Telegraph file photo Interim Nashua Superintendent of Schools Garth McKinney will continue to serve on an interim basis through June 30, 2022, the Board of Education has announced. (Telegraph file photo)

NASHUA – Following its decision earlier this month to suspend its search for a new superintendent of schools, the Board of Education announced Monday that interim superintendent Garth McKinney will continue in that role through the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2022.

“We are delighted to announce Dr. Garth McKinney will continue to serve as superintendent of schools through the upcoming 2021-2022 school year,” BOE president Heather Raymond and search committee chairperson Jessica Brown stated in a joint announcement.

“We know Dr. McKinney as someone whose leadership and integrity have already served the district well. We can count on his firsthand knowledge of our district to ensure a smooth opening to the new school year,” Raymond and Brown wrote.

McKinney, the district’s assistant superintendent for elementary schools, was named interim superintendent in January, about two months after former superintendent Jahmal Mosley announced he had accepted a position with the South Hadley, Massachusetts public schools.

The subsequent search to replace Mosley drew 19 applicants, which the committee narrowed down to two finalists: Mario Andrade, the interim assistant superintendent in Nashua, and Tarrynce Robinson, a school support officer for the Houston Independent School District in Texas.

Andrade, in May, accepted a new position outside the district, and while the committee interviewed Robinson, members were unable to reach consensus on the hiring of a candidate.

“Therefore, the board will be suspending the search until a later date,” Raymond and Brown wrote in an email they sent to Nashua families about two weeks ago.

“The bottom line was, the Board of Education couldn’t come to a consensus as to who would be best long-term for our city,” Brown told The Telegraph at the time.

In Monday’s announcement, Raymond and Brown said school leaders and the school community “look to Dr. McKinney as a careful steward of our district’s mission and promise,” adding that he is “knowledgeable about its great strengths, is mindful of the challenges that lie ahead, and is attentive to our shared commitment to each student’s success.”

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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