Edmond district will need a new superintendent
EDMOND — After 39 years in education including more than two decades with Edmond Public Schools, Superintendent Bret Towne will retire.
Towne announced Wednesday the 2020- 21 school year will be his last. Hired as Edmond's superintendent in June 2015, Towne said his retirement will be official at the end of this school year.
"While I had hoped to mark the end of my career with a full 40 years of service, my declining vision and overall eye health have made it clear that this should wisely be my final year to serve," Towne wrote in a message to district families.
Towne joined the Edmond school district in 1999 when he was hired as the associate superintendent of general administration and operations. The Oklahoma Association of School Administrators named him assistant superintendent of the year in 2015.
The five members of the Edmond Board of Education said in a joint statement Towne will be "greatly missed."
“Superintendent Towne has served this district tirelessly for 22 years, most notably the last six years as our Superintendent in which he has successfully faced great challenges including a teacher walkout, redistricting and currently a devastating pandemic," the board members said. He worked to keep pace with the district's growing enrollment, which increased by 4,450 students in the past 10 years alone. Towne oversaw the construction of at least 1.2 million square feet of new facilities and 1.1 million square feet of renovations. This includes eight new schools, three new freshman academies, 422 classrooms and other large additions. Edmond completed a digital conversion under his tenure, which provided a device for each of the district's 25,200 students.
Towne said he and his wife, a retired second-grade teacher, will stay in Edmond.
"While I am optimistic about my retirement and the next phase of my life, I am saddened to leave the career, colleagues, friends, and students that have been so much of my life over the past 22 years here in Edmond," he wrote. "The same reasons that my family moved to Edmond — the schools, the city, the people — are the same reasons my wife and I will still be living in Edmond upon retirement. Edmond is home; it is such a special place."
Towne assured the district would have a "successful and seamless transition" once the Edmond school board selects his successor. The board will contract with the Oklahoma State School Boards Association for superintendent search services.
Association Executive Director Shawn Hime has known Towne for about 20 years. Hime said Towne is respected statewide as a leader in promoting and improving public education.
"Bret has been the backbone of Edmond Public Schools for a long time," Hime said. "He's done a great job of continuing the progress they had before and continuing to ensure that Edmond is a school of excellence, not only just one of the best schools in Oklahoma but one of the best school districts in the nation."