[1] His mother was a schoolteacher and his father was a real estate salesman who died when Payzant was 6 years old.
[2][1] He moved to the West Coast to teach junior high school in Tacoma, Washington.
His first superintendent’s job came in 1969 when he was chosen to lead the School District of Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
In 1976, Payzant was indicted by a grand jury for failing to immediately report allegations of sexual abuse of a minor by a Eugene elementary school teacher.
The complaint against Payzant was dropped because the judge found the issue to be a civil matter.
[7] In 2006, Boston Public Schools won the Broad Prize for Urban Education.