Bloomfield Hills chooses Watson to lead district

The Bloomfield Hills Board of Education selected Patrick Watson, currently principal of West Bloomfield High School, as the district's new superintendent, on Wednesday, November 20. The search for a new superintendent began after former superintendent Dr. Robert Glass announced in April that he would be relocating to New York in July, after his wife accepted a job at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), and he had accepted a position as superintendent at a school district in Westchester County, New York. The board appointed Christina (Tina) Kostiuk interim superintendent of the district, beginning July 1, 2019, and hired Ray & Associates to conduct a national search for a new superintendent. Earlier in November, the board was presented with a pool of 60 candidates which they then narrowed to nine candidates, and then to three, and held public interviews for Watson, Robert Durecka, principal of West Hills Middle School, Bloomfield Hills Schools, and Dr. Matthew Outlaw, superintendent of Brandon School District. Watson and Durecka became the board's two finalists. Watson has been principal of West Bloomfield High School since 2014, and has been with the school since 1994, having previously been athletic director and assistant principal. “This is an exciting time for all of us, and our students are at the top of the list,” said board President Paul Kolin. The board will announce Watson's start date soon.