MILTON — Santa Rosa County School District Superintendent of Schools Tim Wyrosdick says he will not seek re-election in 2020, ending a tenure lasting more than a decade.
On Aug. 8, 2018, David Gunter of Bagdad filed to run in the upcoming election. Gunter serves a the director of labor relations and compliance for the school district. Previously he served as the director of middle schools and as a principal of King Middle School and dean of Hobbs Middle School.
Gunter said his career experiences afforded him opportunities to give back to the community through educating students in the classroom along with contributing to Santa Rosa County through volunteer projects. Gunter has served as a mentor for students with Take Stock in Children scholarships. He has also been a past recipient of the Principal of the Year Award.
"Each step in my career path came with a greater opportunity to influence change, benefit students and serve the community in a greater capacity," Gunter said. "I continually strive to effectively meet and exceed the expectations of all school-related stakeholders with my top priority being the students."
Gunter said students need to be shown there are multiple pathways to success. He said he will make each school a focal point of the community it serves.
"Today’s diverse learners need great teacher leaders to facilitate engaging and relative lessons." he said. "I will tirelessly strive to serve the students, parents and stakeholders through the schools by making each school a focal point of the community it serves."
He will face Michael Alan Thorpe of Milton, who entered the race March 21. Thorpe is director of in-service and instructional technology for the School District. He previously served as principal and dean of Milton High School and as a teacher at Holley-Navarre Middle School. He is a past recipient of the Principal of the Year Award and was a finalist for the 2015 Florida Principal of the Year.
Thorpe also is a board member of the Santa Rosa Kid's House and Learning Forward Florida.
He said he wants to share his vision to develop classrooms of tomorrow through engaging local businesses and industry. He said the future success of the School District will be directly related to his vision to recruit and retain the best teachers. Thorpe said under his leadership as principal, Milton High went from a D-ranked school to an A-ranked school withing his first year.
"Santa Rosa County can become the top district in the state of Florida, and with these results will become one of the elite districts in our nation," Thorpe said. "I look forward to taking innovative approaches to providing more classroom space in a school district that is experiencing tremendous growth."
Wyrosdick would not say why he will not seek re-election.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Santa Rosa to have new superintendent