The Christina School District hired its a new superintendent Thursday.
The Christina School Board voted unanimously to hand the reins to current Capital School District superintendent Dan Shelton.
Shelton has been Capital’s superintendent since 2015. Before that he spent 17 years as a principal in Christina schools after teaching for several years at the district’s schools in Wilmington.
Christina's board president Meredith Griffin calls Shelton an "ideal choice."
“His enthusiasm and emphasis on student success, building strong community relationships and responsible financial management, fit perfectly with what we hope to accomplish for the future of our district," said Griffith in a statement.
Shelton replaces Richard Gregg who is retiring at the end of the month.
"I am so excited to be coming home to the Christina School District,” said Shelton in a statement. “There is a tremendous amount of work to be done to retain, rebuild and restore Christina School District. Ilook forward to reconnecting with colleagues I have worked with before and building a leadership team that will help guide our students and staff in making Christina a destination district."
Shelton grew up in the Newark area and his children currently attend Maclary Elementary School in Newark.
The hire comes just days before Christina holds a tax referendum vote.
If Tuesday’s referendum fails, the district says it will be forced to make $10 million in cuts, including all sports programs and extracurricular activities. The district's dual-language Chinese immersion program and instrumental music in elementary schools are also on the chopping block.
67 jobs would also be eliminated, most of them teachers.
We’ll have more on what’s at stake in the referendum Friday afternoon at 3 on The Green
