DAVIS COUNTY, Utah — The Davis School District on Wednesday morning introduced its new superintendent, Dr. Daniel Linford.
Linford was ratified with a unanimous vote earlier in the morning during a special board of education meeting and becomes the 19th superintendent to lead the Davis School District.
But he’s likely the first who will be inheriting an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into claims of racial harassment within several Davis County schools.
Last fall DOJ officials announced that during a two-year investigation they found serious and widespread racial harassment of Black and Asian students in several schools within the Davis district.
In a settlement agreement with the District, DOJ officials ordered a sweeping program to correct the issues.
So Dr. Linford will be dealing with reading, writing, and arithmetic on top of the ongoing federal investigation.
“I do believe that harassment happens every day because I see it, because it comes across my desk every day," Linford said. "And I believe, unfortunately, that is probably happening a lot of spaces around the country and it certainly happened here. But I also believe that we have a world-class response to that at our school district.”
Dr. Linford has more than two decades of experience in education, getting his career started as an English teacher back in 2005. He then worked as an assistant principal at Viewmont High School then was named principal in 2011.
He also attended school in the Davis district, graduating from Clearfield High School.
He is replacing Reid Newey who is retiring at the end of this school year.
Linford will officially assume his duties as superintendent on July 1.
