The school board voted unanimously last week to offer the superintendent job to Joshua Garrett, who is currently working in the Central Asia country of Kazakhstan, where he is director of an international school.

The board announced the selection Friday afternoon, May 23, after reconvening in public session following lengthy deliberations in executive session. The board voted to offer a contract to Garrett to start work July 1, "pending negotiations."

If the board and Garrett cannot come to terms on a contract, the board announced it would offer the job to the "close runner-up," Casey Robinson.

Board President David Wilson and Board Member Liz Roundtree were named to negotiate a contract with Garrett.

Robinson is a former principal at Schoenbar Middle School in Ketchikan. He left that job in 2020 to serve as a principal in Wyoming and most recently worked as a school superintendent in Kansas.

A third finalist for the job, Frank Oakes, of Texas, withdrew his application for the Wrangell job the day before a community meet-and-greet last week.

Bill Burr is leaving the superintendent job at the end of June after four years with the Wrangell district.

The school board did not discuss what they liked about Garrett and offered no explanation of their unanimous decision to offer him the job when they reconvened in public session after their private discussions about the finalists. The public meeting lasted about one minute.

In an interview the next day, board president Wilson said Garrett "had great credentials," adding, "he interviewed well."

The board had invited the finalists to town to meet with the community and attend in-person interviews with the board. Robinson was in town for the community meeting at the high school commons on May 22, the day before the board vote. Garrett attended virtually from Kazakhstan.

About 15 or 20 people attended the community event.

Garrett, who was born and raised in Derby, Kansas, has been living overseas the past 20 years, working in education jobs and running schools in China, Azerbaijan, North Macedonia and Georgia, before taking the assignment in Kazakhstan. He also has lived in Turkey since he and his wife moved overseas in 2003, according to an online essay he posted.

He has worked since 2021 as director of QSI International School of Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan. The school has more than 300 students and a budget of $7.5 million, according to his resume, both slightly larger numbers than Wrangell.

Quality Schools International, founded in 1971, now operates in more than three dozen countries, according to its website. The operation is based in Malta, an island nation in the Mediterranean Sea.

Garrett has a doctorate degree in education from the University of Kentucky, where he has been a guest international lecturer since 2019, according to his resume. He holds a schools superintendent certificate from the state of Maine.

"Transformational school leader with nearly two decades of experience in global education," is how he describes himself at the top of the resume he submitted for the Wrangell job.

"Proven record of improving organizational health, expanding school impact and aligning mission with strategy. ... I champion schools that prioritize inquiry, mastery, wellness and community."