30K+ student district in Alabama Hires Highly Experienced CTO
Baldwin County Public Schools
The chief technology officer of Baldwin County Public Schools (BCPS) is a director-level position, serving in the senior staff cabinet and reporting directly to the superintendent. Baldwin County is located in the southwest corner of the state, bordered by the Gulf of Mexico, Mobile Bay, Florida, and adjoining counties in Alabama. It is one of the largest counties in land area east of the Mississippi river — home to more than 220,000 residents — and is not only the fastest growing county in Alabama but also one of the fastest growing counties in the nation. Baldwin County is home to the first public school in Alabama, built in 1799 by the Tensaw community. The 46 (and counting) schools overseen by the Baldwin County Board of Education are located in seven areas identified as “feeder patterns,” the educational path a student takes from kindergarten through grade 12.
The chief technology officer oversees all facets of technology, which at BCPS is divided into four functional areas: instructional support, network, enterprise, and central office support. Each unit has a coordinator, and underneath them are talented professionals working at the central office, in regional zones, and at specific schools. With the current CTO retiring after ten years of service, BCPS sought an enterprise-minded tech leader undaunted by the scale of its program, which each year deploys 1:1 devices to all of its 31,000+ students and 4,000+ employees. At the same time, at this diverse district led by a self-described “blue-collar” superintendent in his 33rd year of service to Baldwin County, the CTO needed to have outstanding people skills and a relational approach to technology management.
BCPS was thrilled to hire Dr. Besancon to this position in early 2023. The CTO reports to the superintendent.
Meet the new leader
David joined Baldwin County Public Schools with over 26 years of experience in educational technology. He most recently worked at Jackson County School District in Mississippi, where he started as the director of IT before becoming the director of operations. Dr. Besancon has a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Southern Mississippi, an MBA from William Carey University, and Ph.D. of Higher Education Administration from University of Southern Mississippi.
