Dexter’s Board of Education Schedules Superintendent Interviews

It appears Dexter Community Schools will be looking to an internal candidate to fill the shoes of Superintendent Chris Timmis, who announced he is retiring in February 2026.

With the process to find Timmis’ replacement already underway, the DCS Board of Education has extended Superintendent interview offers to three candidates: 

• Ryan Bruder, Executive Director of Instruction
• Barb Leonard, Executive Director of Human Resources
• Melanie Nowak, Dexter High School Principal

In an update sent out to the Dexter community on July 9, the school board said, “All three candidates have the required certifications to serve in the role of Superintendent and the Board looks forward to learning more about each candidate during the interview process.”

The interviews will take place on July 14-15. The school board will have its annual organizational meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, July 14 and then interviews will begin following a 10-minute recess after the business meeting concludes. DCS said no interviews will begin before 6:30 p.m. and they may begin later.

“Although you are welcome anytime, please feel free to join us at the conclusion of the business meeting,” the school board’s update message said. “Each candidate will interview for 90 minutes during the first round of interviews.”

Bruder will interview first on the 14th at 6:30 p.m. or slightly later and then Leonard will interview second, no earlier than about 8:10 p.m., and Nowak will interview at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 15.

DCS said “Interested community members are welcome to attend the interviews and will be encouraged to provide written feedback to the Board following each session. For those unable to attend in person, all interviews will be recorded and posted to the district YouTube channel (@DexterCommunitySchools) as soon as possible following the end of each round of interviews. Those watching the recorded sessions are invited to provide written feedback to the Board by email: [email protected]. All Superintendent search information can be accessed in one location on our website or in the DCSD app.”

The school board ended their message update by saying, “With the school community’s participation in an online survey and information gathered from five, in-person focus groups, the Board collected feedback about the qualities that are most important for the next Superintendent to possess. This feedback helped shape the candidate profile included in the position announcement and will guide the Board as we interview and make decisions.

The Board is invested in finding the right candidate for Dexter Schools. Thank you for your support, feedback, and trust.”