Amid a few high-profile departures, several districts welcome new superintendents

Loudoun County Public Schools fired its superintendent after a Virginia grand jury accused district’s leaders of mishandling a student sexual assault.

“Superintendent hired” was the headline in several school districts against this week’s backdrop of a few high-profile departures.

Morcease Beasley announced his last day as superintendent of Clayton County Schools in Georgia would be Dec. 16. Beasley, who started his career as a high school math teacher, was hired to lead the suburban-Atlanta district in May 2017. Deputy Superintendent Anthony Smith will fill in as interim superintendent. “It is now time for me to end this journey and prepare for the next expedition on my path to new and different educational and experiential achievements,” Beasley wrote in a message to the community in which he also touted establishing a commitment to high performance in the district.

In Virginia, Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Ziegler was fired after a Virginia grand jury accused the district’s leaders of “looking out for their own interests” in transferring a teenager to another high school after he was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a student in a high school bathroom. That student then allegedly abducted and assaulted another girl at his new school, the grand found, saying Zielger and other administrators should have prevented the second alleged attack.

Superintendent Reba Holmes has taken a leave of absence until her planned retirement in June from the Prairie Grove School District. Holmes and a middle school principal went on suspension after images taken from employees’ personal Facebook pages were used in a training video depicting a mock school shooting in which children and school staff and children were killed, according to 5NEWS.

In more uplifting news, Anoka-Hennepin Schools—one of the largest districts in Minnesota—has chosen Cory McIntyre to become its next superintendent in July 2023. McIntyre, who has been serving as superintendent of another large Minnesota district, Osseo Area Schools, was previously Anoka-Hennepin’s associate superintendent and executive director of student services. He began his career as as a school psychologist in districts in Minnesota and Washington.

Superintendent hired here

These leaders were also hired this week:

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  • Julie Fowler was hired to take over as superintendent of Spartanburg School District Three in South Carolina in early 2023. She is currently a director and dispute resolution officer in the South Carolina Department of Education.
  • Kyle Gibbs will replace the retiring Matt Ruble as superintendent of Missouri’s Farmington R-7 School District in July 2023. Gibbs has served as superintendent of the Crawford County R-1 School District and was recently selected as the 2022 outstanding emerging superintendent for the south central region by the Missouri Association of School Administrators.
  • Stephanie D. Howard was named the lone finalist to become the next superintendent of Midland ISD in Texas. Howard, who is expected to take over in January, is currently the superintendent of Crane ISD and previously lead Plains ISD.
  • Sam Ison is now officially the superintendent of Wayne Local Schools in Ohio.
  • Emily Weidner will become the superintendent of Cerro Gordo CUSD 100 in Illinois when current leader Brett Robinson retires in July 2023. Weidner has been the elementary school principal at Monticello CUSD #25 since 2008.

Finally, Superintendent Debra Pace announced she will retire from her post at The School District of Osceola County in Florida at the end of the school year, after having led the system since 2016.


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Matt Zalaznick
Matt Zalaznick
Matt Zalaznick is a life-long journalist. Prior to writing for District Administration he worked in daily news all over the country, from the NYC suburbs to the Rocky Mountains, Silicon Valley and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He's also in a band.

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