Texarkana's Wildest Radio Station!
Texarkana's Wildest Radio Station!
July 14, 2026
TEXARKANA, Texas — Texarkana ISD Superintendent Dr. Doug Brubaker is leaving the district to lead Chesapeake Public Schools in Chesapeake, Virginia.
The district announced Monday that Brubaker has accepted the superintendent position in Chesapeake, a large Virginia division where he will succeed Dr. Jared Cotton, who is retiring after eight years there. Brubaker was confirmed by the Chesapeake School Board on Monday night on a 5-4 vote, following an extended national search.
Brubaker joined Texarkana ISD in January 2021. During his tenure, the district passed a $189 million bond program that delivered a new Pre-K center and a high school career and technology center — both, the district says, completed on time and under budget. TISD also saw a tenfold increase in the number of students graduating high school with an associate's degree, and its STEM-focused elementary school earned a No. 3 statewide ranking from U.S. News & World Report in 2025.
He also led a five-year strategic plan shaped by more than 2,000 hours of community input and was honored in 2025 with the Texarkana Area NAACP's Benjamin Dennis President's Award. Before Texarkana, Brubaker served as superintendent of Fort Smith Public Schools in Arkansas, part of a career spanning roughly three decades in Texas and Arkansas schools.
"It has been one of the greatest honors of my career to serve the students, staff, families, and community of Texarkana ISD," Brubaker said. "While I am excited for this new role, leaving Texarkana is very difficult. I will always be grateful for the relationships we've built together and for the opportunity to serve this remarkable district."
Board of Trustees President Amy Bowers congratulated Brubaker on the move. "We are grateful for his leadership, his commitment to our students, and the positive impact he has made on our district," she said. "While we will miss him, we wish him and his family nothing but the very best in this next chapter."
Brubaker will remain with Texarkana ISD during the transition as the board begins its search for the next superintendent.