Christina School District board selects Deirdre Joyner as next superintendent in 4-3 vote; directs contract talks

The Christina School District Board of Education voted 4-3 on April (date not specified) to approve Deirdre Joyner as the district's next superintendent and later voted unanimously to direct counsel to enter contract negotiations with Joyner.

Board members cast their votes after a lengthy selection process conducted by Ray and Associates and public comments from union representatives and community members. The board then passed a separate motion, 7-0, to authorize the district's legal counsel to negotiate a contract for Joyner with terms “comparable to those of other superintendents in Delaware,” the board recorded.

The selection follows a multi-stage search run by Ray and Associates under a request-for-proposal process. According to the board's description of the search, roughly 50 people applied, 39 met the stated criteria, that list was narrowed to 11, then to six finalists interviewed by board-appointed panels before three finalists — Deirdre Joyner, Kendra Johnson and Yearwood — were presented for final ranking.

Public commenters and union leaders endorsed Joyner during the meeting. Karen Gray, who identified herself as a member of the Christina…