FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 8, 2020

The Mat-Su Borough School District School Board has named its candidate for the Superintendent position, Dr. Randy Trani, of Corbett, Oregon. The selection of Dr. Trani is the result of a national search conducted with Ray and Associates, Inc. that produced nearly 23 qualified applicants from diverse geographic and professional backgrounds. The MSBSD School Board has been committed to ensuring that it selects a finalist that is a good fit for the District and the Mat-Su Valley and looks forward to introducing Dr. Trani to the community on Monday, May 11th, as described below. Today’s announcement follows notice to the Board yesterday evening that several candidates had removed themselves from consideration due to COVID-19. The process required modification due to the current pandemic, resulting in a primary candidate and revised process.

“The Mat-Su School Board is extraordinarily pleased with the outcome of this search. While we changed the originally planned process due to COVID-19 we have evaluated the available alternatives and believe this course is the best. Dr. Trani is an outstanding candidate for consideration”, says School Board President Thomas Bergey. “Among his many positive attributes Dr. Trani’s record reflects a strong focus on academic achievement.”

Dr. Randy Trani, (1967-present), was born in Denver, Colorado, but grew up in Cordova, Alaska. Randy’s personal experiences with poverty, childhood homelessness, and the power of education to change a life motivated him to enter the field of K-12 education. After teaching all grades K-12 for eight years in small school districts in Alaska in the 1990’s he taught science courses in large suburban and urban schools in Oregon. In 2004 he became the principal of Corbett Schools in Corbett Oregon where he has also served as Superintendent since 2009. While at Corbett he has led Corbett Middle School to be named the only School To Watch in Oregon, and Corbett High School has been recognized as one of the top public high schools in the Country by Newsweek, The Washington Post, and US NEWS and World Reports. Dr. Trani has been named both the Oregon Middle Level Association's Principal of the Year, as well as the Oregon High School Principal of the year. In addition to his day job he enjoys traveling the country actively promoting the Corbett Model. Dr. Trani is eager to return to Alaska as the superintendent of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District and give back to the state that gave him a free education through his bachelor's degree.

On Monday, May 11th, the District will release a recorded Q & A video session with Dr. Trani, with the questions developed though the community input survey. Community members will have an opportunity to provide their impressions to the School Board though another online survey. The School Board will have a Special Meeting on Tuesday, May 12th to vote on the new Superintendent. Public Testimony is encouraged at this meeting.