The Paradise Valley Unified School District has appointed an interim superintendent to start in July.

This comes amid other big changes for the district.

Current Superintendent Troy Bales announced his retirement in November.

That was less than a month before the district said it was considering closing four schools due to a decline in enrollment.

Bales has since been criticized both by the public and a governing board member for not being transparent in that decision-making process. A complaint has been filed to the Attorney General’s Office to determine whether or not open meeting laws were violated.

The board voted last week to close three schools at the end of this school year. That’s when Jason Reynolds will take over Bales’ position.

Reynolds was the superintendent of the Peoria Unified School District where he retired in 2023, but worked in Paradise Valley prior to that.

EDITOR'S NOTE: After this story was published, the Paradise Valley Unified School District wanted to clarify that Bales' retirement was not connected to the school closings.