Dr. Julie Ford Named Interim Superintendent

The Topeka Public Schools’ Board of Education this morning named Dr. Julie Ford as the district’s new interim superintendent. Dr. Ford has been Director of Title Programs and Services at the Kansas State Department of Education for the past three years. Before that, she was superintendent of schools in Trinidad, Colorado. She has more than 30 years of experience in education. “I have been working for the Kansas State Department of Education for the past three years, but have been involved in Topeka Public Schools basically through the Kansas Learning Network. I am a long time Kansan, having been in Topeka for three years. I feel really excited about this opportunity,” said Ford.

Board of Education President Patrick Woods is excited about the board’s choice. “This was not simply going down the list according to rank and picking who was second. This was really a totally different situation in which initially when we choose Dr. Morton. We needed him to help us transition to help Dr. Singer transition out and get ready for the new fiscal year and get ready for the beginning of the new budget. We have done all of that, so at this point we needed someone to hit the ground running who had the energy and was excited to take on this challenge. That’s what we got so we got our number one choice for this situation,” said Woods.

Dr. Ford has a doctorate degree from Wichita State University. Her first day as interim superintendent will be July 13th. Her salary will be $150,000. She is the first female superintendent in the history of Topeka Public Schools.