By Charly SHELTON

The search for Glendale Unified School District’s new superintendent is finally over. After Dr. Richard Sheehan announced his decision to leave the district in May of last year, the hunt has been on for a qualified superintendent to take his place. Retired GUSD administrator Dr. Donald Empey took over as superintendent in July to serve as interim superintendent until a permanent super could be chosen. Then in October, reaching the state limitation for salaried work for a retired education professional, Dr. Empey had to step down and dual superintendents Dr. Joel Shawn and Dr. Marc Winger took over. After seven months of searching, it was finally confirmed yesterday that an offer would be made to Winfred Roberson Jr., superintendent of Davis Joint Unified School District.

“He is very passionate about public education,” said GUSD Board of Education President Christine Walters, “and all the qualities we see in him as a person and as an administrator [are why] we think he is a great fit for us.”

The decision is currently only a tentative one as no contracts have been signed or even approved yet. The contract will be drawn up and brought for approval by the board at the Feb. 16 meeting. Roberson Jr. received an offer after an exhaustive search and the board is confident both that they made the right choice and that he will accept the offer to join GUSD. After the announcement, the board sent out thank you emails to all the interested groups, parents, teachers and students who participated in the outreach meetings to find the new superintendent.

A Davis Joint Unified spokeswoman told CV Weekly that Roberson Jr. is excited over the opportunity presented by GUSD. Over the last six years at Davis Joint Unified, he is very proud of the work that has been accomplished.

  Charly Shelton