The Bryan County Board of Education has narrowed it choice for the new superintendent from 32 original applicants to just two finalists.

During a called meeting Wednesday at G.W. Carver Elementary School, the board announced Dr. Paul Brooksher of Dacula and Dr. Cheryl Conley of Claxon as its top two choices for the school system’s top post.

“After an intense and exhaustive search, we feel that Dr. Paul Brooksher and Dr. Cheryl Conley are both excellent candidates,” board member Amy Murphy said in a prepared statement on behalf of the BoE. “We are pleased to name them as our finalists.”

Brooksher is currently the director of human resources and staffing for Gwinnett County Public Schools in Suwanee. Prior to his current position, he served as principal of Dacula Elementary School from 2007-2008 and as principal of J.A. Dobbins Middle School in Paulding County from 2004 to 2007.  

Conley is the deputy superintendent of the Liberty County Schools system, a post she’s held since 2008. However, she’s been part of the Liberty County Schools administration since 1997, first as the executive director for the Division of Exceptional Learning and then as the assistant superintendent.

John Oliver, who has served as Bryan County School superintendent since 2009, will retire at the end of June when his contract expires.

Read more in the May 12 edition of the News.