LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — The person who will likely be Lexington School District Two's next superintendent came close to getting the job before.
The school board voted on Thursday to offer the position to Dr. Brenda Hafner "subject to mutually agreed upon terms and conditions." If those terms and conditions are met, Hafner won't be traveling too far.
According to information released by Lexington Two, Hafner has previously served as chief of schools for the Sumter School District and as both an administrator and building principal at Richland Two.
On top of that, Hafner was actually a finalist for the position in 2020 and interviewed with the board then.
"At that time, district stakeholders communicated their vision and priorities for a superintendent, and the board was impressed with Dr. Hafner's qualifications and experience," the district said in a statement released on Friday.
Hafner sat before the board on Thursday to again interview for the position.
Lexington Two also shared details regarding Hafner's education and background on Friday.
Hafner is a University of South Carolina bachelor's degree recipient who earned her master's degree in teaching for secondary and middle-level social studies from The Citadel. She received a doctoral degree in education leadership from Nova Southeastern University.
Hafner's teaching career began in 1998 at E.L. Wright Middle School in Richland Two before she went to Darlington County. She would return to Richland Two in 2002 and eventually be tapped for a leadership role as assistant principal at E.L. Wright Middle. She also served as principal of Blythewood Middle School beginning in 2009 and then Blythewood High School in 2014 where the system credited her with helping increase graduation rates from 86 to 94 percent.
She joined the Sumter School District in 2018 and served as an assistant superintendent and chief of schools in support of 27 schools.
Hafner will officially take over the role of superintendent on July 1 but will also be introduced to the community in the weeks to come.