Scottsdale Unified School District selects permanent superintendent

PHOENIX – For the first time in nearly two years, the Scottsdale Unified School District has a permanent superintendent.

The district’s governing board selected Michigan school administrator Scott Menzel as Scottsdale’s superintendent by a unanimous vote Saturday.

Menzel, superintendent of the Washtenaw Intermediate School District in Ann Arbor, got the nod over two other finalists, including Kimberly Guerin, Scottsdale’s assistant superintendent for education services.

The other finalist, Shelley Redinger, superintendent of Spokane Public Schools in Washington state, withdrew from consideration Friday evening, according to the Spokesman-Review.

“In our search for a new superintendent — one who will continue to move the district forward and prepare our students for success in the 21st century — we strived to create an inclusive process,” Allyson Beckham, president of Scottsdale Unified governing board, said in a press release.

“We convened five committees with community members, students, educators, administrators and district staff to ensure their voices were heard.”

John Kriekard had been serving as Scottsdale Unified’s acting superintendent since May 2018, when he came out retirement in the wake of an ethics scandal involving previous district officials.

“We’re grateful to Dr. Kriekard for leading our district through a turbulent time and supporting an inclusive search process for his successor,” Beckham said.

Kriekard’s contract runs through June.

“I will do everything in my power to make the coming transition a smooth one,” Kriekard said in the release.

Scottsdale Unified serves around 23,000 students at its 29 campuses in the Northeast Valley.

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