this room this quiet," member John Tedesco said before the board went into closed session.

During the next few months, the members of the new board majority must conduct the nationwide search they've promised to find Burns' replacement, deal with budget issues and continue fulfilling their campaign promises to reflect the wishes of families in assigning and educating students.

Hargens, who will be acting superintendent until an interim is named, is a longtime Wake County school administrator who has overseen curriculum in Wake since 2005.

During her nearly 20 years of working for Wake County, Hargens has been an assistant superintendent for western Wake and a principal of Green Hope and Cary high schools.