(Dr. Long) has assured us that educational leadership has to be a top priority. It is our priority. We believe it is his priority. I hope that we can embrace this choice.

We've also had the opportunity to work with Dr. Long for six years. We've seen him grow professionally. I have the utmost confidence that Dr. Long is the right choice for this job.

We conducted a couple of regional and nationwide searches a few years ago. The problem is you get to meet someone, but you really don't get to know somebody.

I believe that a year from now we will be discussing the same level of confidence we have here tonight, and the community will feel the choice was a good one, as does this board.

Sprint has an aggressive plan for mobile broadband leadership ... given the importance of high-speed data services as a revenue source, this is a bold and rewarding move.

You can't lead anyone else further than you have gone yourself.