School Board Selects Superintendent Finalist

File Photo KCSD School Board (Samantha Tipler)

Klamath County School Board selects superintendent finalist

The Klamath County School Board has selected a finalist in the superintendent search. The board originally chose three finalists on Friday, March 16. In the process of notifying finalists, two chose to withdraw.

Glen Szymoniak is the lone finalist. He has 36 years of experience in education, starting as a third-grade teacher and leading to superintendent at three districts in Alaska and Idaho.

“We all felt continuing the process that we started was what we agreed to,” said KCSD Board Chairman John Rademacher. “So even though we only have one candidate, I’m going to make a site visit, and he’s going to come down here to meet the community on April 3 and 4. We’re looking forward to proceeding and then we’ll make a decision after that time.”

Superintendent Greg Thede will retire at the end of this school year. The board has been engaged in finding a new superintendent since October. 

“We are committed to finding the best replacement for Mr. Thede to  serve the students and staff of Klamath County School District,” Rademacher said. 

Next week Rademacher will visit Szymoniak where he is interim superintendent in Dillingham, Alaska, and the board will conduct reference checks.

On April 3 and 4, Szymoniak will tour KCSD schools, the district office and hold a candidate forum. The public is invited to meet him at the forum at 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 3 at Henley Elementary. On April 4, Szymoniak will continue to tour the district, the board will conduct a
final interview, deliberate and decide whether to offer the superintendent position.

Szymoniak was previously superintendent in Barrow, Alaska, and McCall, Idaho. He also worked as an assistant superintendent, middle school principal, elementary school principal, high school teacher and elementary teacher. 

He has worked with multi-million-dollar budgets, advocated for schools with state governments, coordinated partnerships with colleges and surrounding districts, developed culturally relevant
curriculum for Tribal communities in Alaska and kept an Idaho high school listed in the Newsweek Top 1000 high schools in the United States for five consecutive years. 

“He’s got a lot of experience, especially in the rural areas including northern Alaska where he had a diverse population. Also he would travel a lot to get to remote schools. He seemed to do a really good job doing that,” Rademacher said. “He likes to celebrate cultures and diversity. I thought that was a good fit for our community.”

Press release provided from Samantha Tipler, Klamath County School District.