PULASKI — Rob Graham was named the next superintendent of the Pulaski County school system Thursday, just two days after an emotional meeting in Radford where the school board voted to accept his resignation.
Graham starts on July 1. He will succeed Kevin Siers, who was recently named the district chief for Franklin County schools.
The Pulaski County School Board approved Graham’s hiring on a 5-0 vote and a few members voiced praise for their new superintendent. The announcement was met with resounding applause from the crowd in the Pulaski County Middle School auditorium.
The mood Thursday evening stood in contrast to one in Radford Tuesday, when the city’s school board voted 5-0 to accept what was called a voluntary resignation. More than 100 people — including teachers and parents — turned out at the Radford meeting to show support for Graham, who was visibly upset at times that night.
People are also reading…
Graham was at the Pulaski County meeting where, after the vote, he delivered some remarks on his new job and posed for photos and shook hands with board members and other district staff.
“I’m absolutely thrilled. Couldn’t be more happy and excited,” said Graham, who has spent decades in education.
Although Graham has been with Radford City Schools since 2006, he had previously worked for the Pulaski County school system. When he moved back to the area in 2003 as part of a desire to see his children grow up in Southwest Virginia, he took a job as a building administrator at Dublin Elementary School. He said he held that job for a couple years before moving to central office.
As he did earlier in the week with the Radford schools staff, Graham voiced praise for the employees in Pulaski County.
“I want to make a difference in the lives of children,” said Graham, who added that he’s excited about how professionalism of the county’s school board.
Although Graham earlier this week declined to discuss the specifics of his resignation from the Radford district, he said Thursday that he became interested in the Pulaski County job when the application process opened.
Siers was named the Franklin County schools boss last month. He said Thursday that he was among those who cast a vote for Graham when he was named Region VII Superintendent of the Year earlier this year.
“But I still wasn’t sure what my fate was going to be in Radford,” Graham said, adding that he still held out some hope that the situation there would have gone differently. “Maybe hoping is the right word, but deep down in my heart I kind of knew where it was going, where it was going to go.”
Radford school board members have declined to discuss Graham’s resignation, but have wished him well in his future. Graham and the Radford board issued a joint statement Wednesday that, among other things, said the superintendent notified the elected body on June 4 of his intent to voluntarily resign.
“Rob Graham has been a valued and dedicated employee of Radford City Schools as an administrator and, for the last eight years, as division superintendent,” said Radford school board Chairwoman Jenny Riffe in the statement. “As a native of Radford, Rob has led the division with an abiding love for the children in our school division and a commitment to their success.”
Graham’s resignation from Radford is effective June 30. He has been that system’s superintendent since 2015 and was a 1987 Radford High School graduate.
Many who turned out in support of the superintendent in Radford Tuesday night speculated that he was being pushed out and that he would probably resign. Graham himself told the supportive crowd that night that he was heartbroken and didn’t want to leave the district.
Many of the Radford supporters criticized their board, with at least a few saying the elected body’s issues with Graham and other administrative staff were rooted to several board members’ extremist political views. Supporters said board members have repeatedly brought up problems with little credible evidence.
On a Facebook account under the name of one of the board members, posts were made earlier this week about issues related to Graham’s management. Those posts have since been removed from the account, based on what was accessible Thursday.
Pulaski County School Board Chairwoman Beckie Cox declined to comment on the Radford situation earlier in the week, but she said she and her colleagues feel very fortunate to have Graham.
“Their [Radford] loss is our gain, and we’re happy to have him,” Cox said.
Pulaski County School Board Vice Chairman Timothy Hurst voiced comments on the decision, too. He said there are currently 20 superintendent openings in Virginia.
“The great ones don’t last long. It’s an extremely competitive environment,” he said.
Hurst said he knows there were questions about whether the board should have appointed an interim chief as they continued their search. He said that choice presented a challenge because it’s difficult to find a district chief during the middle of the school year.
“It’s not fair to the division … and absolutely not fair to the children,” Hurst said.
He said they also didn’t want to pass up on the right candidate if that person was already available.
Cox didn’t provide specifics of Graham’s contract — including his salary — Thursday, but said the district will probably release those details next week.
At Radford, Graham was paid an annual salary of $153,207, according to figures provided earlier this week.
A condition in Graham’s Radford contract would have entitled him to continue receiving pay for two more years had the board terminated him without cause. He said those conditions are now moot because he voluntarily resigned.
Graham said he’s now looking forward to getting to know the Pulaski County staff better. He said he’ll work to make improvements to areas staff say need attention and build on the district’s existing strengths.
“I think I’m in a place that I can help, they can help me and we can move together as a family,” Graham said.