A press release from Visalia unified School District
On March 8, 2022, the Visalia Unified School District Board of Trustees unanimously voted to appoint Kirk Shrum to the position of superintendent. Mr. Shrum will officially begin working alongside Interim Superintendent Doug Cardoza on May 16, 2022, and then he will assume the full responsibility of leading VUSD on July 1, 2022.
The recruitment for VUSD’s new superintendent began in August of 2021 with assistance from the Tulare County Office of Education (TCOE) and the office of County Superintendent Tim Hire. TCOE and Superintendent Hire held numerous listening meetings to gather input from the community to identify characteristics they wanted to see in the next superintendent. Following a rigorous nationwide search, Superintendent Hire brought forth the top candidates for the Board of Trustees to consider. Kirk Shrum was selected by the Board as the top choice for Visalia Unified.
Mr. Shrum brings over 25 years of educational and administrative leadership experience to the role of superintendent for VUSD. Since 2019, he has served as the chief school leadership officer with Henry County Schools, McDonough, Georgia, Before his position as the chief school leadership officer, Mr. Shrum served as area executive director from 2013-2019 and school principal from 2011-2013 for Fulton County Schools in Atlanta, Georgia. He began his career as a teacher with Hamilton County School District at Thrasher Elementary School in 1997. Next, he moved up to the assistant principal role at Bess T. Shepherd Elementary School and eventually principal of Daisy Elementary School in 2006.
Mr. Shrum earned a Master of Arts degree in Instructional Leadership from Tennessee Technological University Cookeville, Tennessee, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Board President Juan Guerrero states, “On behalf of the VUSD Board of Trustees, we want to thank our staff, students, parents, and community for their input during the superintendent recruitment process. We strongly feel that Mr. Shrum reflects the qualities and characteristics identified by the community. We look forward to working with him to continue to move the district in a positive direction. Lastly, I’d like to personally thank Tulare County Superintendent of Schools Tim Hire for overseeing the superintendent search.”