The Jessamine County School Board’s goal of having a superintendent in place by July 1 was not achieved, so in a specially-called meeting on Monday morning, Assistant Superintendent and Chief Operations Officer of Jessamine County Schools Val Gallutia was named the interim superintendent for an undetermined amount of time.

Following the retirement of the former superintendent, Kathy Fields, on June 30, it was necessary to appoint an acting superintendent to lead the district during the interim period.

Gallutia has been with the school system for 29 years, he was principal Warner Elementary before moving to Central Office.

“I am honored to have been selected by the Jessamine County Board of Education to serve as interim superintendent,” Gallutia said in a statement. “At this time, I do not know how long I will be acting in this capacity, but I am happy to assist for as long as necessary to support the board and the district during this transition.”

He added that it will be “business as usual” for the district during his tenure.

The screening committee who is in charge of making recommendations for the new superintendent presented superintendent candidates at a meeting with the Jessamine County School Board on June 22. There were originally 17 applicants for the position.

The candidates will be interviewed throughout the month of July by the board before a decision is made.

“We are in good hands under Mr. Gallutia’s very capable leadership,” Jessamine County Board of Education Chairwoman Amy Day said in a statement. “The board is dedicated to ensuring that this is a smooth transition, and that we take the appropriate time to select the best possible candidate to be our next superintendent.”