Charles Broughton used to think he’d retire as a coach and teacher. Now he’s getting ready to serve as the next superintendent for Daviess County Public Schools. Among Broughton’s priorities are listening to the needs of leaders across the district, maintaining transparency and communication with the public, and continuing to recruit and retain top-level teachers.
The DCPS Board of Education unanimously voted to name Broughton to the position during a special meeting Tuesday at Daviess County Middle School, with dozens of district leaders in attendance. Broughton will assume his responsibilities on July 1, following the retirement of current Superintendent Matt Robbins.
“I think right now it means more than I can comprehend honestly,” Broughton said after the meeting. “This district means a lot to me, professionally and personally. My kids have gone through it. The opportunities that I’ve had just as an educator and as a leader have been second to none. To have the opportunity to lead this district come July 1 is truly a dream come true.”
But it wasn’t always a dream to hold such an esteemed administrative position. His journey in education began as a coach and teacher years ago, and he was comfortable in those roles. The opportunity arose to get into administration, and he’s steadily climbed the ranks ever since.
“This is the only district that I have pursued being a superintendent for. I’ve had maybe some opportunities in the past few years, but it wasn’t like this life goal of mine to be a superintendent,” Broughton said. “To be the superintendent for Daviess County Public Schools, that is something that I couldn’t have ever dreamed of. (But) when Mr. Robbins announced his retirement, then the wheels started turning. I felt I would be regretful forever if I didn’t pursue it. I’m thankful that I did.”
Broughton has an extensive history with DCPS. He is the current assistant superintendent for Student Services and has previously served the district as Director of Secondary Schools, principal at Apollo High School, and teacher at Daviess County High School.
“I feel like because I’ve been part of the district for so long, I know a lot about it,” Broughton said. “But as I’ve learned through the years, moving that next seat over changes a lot of things.”
Broughton plans to meet weekly with Robbins — someone he considers a mentor — as he prepares to move into that seat.
“That’s probably going to be one of the primary aspects of the next several months is just making sure I’m on the same page of where we are as a district, and then talk about things we want to do moving forward,” Broughton said. “I appreciate his straightforwardness, his transparency, his logical approach. … I do think there are a lot of similarities in how we think. There are things I thought ‘you know, what, I might have done it that same way’ and to see him do it made me feel better that maybe I can do this.”
Broughton also plans to have conversations with each school building principal, with each board member, and with district leadership.
“I feel like I know them very well, but now that I’m in this role, I want to make sure that I hear them, and that they know I’m listening,” he said. “If there are things that they feel like we could do better, I want to give them that opportunity. That’ll be a priority for me, to sit down with our school and district leaders over the coming months.”
Broughton said one of the biggest issues DCPS faces is dealing with the budget and the amount of funding from the state level. He said the amount of funding plays a critical role in providing opportunities to draw the best candidate to DCPS.
“We want to attract the best, and to do that we’ve got to be able to have attractive salaries,” he said. “… It’s always important that you do everything you can to hire the best people because you’re going to get better or worse based on who you hire. I believe Daviess County Public Schools is a great place to work, and I hope others feel that same way.”
When it comes to students and families, Broughton said that safety, transparency, and communication are all priorities.
“Making sure that the families and the community know what we’re doing, it’s incumbent upon me to make sure we’re doing that very, very well,” he said. “I think our district does that well now, and I want to at least stay there if not build upon that.”
Broughton said he knows there will likely be growing pains but he’s excited to be the next leader for DCPS.
“I’m sure there’ll be bumps,” he said. “It won’t be because I have not put my best effort into it. I care about this community, I care about this district, and I want to do everything possible to make sure it continues to move forward.”
