Cedar Springs — Two candidates vying to be the next superintendent of Cedar Springs Public Schools are moving on to a second round of interviews with the board of education.
After interviewing three candidates on Oct. 12, the board has selected two finalists: Randy Barton, assistant superintendent of Mason Public Schools, and Ryan Biller, superintendent of Tri County Area Schools.
Barton and Biller will be interviewed during a special meeting set for 6:15 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19 at Cedar Springs High School, 5212 17 Mile Road. The specific interview schedule has yet to be determined, but updates can be found on the district’s superintendent search website.
The district is also arranging a meet-and-greet with the candidates sometime on Oct. 19. Time and place information will be released on the search website in the coming days.
The Finalists
Randy Barton has been the assistant superintendent of Mason Public Schools since 2023. Prior to that, he spent several years with Ovid-Elsie Area Schools, where he served as interim superintendent from 2022 to 2023, associate superintendent and director of curriculum and instruction from 2018 to 2022, and elementary and secondary building principal from 2011 to 2018.
Ryan Biller has been the superintendent of Tri County Area Schools since 2024. Before that, he was a high school principal with McBain Rural Agricultural Schools from 2018 to 2024.
Biller also served as high school and alternative education principal for Harrison Community Schools from 2016 to 2018, and was an assistant junior high school principal with Cadillac Area Public Schools from 2013 to 2016.
Barton and Biller topped an initial list of 24 applicants in a search process that got underway following the announcement of Superintendent Scott Smith’s impending retirement.
“We thank all 24 candidates who showed an interest in our district,” said CSPS Board President Heidi Reed in a message to SNN. “We are honored.”
The district stated in July that it hopes to make a hire by the end of October. Smith’s last day will be Dec. 31, and the new superintendent is expected to start on Jan. 1, 2027.
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