Mustang JROTC Students were among 200 Army Junior ROTC cadets from 19 high schools across Oklahoma and Lubbock, Texas to participate in the JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge (JCLC) June 4-9 at Ft. Sill in Lawton. Cadets participated in athletic competitions, team-work activities, negotiated a combat obstacle course, made their way through a land navigation course and rappelled down a 40-foot tower. Cadets also competed in a marching drill and Academic and Leadership board.    

Chris Tobler was recently named the new director of human resources for Mustang Public Schools. Tobler spent one year as an assistant athletic director for MPS and four years as the assistant principal at Horizon Intermediate. 

Tobler began his career in Texas as a middle school English and social studies teacher, with high school and middle school coaching responsibilities. He spent time as an administrator in Plano before becoming a middle school assistant principal in Edmond. 

He’s beginning his 16th year in education. 

“Time flies when you love what you do,” Tobler said. “I have always been drawn to the sense of community within a school system. I love seeing kids succeed and feel a sense of duty to help and support our brave staff as they positively impact the lives of students each day.” 

Tobler has also stepped into a political advocacy role for MPS. He organized two political forums to provide an opportunity for teachers and patrons to hear from candidates for House seats 47 and 43. He said being on the front lines of the democratic process, advocating for teachers and students, has been rewarding. 

He believes the role of director of human resources is another way to fight for teachers and public education.  

“I see the director of human resources position as a critical role for our district because of the current climate of education in our state,” he said. “We must find the best teachers and we must keep them, and that is as difficult as it has ever been. I feel the best recruiting tool we have is to simply ‘tell our story.’ We live in an amazing community, literally one of the top 100 places to live in America. If we tell the story of Mustang we will continue to attract great families and we will have talented professionals to teach the children of those families. I'm on a mission to find effective teachers and I will use every resource, especially the power of both technology and human interaction, to provide the best for our children.”  

At the end of Monday, June 18th's special meeting, Dr. Jim Davis, who has served in seat 1 on the board since February 2011, announced before the meeting was adjourned that it would be his last and he was stepping down from his seat. 

“From the time I got on the board, I never wanted to serve past the time when I had children in school,” he said. Now that my kids have graduated, I feel someone else who has children in the district should step in and take that role.” 

Davis said his departure is coming at the right time. 

“The new board member will be involved with the search for the new superintendent and that gives you continuity for that team moving forward,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed it. I got to meet a lot of great people and to see the school grow and improve. We are on a good path. It’s time for someone else to step in.”

Bradley said Davis would be difficult to replace. 

“Dr. Davis has been a fantastic board member,” Bradley said. “Although I understand his reasoning, I’m sorry to lose his influence and leadership. He’s been dedicated to the post for more than seven years, often coming to meetings after 12 hours shifts as an emergency room physician. He’s asked hard questions and made decisions based on what’s best for the kids and the staff.” 

The Board of Education has 60 days to appointment a candidate to fulfill the remainder of Davis’ unexpired term. To be qualified to serve on the Mustang Board of Education, the candidate must be resident of, and a registered voter of, the seat (ward) for at least six months immediately preceding the filing period. The individual must possess a high school diploma or GED, with no criminal record consisting of felonies or misdemeanors involving embezzlement. A qualified candidate also cannot have a relative to the second degree working in the district. 

Anyone interested in serving is encouraged to submit their name and contact information to Brenda Dunn, superintendent’s secretary, at dunnbr@mustangps.org or 405-376-7399. To see the board seat map, stop by https://filecabinet5.eschoolview.com/4D818B71-3141-44BB-99FE-E5A71F367638/Board%20Offices.10.10.11_4w.pdf. 
 

In a special meeting Monday, the Mustang Board of Education voted to name Deputy Superintendent Charles Bradley as the new interim superintendent of Mustang Public Schools. Bradley has been with the district for 19 years, first as a science teacher. He has served or filled in in multiple capacities from assistant principal to transportation director. He’s been the deputy superintendent for 6 years. Dr. Sean McDaniel, who served as superintendent for six years, resigned to take the top job at Oklahoma City Public Schools. 

The Board also voted unanimously to hire the Oklahoma State School Boards Association to lead the search for Mustang’s next superintendent. The OSSBA will conduct a nationwide search, recruit candidates, conduct background checks, answer inquiries and more. 

Board President Chad Fulton asked what would happen should the board decide an internal candidate was the correct choice while the search was being conducted. Shawn Hime, executive director of the OSSBA, suggested that even if the board wanted to choose an internal candidate, it would be better to stick with the process. 

“My recommendation will be for everyone, for credibility’s sake, if you’re interim, or someone internal goes through this process and they come out in the end as the best candidate, I say it gives them more credibility with the community and with your teachers,” he said. “They weren’t hand-picked. They didn’t get special treatment.”