March 12, 2010

RICHMOND COUNTY, Ga.--It's official. The Irving Independent School Board has approved Dr. Dana Bedden as their new superintendent and he has accepted the position.

Dr. Bedden released the following statement:

This evening, I officially accepted the offer to serve as the next super of Irving Independent School District. My family joins me in thanking the community in Richmond County for its support during my three years as your superintendent.

My immediate plans are to continue to serve as the Superintendent of the RCSS until an agreed upon departure date. During this time, I will continue focus on student learning and helping the RCSS through another challenging round of budget cuts in preparation for the next school year.

I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish together in a relatively short period of time. We have restructured leadership roles, instituted a new system of accountability, and improved our public communication. We have also had great success in building business, parent and community involvement. In addition, the district has made significant advancements in technology and made sound fiscal decisions during difficult economic times. Most importantly, we improved student achievement, as evidenced by our increase in graduation rates, test scores and the percentage of schools making AYP.

To answer any lingering doubts in our community, I want to make it clear that this decision has nothing to do with conditions in Richmond County or my relationship with the board and staff. It also has nothing to do with money. The two districts are in different financial situations and never expected the RCBOE to match an offer from Texas.

I understood that economic conditions made it difficult for the Board of Education to come to an agreement on the terms of a contract extension. Due to the uncertainty, and the lack of consensus of a contract extension, I chose to apply elsewhere. I believe that it is unprofessional to apply for a position without the intent of accepting it if it is offered. The Irving ISD offers my family and I a wonderful opportunity and we are pleased to accept it.

I ask the people of Richmond County to support the Board's effort to find the next superintendent and to understand the challenges we face as we prepare next year's budget.

In closing, I again want to thank the Richmond County Board of Education, staff, students, parents and community for their support during my tenure as superintendent.