SUGAR CITY — Chester Bradshaw will replace longtime Sugar-Salem School District superintendent Alan Dunn next school year.
Trustees selected Bradshaw, the superintendent of the Rockland School District, out of a pool of three candidates during a school board meeting last Thursday, according to Sugar-Salem School Board chair Kristin Galbraith.
“We’re excited to have him,” Galbraith said. “He brings a lot of depth to the district from wearing many hats in Rockland.”
Eight candidates applied for the position, Galbraith said, and trustees narrowed the field to three before settling on Bradshaw last week.
Bradshaw couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon. However, both Galbraith and Sugar-Salem business manager Becky Bates said Bradshaw verbally accepted the position. Galbraith said Bradshaw is expected to begin working for Sugar-Salem on July 1, 2018.
Bradshaw currently serves as superintendent and principal of Rockland’s elementary, middle and high schools.
Galbraith said the board wasn’t expecting to make a final selection this early, but scheduling conflicts with other trustees streamlined the process.
“It all happened really quite quickly,” she said, adding that the school board settled on Bradshaw after over 30 minutes of open-meeting discussion Thursday.
Bradshaw is still negotiating his salary with the district, Galbraith said.
Dunn announced his upcoming retirement after 30 years leading Idaho schools in Rexburg, West Jefferson and Sugar City. He has served as Sugar-Salem’s superintendent for 13 years.
