FORT SMITH -- The Fort Smith School District superintendent is due to start work in another state near the beginning of the new year.
Superintendent Doug Brubaker, 50, has been named the finalist for the superintendent position in the Texarkana, Texas, Independent School District, according to a Fort Smith School District news release Tuesday. The announcement comes after a favorable vote by the Texarkana, Texas, Independent School District's Board of Trustees.
The Fort Smith School Board held a special meeting Tuesday night and named deputy superintendent Terry Morawski as superintendent, beginning in January. The board vote was unanimous, 7-0.
Brubaker has served as Fort Smith School District superintendent since January 2017, having been selected by the Fort Smith School Board for the position in December 2016.
"Taking on the superintendent role in Texarkana ISD represents a great move for our family professionally and personally, and we are very excited about it," Brubaker said in a statement.
"It's also important to share that [my wife] Heather and I love Fort Smith and are grateful that our family has had the opportunity to live, work, and grow in such an exceptional community over the past four years. For me, it has been a great privilege to work with our outstanding school board, educators, staff and community members to expand opportunities for students."
Texas law requires a 21-day waiting period from a school board's action to the date that the employment contract may be signed, the news release stated. Brubaker is expected to begin work in his new role on Jan. 4.
"As one might expect, Dr. Brubaker's announcement took me by surprise but understandable given the success the district has had under his tenure," Fort Smith School Board President Bill Hanesworth said in a statement. "I would compare it to a sports team that wins a national championship and suddenly the head coach and his assistants become targets for recruitment. In a sense we should feel a sense of pride that our district has attracted the attention from other districts recognizing our accomplishments."
Now the school board's attention, Hanesworth said, must turn to continuity of leadership.
"The timeliness of this transition is most important to continue the momentum we have built over the last several years," Hanesworth said. "The board understands the importance of leadership continuity and will begin its task immediately to ensure a smooth transition."
Fred Norton Jr., president of the Texarkana Independent School District Board of Trustees, told the Texarkana Gazette on Tuesday that the district was thrilled to be able to have Brubaker return to the state of Texas.
"We could not be more excited to have found a transformative leader that we have in Dr. Doug Brubaker," Norton said. "He's had a successful career for 23 years in Texas, before he crossed the state line and went to Fort Smith. And after four years of excelling there, we were able to lure him back to the Lone Star state."
Brubaker's current yearly salary is $215,292, according to Zena Featherston Marshall, executive director of communication and community partnerships for the Fort Smith School District.
Tina Veal-Gooch, executive director of public relations for the Texarkana, Texas, Independent School District, said Brubaker's new salary package will not be made public until Dec. 1. It will be then that Brubaker will formally be named superintendent, the Texarkana Gazette reported.