POWAY, Calif. — More than five months after firing its former superintendent, Poway Unified School District has named its new leader.
After a months-long nationwide search for Poway Unified's new superintendent, the district's new leader will be coming from Carlsbad: Dr. Ben Churchill has led that district for the past eight years.
"I'm ready to get started!" he said after the announcement was made at Thursday night's board meeting.
An educator for the past 28 years, beginning overseas in China and then in the Midwest, before moving to North County in 2016, Churchill said Carlsbad is "a hard district to leave."
"But the opportunity to step into the role here in Poway was something that I couldn't turn down," he said.
Churchill will be stepping into a role that had been occupied by Marian Phelps, who was fired in late April after the school board found she had interfered with an investigation into a student accused of bullying Phelps' daughter, a former student at Del Norte High School and a member of its softball team.
Parents had accused the former superintendent of harassing other softball players for not clapping loudly enough for her daughter at a banquet last year: allegations that Phelps has denied.
In the wake of that turmoil, Churchill said one of his primary goals as the new district leader is to re-build trust with the community.
"Building relationships and trust will absolutely be job one," he added. "I think the best way for me to build those relationships and build that trust is to be present, to be visible, to be accessible".
While one parent Thursday night questioned the transparency of the superintendent search process, Poway Unified's school board president celebrated Churchill's selection.
"In a field of exceptional candidates, Dr. Churchill's extensive experience, his approachable demeanor and innovative vision for moving this district forward really stood out," said Board President Michelle O'Connor-Ratcliff.
"Trust takes time to build," Churchill said. "So my commitment is to put in the time, to meet with folks, get to know them, get to know the great things about Poway and the challenges, and build from there."
Churchill will take over as Poway Unified's new superintendent beginning Monday, December 2.