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It’s time for Buckingham County residents to have their say. As the search to hire a new school superintendent moves forward, this week is when people can weigh in on the discussion. That’s happening through two ways. First, a survey set up on the county schools website and second, through a public hearing. 

Back in October, Dr. John Keeler announced plans to step down as superintendent of Buckingham County Public Schools. Keeler’s retirement, which was reluctantly accepted by the school board, will take effect as of June 30. 

But before moving forward with candidates, the Buckingham County School Board want to know what residents want in a superintendent. What qualifications are most important, what does he or she need to have and what don’t residents care about? That’s being answered through a survey, available now both at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BuckinghamSearch2025 and on the home page of the division web site.

There are 11 questions on the survey, asking things like what should be the next superintendent’s chief priority once hired? It also asks residents to go through a number of different educational requirements and pick which ones they want the superintendent to have. Does he or she need to have a doctorate? Or should they have experience working at a school district in Virginia? Do they need to live in Buckingham? And should they have experience in the classroom as a teacher? Residents can choose if specific items are required, preferred or not important in the next superintendent. The same goes for everything from personal characteristics, how he or she treats staff and how he or she interacts with the community. 

In addition to the survey, the Buckingham School Board will hold a public hearing, where they can also get input from residents about the hunt for a new superintendent. That’ll take place this coming Wednesday, Jan. 15, starting at 5 p.m. in the Buckingham County Middle School Cafeteria. The school is located at 1184 High School Road in Buckingham. 

So what happens next in Buckingham? 

The school board has brought on some help to assist in the search. Neighboring Prince Edward County recruited the Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA) to help with their own superintendent search and Buckingham has done the same. 

School board officials haven’t given a timeline as far as when they hope to have a new superintendent selected. It will likely take several months, if not longer. When she spoke with The Herald about Prince Edward’s search last month, Gina Patterson said you need at least three months to go through the process. Patterson works as executive director of the VSBA. 

And while you need at least three, Patterson said that six months total is ideal for a situation like this. But before you can start that clock, first you need applicants. And you can’t advertise for the position until you have a list of qualifications. So, since the qualification list won’t be finalized until January, a five-month search would push us into May. Keeler has promised to stay on until the end of this current school year. 

A graduate of Virginia Tech with a bachelor’s degree in science education, Keeler also has a master’s degree from Virginia State University in educational leadership and a doctorate in education leadership from Nova Southeastern University. Before coming to Buckingham, Keeler had retired as superintendent of Buena Vista City Public Schools, where he served as superintendent from 2013 to June 2021.

Keeler originally joined the district in an interim role, taking over after former BCPS Superintendent Dr. Daisy Hicks announced her retirement back in 2021. The interim tag was removed in 2022 and Keeler took over the position full-time. Now the school district is having to react to Keeler’s own retirement plans and come up with a succession plan.