Former Triangle school leader named interim superintendent of Wake County schools
Former Orange County Superintendent Randy Bridges was named the interim superintendent of the Wake County school system on Tuesday.
Bridges will step in for Superintendent Catty Moore, who is retiring at the end of the school year in June. Bridges will start July 1 and serve until Moore’s successor is hired.
Bridges led the Orange County school system from 1997 to 2002. He also served as Alamance-Burlington Superintendent from 2006 to 2010.
“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Bridges to Wake County,” school board chair Lindsay Mahaffey said in a news release. “His extensive experience will be invaluable to us as we keep our strategic plan’s priorities and goals on track through this transition.”
Experienced educator
Bridges has more than 40 years of experience as an educator. He also worked as a classroom teacher, coach, middle and high school principal, and associate superintendent of human resources and public relations.
His father, Robert Bridges, served as Wake County’s superintendent from 1984 to 1988.
In recent years, Bridges has served as interim superintendent in multiple districts, including Orange and Chatham counties.
The school board is at the beginning of its search to find a permanent replacement for Moore, who has led Wake since 2018. She became the district’s first woman and Latina superintendent.
The board said it expects to name a new superintendent before the start of the 2023-24 school year. But it’s unlikely that the new superintendent would be able to start July 1 because they’d have to give notice to their current employer.
The district received 28 applications before the submission deadline on April 24. Mahaffey said the board will meet in closed session on May 10 to determine who will get first-round interviews and what questions will be asked.
This story was originally published May 2, 2023 at 9:02 PM.
