Camden school board names Ratliff next schools superintendent

CAMDEN — An assistant superintendent for the Poquoson City Public Schools in Poquoson, Virginia, will be Camden County Schools’ next superintendent.

The Camden Board of Education announced in a press release Thursday night it had hired Dr. Brandon Ratliff and that he will take over as the district’s superintendent on July 1.

Ratliff’s four-year contract will pay him an annual salary of $145,000 and a $300-a-month travel reimbursement. The contract also includes a provision allowing Ratliff to continue working as an adjunct faculty member at Old Dominion University teaching one class per term.

Ratliff, assistant superintendent for operations for the Poquoson City Public Schools and an educator for more than 25 years, will succeed interim Superintendent Michael Bracy, whom the school board hired in October to replace former superintendent Linda Jewell Carr, who abruptly resigned in September. Bracy had said he planned to work for the Camden County Schools through June.

According to the release, the Camden school board said it began its search for a new superintendent in January and agreed to hire Ratliff after it “carefully and thoughtfully reviewed numerous applications from a diverse field of well qualified candidates,” several of whom it interviewed.

"The board is pleased with the depth and quality of applicants the search for superintendent of Camden County Schools yielded," board Chair Dr. Jason Banks said in an email Friday. "We are excited to welcome Dr. Ratliff to the district, and look forward to the leadership we believe he will bring. We are very hopeful his depth of experience will lead to and build upon the continued success of our staff and students."

Banks said the board is also "very grateful for Dr. Bracy’s leadership as interim superintendent." Bracy will continue to serve as superintendent until Ratliff starts on July 1.

The board’s release said Ratliff’s “holistic approach to life and education shapes (his) story of dedication, perseverance, and commitment to improving the educational landscape.”

“I am very fortunate and blessed to serve in the role of superintendent of Camden County Schools,” he said.

Ratliff began his career in education as a special education teacher in northeast Tennessee, but for the past two decades he’s worked in a number of educational leadership roles in the Hampton Roads, Virginia area, including assistant principal and principal at several school levels, director at a school board office, and assistant superintendent for instruction. He’s served as assistant superintendent of operations for the Poquoson City Public Schools since July 2021.

For the past seven years, Ratliff also has worked as an adjunct assistant professor in the Educational Leadership Department at ODU in Norfolk, Virginia.

Ratliff earned a bachelor of science degree in special education and a master of education degree in educational leadership and policy analysis from East Tennessee State University. He earned his doctorate in educational leadership from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Ratliff and his wife Adrienne have been married for 26 years and have three children: Seth, Lucas, and Kate.