Editor’s note: The Racine Unified School District on Thursday released the following information on its website.

After a months-long search process, the Racine Unified School District Board of Education is pleased to announce it has selected Soren Gajewski as its next superintendent. He was one of two finalists who visited RUSD and participated in interviews with various stakeholder groups and a final interview with the Board of Education earlier this evening that ended in a unanimous vote to begin contract negotiations.

Soren Gajewski is currently serving as interim Racine Unified superintendent and has worked in RUSD for 17 years. Before stepping into the interim superintendent role, Gajewski was chief academic officer for two years and deputy chief of schools for four years prior to that. Gajewski spent his first 11 years in RUSD as first an elementary and then a K-8 school principal. He began his career as a teacher in the Milwaukee Public School District. Gajewski earned both his bachelor’s degree and a master’s in curriculum and instruction from UW-Milwaukee.

“This was a very thorough recruitment and interview process,” said Board President Jane Barbian. “We believe the selection of Mr. Gajewski reflects the high expectations we have for our students and our schools. We look forward to continuing our work and moving the district forward under Mr. Gajewski’s leadership.”

Thank you to our students, staff, families and community partners who have engaged and provided feedback throughout this process.

An earlier story about the district’s search and selection process is here: https://whitewaterwise.com/whitewaters-pate-hefty-is-one-of-two-finalists-in-racine-superintendent-search/.