With a unanimous vote of the Board of Education, it’s the hometown pick for Dexter Community Schools next Superintendent as Ryan Bruder is announced as the successor to the retiring Chris Timmis.
After two rounds of interviews, the DCS Board of Education picked Bruder at their meeting on July 22. There were three internal candidates vying for the job with Bruder getting selected over Dexter High School Principal Melanie Nowak. The school board announced the news on July 23 in a message to the community.
“The Dexter Community Schools Board of Education is pleased to announce the selection of Ryan Bruder to be the next Superintendent of Dexter Community Schools upon the retirement of Dr. Chris Timmis in February, 2026,” the Board of Education said in its announcement. “Mr. Bruder began his career with Dexter Community Schools in 2016 as the Principal of Bates Elementary School. Later, he moved with the Bates staff to Beacon Elementary as the Principal and currently serves as the Executive Director of Instruction. Mr. Bruder is also a Dexter High School alumnus.”
The board’s announcement detailed the process and why they looked internally first for the next superintendent.
“The Board of Education’s search for a new Superintendent has been timely and thorough,” the announcement said. “Following Dr. Timmis’s May announcement, the Board engaged Dr. John Silveri of Michigan Leadership Institute (MLI) to assist with the search. In addition to a community-wide survey asking what qualities staff, students, and families value in a superintendent, MLI hosted in-person forums where various groups of stakeholders asked questions about the process and offered input. In addition to the formal opportunities for feedback, trustees fielded a considerable number of individual contacts regarding the search.”
The school board said, “Because the District had three highly qualified and experienced internal candidates, the Board decided to interview them before looking elsewhere.”
The first-round interviews were held July 14th and 15th, and then on July 16, the school board had an MLI- facilitated discussion of the candidates’ strengths and experience, and selected two candidates for second interviews. On July 21st, second-round interviews took place, which included a 20-minute presentation from each candidate on their vision for the district.
The next steps will see the school begin the process of writing and negotiating a contract. The board expects to take formal action to hire Bruder at its Aug. 11 regular meeting.
“At that time, the District will share additional details about Mr. Bruder and his vision for the District, as well as transition plans,” the announcement concluded.
Full search information and meeting recordings can be found on the District’s Superintendent Search page (https://www.dexterschools.org/district/superintendent-search) as well as on the District’s YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@dextercommunityschools).
Photo 1: Dexter Board of Education making their pick at the July 22 meeting. Photo by Lonnie Huhman
Photo 2: Ryan Bruder. Photo courtesy of DCS
8123 Main St Suite 200 Dexter, MI 48130
