The Columbus (Ohio) school board has chosen an administrator in a Cleveland suburb as its next superintendent.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that Talisa Dixon, who is is superintendent of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights district, was a unanimous selection to the lead the state's largest public school system.

Dixon, 49, also worked as a principal in the Columbus district for nine years.

She has 22 years of experience in education administration and is in her fifth year as top administrator in the 5,500-student Cleveland Heights-University Heights district. She has worked as an administrator in Saginaw, Mich., and as a principal in Akron, Ohio.

In selecting Dixon, the board passed over two other finalists, both of whom work just outside Washington, D.C.: Terry Dade, an assistant superintendent for Region 3 of the Fairfax County (Va.) Public Schools, and Ava Tasker Mitchell, an elementary instructional director with Prince George's County (Md.) Public Schools.

The district hopes that Dixon can take over as superintendent on or before Jan. 1, 2019.

She has a bachelor’s degree in sociology, master’s degrees in secondary education, educational administration and sociology, and a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Akron. 

Interim Superintendent John Stanford was one of six candidates named as semifinalists, but he did not make the final cut.

School Board President Gary Baker thanked Stanford “for addressing and advancing several key initiatives and launching our successful school year. We know he will keep this District on a mission-driven path that lays a firm foundation for our next superintendent.”

The previous superintendent, Dan Good, retired at the end of 2017.