KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Public Schools district has its next leader — Dr. Jennifer Collier.
On Wednesday night, the KCPS Board of Education unanimously voted to name Collier as the district's next superintendent.
Collier, a longtime employee for KCPS, had been serving as the interim superintendent since last August.
During her time with district, she's served as a teacher and principal, among other things.
She took over after Dr. Mark Bedell resigned from KCPS and later took a job as superintendent for the Anne Arundel County Public Schools district in Maryland.
During her tenure as interim superintendent, Collier was tasked with leading the district to make some tough decisions, including closing two schools.
KCPS said it received 17 applications for the job, with five total candidates being interviewed and two finalist conducting a second round of interviews.
“Following a unanimous vote by the board of education, we are happy to announce interim superintendent Dr. Jennifer Collier is the finalist to become the next permanent superintendent of Kansas City Public Schools,” said Tanesha Ford, KCPS school board member. “She has proven both in our interviews, and in her role as interim, her exceptional leadership, integrity and pride in our school district."
With all smiles at the board meeting, Collier thanked the district for believing in her.
“I just want to say thank you to this board for your confidence in me,” Collier said. “I am humbled, I am honored and I am super excited about the future of KCPS and I’ll say more later."
The district hopes to make a formal announcement of Collier's hiring in the near future following contract negotiations.
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