PCPS Board members discuss superintendent search

PULASKI COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - According to the chair and vice chair of the Pulaski County School board, applicants from near by and as far away as Alaska wanted to be Pulaski County’s next superintendent.

From the beginning of the search, the board had its sights aimed on Rob Graham.

“I’m one that firmly believes that you don’t wait on great people, you go after great people and Rob Graham is one of those people,” Vice Chair of the Pulaski County School Board Tim Hurst said.

Six out of around 20 applicants were chosen for interviews. Hurst says Graham rose to the top of the list after those conversations.

“If you’re going to the plate, you need to go to the plate to swing and so we were trying to swing for the fences and we really wanted to hit a homerun with with our next hire, and I think the board would agree that we feel like we hit a homerun with Rob Graham,” Hurst said.

“When the Pulaski job opened, I thought, you know, here’s here’s a good way to solve a couple of different problems and it was,” Graham said.

Graham says he felt the focus in Radford City Public Schools was shifting away from the students and him leaving could potentially help.

“Our children deserve to have the best education possible and not let political agendas and innuendos get in the way of that,” Graham said.

Chair of the PCPS School Board Beckie Cox says there were a few traits the board wanted in its next superintendent.

“Experience as a superintendent, a good track record with education, and well received in the community and of course, that is exactly what Rob Graham is, with the Region VII Superintendent of the Year,” she said.

Graham will end his position as the superintendent of Radford City Public Schools at the end of the month and will begin the new role in Pulaski County on July 1.

“I think it’s gonna be a great fit,” he said.

In the meantime, Graham will be working with current PCPS Superintendent Kevin Siers to make the transition as seamless as possible.

“He’s going to be a perfect fit here,” Cox said. “He’s going to be settled here and it’s such a contrast to what he endured a few days ago. We welcome Rob home.”

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