Dowagiac Union Schools has settled on a leader.

Following a second round of interviews Monday night, the Dowagiac Board of Education offered the superintendent position to Jonathon Whan, who was serving in the same role for the Grant Public Schools.

The hiring won’t be official until contract negotiations are completed. We think Whan was an excellent choice of superintendent and urge all parties to work hard to ensure all contract negotiations go smoothly and quickly.

All of the candidates who interviewed for the position had their strengths and could have served the district well. We wish all of them the best of luck in their future endeavors.

However, Whan has something the others did not: superintendent experience.

As the current superintendent in the Grant district, Whan may serve a community smaller than Dowagiac, but we still feel his experience as a leader gave him a significant advantage over the other candidates.

We believe having been in the position of running a school district will serve the new superintendent well in his new job at Dowagiac Union Schools and will help him navigate the ongoing projects, including the soon to be completed bond, as well as plot a course for a bright future.

We also want congratulate the Dowagiac Board of Education for being able to complete a thorough superintendent search in a timely manner and for finding a replacement before the departure of current superintendent Paul Hartsig at the end of the month. A seamless transition can have a big impact on students and the school year.

We are eager to see Whan take the superintendent seat and hope he can hit the ground running. We believe he will be a strong fit to lead the school district in a positive direction for our current and future students.

Welcome to Dowagiac, Mr. Whan. Let’s bring the entire community together for the betterment of our youth.

Opinions expressed are those of general manager Ambrosia Neldon, managing editor Sarah Culton and sports editor Scott Novak.