The Richland One Board of School Commissioners voted unanimously on May 24th to offer the position of district superintendent to Dr. Allen J. Coles.

Coles is a region superintendent in the Clark County (Las Vegas, NV) School District, where he is responsible for the education of more than 45,000 students in grades K-12 and the management of 48 schools. His target start date in Richland One is July 1.

The board hired a nationally respected and experienced search firm, Ray and Associates of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to conduct the search for a successor to Dr. Ronald L. Epps, who resigned in January to work with the California-based Stupski Foundation. Epps was midway through his sixth year in Richland One. Ray and Associates also led the search which ultimately led to Epps’ hiring.

The district received 52 applications from throughout the United States for the superintendency. The board selected five candidates for initial interviews and invited two back for second interviews, subsequently naming Coles and Dr. Dennis McMahon, superintendent of School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties, as the two finalists for the position.

"In making this decision, the board wishes to emphasize its view that both finalists were well-qualified with impressive professional experience and, in the board’s judgment, either candidate could provide our district with outstanding leadership," said Board Chairman Dr. Jasper Salmond.

"Again, after extensive deliberation and careful thought, we have concluded that Dr. Coles would be most effective and therefore the best selection for this district," Salmond said.

Based upon the board’s instructions, district attorneys promptly will undertake contract negotiations and report to the board next week. The board publicly will approve Coles’ employment contract, which will be a public document, as soon as it is practicable.

Coles holds a bachelor of arts degree in biological and general sciences from Hofstra University, a master’s degree in secondary education from Hofstra and a doctorate in education in curriculum, instruction and administration from the University of Nebraska.

His nearly 40-year career in education has included serving as a secondary teacher in the Hempstead (NY) Public Schools; secondary education instructor at the University of Nebraska; and as an assistant principal, secondary principal and area superintendent in the Clark County School District. In 1992, he was named Principal of the Year by the Nevada Association of School Administrators.