Mike Freeman Will Become Shasta County’s New Superintendent of Schools
Freeman says he will work to bring the Shasta County education community together through constructive conversations and will continue to build trust with local Tribes.
During an extended public interview in front of the Shasta County Board of Education, Mike Freeman spoke with a range of emotion that included laughter, tears and a portion of a letter from his mother.
The Board deliberated only briefly before voting to appoint Freeman as Shasta County’s next Superintendent of Schools. He will begin his new role in July, following Flores June 30 retirement.
In comments to fellow board members before the vote, SCOE Board member Kathy Barry referred to Freeman as an “evangelist for education.”
“I wish more of the public and the community were here to listen to your passion for the work,” Barry said.
“You can feel the passion and the trust that he elicits, both within our team and with community partners. Mike represents continuity and stability with what has been achieved (at SCOE thus far) but is also clearly not treading water.”
Freeman works for the current Superintendent of Schools, Judy Flores, as her Associate Superintendent for Educational Services. He’s been an educator in the community long-term, moving from a role as a Spanish teacher at Foothill High School to become an administrator at the high school, middle school and elementary school levels, before being hired at the Shasta County Office of Education (SCOE) in 2019.
He was the only candidate to interview before the Board on February 7. Three candidates were selected during applicant screening. One declined to travel to the area for an interview and the other, Dr. Garnica Morris, did not appear for her interview with the Board as scheduled.
In comments after Freeman’s interview, several SCOE Board members expressed disappointment that they had only a single candidate to choose from as they selected an appointee. But board members also expressed their belief that even if there had been more candidates, Freeman would still have risen to the top.
“It would really have been nice to have a robust pool of candidates to be here,” Board member Nick Webb said before the vote.
“But without that,” he continued,”I still believe the person that we have before us today is an excellent administrator with a great deal of passion for this particular position and who has shared excellent reasons why they will be the right candidate to help this agency move forward . . . “
During his hour-long public interview, Freeman answered twenty questions set by the Board, including one related to how he intends to continue the work of the American Indian Advisory, a group of Tribal members that Flores has worked with during her time in office to improve how SCOE meets the needs of Native students and families.
“I can tell members of our American Indian Advisory Council this work is not going away,” Freeman said.
“This work has been intentionally embedded. . . . It’s easy for me to keep that promise because I’ve heard in this building advisory panels sharing stories about the plight of American Indian students in public schools. And it does something to you. It affects you. And when you hear that voice and you hear the power of the story behind that work, you feel a commitment to be better.”
“So we will keep our promises there,” he continued, “and extend that to other marginalized student groups.”
Freeman also shared some of the challenges he’d faced during his professional career, including his experiences helping the community at Grant School recover after the Carr Fire. His voice broke briefly as Freeman described those days.
“In the summer of 2018, I stood before a gym of a school community that had been ravaged by the Carr Fire. I had 37 families who lost their homes. There was a crisis, right? But there’s beauty in that. There’s power in that. I don’t wish crisis on anybody. But we don’t want to waste those. And there’s opportunities to learn.”
During his remarks to the Board, Freeman frequently returned to the idea of bringing the community together through constructive conversations and clear communication that holds space for diverging viewpoints.
“Where we see divisions,” Freeman said, “Where we see political polarization; can we identify those things that bring us together and go all-in on resources in those areas? That unifies.”
Few members of the public attended the Board’s meeting to appoint a new superintendent and no public comment was offered on the topic.
Only one member of the Board of Education, Authur Gorman, voted against Freeman’s appointment.
Before the vote, Gorman spoke appreciatively of Freeman’s interview. But after Board discussion, he made a motion to appoint Freeman only until the November general election, saying he believed the voters should choose the Superintendent after that date.
That motion was not seconded, after SCOE Board Chair Robert Brown reminded Gorman that the process of how to appoint a new superintendent, and for how long, is set by California Education Code section 1042(e). In accordance with state law, Freeman will serve until November 2026, when the next California gubernatorial election occurs.
Before closing the meeting, the Board formed a subcommittee that will meet to discuss setting Freeman’s salary. A recommendation on that salary will be discussed by the rest of the Board during the March 13 meeting.
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Woosh… and right over you head…
Nah… It’s just that you wouldn’t recognize sarcasm if it bit you Nick.
You’ve already proven it with your comments here…multiple times. Lol
Nick. An educated gentleman such as yourself–Thank You so much for recognizing this
Will he do away with DEI
Garman is an embarrassment.
Having him associated with EDUCATION is an oxymoron.
Thank the Lord for Arthur, a voice of righteous in the government schools. Thanks for this article!
Thank the Lord for the four other board members that voted against Arthur!!
Truly voices of reason against the madness that is trying to overtake Shasta County.
Indeed! I could not agree with you more!
Lol! He is the polar opposite of anything supporting integrity, public education, or sanity. He is a monumental embarrassment to our community and he is wholly unqualified to serve in any capacity. He has risen way too far above his skill set merely due to a combination of disinformation, lies, and voter apathy.
Lol! He is the polar opposite of anything supporting integrity, public education, or sanity. He is a monumental embarrassment to our community and he is wholly unqualified to serve in any capacity. He has risen way too far above his skill set merely due to a combination of disinformation, lies, and voter apathy.===who you speak of?
Oh come on Nick. An educated gentleman such as yourself should easily be able to tell that she is referring to Mr Gorman.
After reading the comments, I could not help but notice that Nick thinks that the state of California has done such a wonderful job with education! It only leads me to believe that this liberal direction may not be a good one. I hope that this new superintendent understands how important it is to teach from a factual standpoint, and not from a revisionists standpoint the children of Shasta County are our most precious cargo people. It’s important that they do not turn out, unable to survive in this society, because education was not taught through a factual lens but through a revised lens
If I’m reading it correctly, Nick believes that the state has done such a wonderful job with education! After reading this, it makes me realize how mesmerized some people are. However, numbers and facts will tell you the story of just how well the state of California has done with education. I vote for the candidate who can put education at the very top with conservative values and sticking to the actual facts of history instead of its revision.
If I’m reading it correctly, Nick believes that the state has done such a wonderful job with education! After reading this, it makes me realize how mesmerized some people are.===sarcasm
no public comment was offered on the topic. —
Gorman spoke appreciatively of Freeman’s interview. But after Board discussion, he made a motion to appoint Freeman only until the November general election, saying he believed the voters should choose the Superintendent after that date.—
California Education Code section 1042(e). In accordance with state law, Freeman will serve until November 2026, when the next California gubernatorial election occurs.—
The state has done such a good job with public education, How could Gorman even think local control would work? Maybe he needs to go to re-education camp
I only know Mike Freeman by reputation from his days as Superintendent/Principal at Grant but have heard nothing but the most wonderful things about him. I/We have been waiting for this to be announced since Judy announced her retirement, hoping it would be Mike.
The other candidate, Garnica Morris, stated she had an emergency and could not be there. It was therefore a consensus for Mr. Freeman. He’s well positioned with his experience and will be re-elected next General election, 2026. Arthur Gorman tried one of his au contraire moves again, but sensible and sane Board members saw through this and abided by the Election Code of California, not the so-called State of Jefferson.