The Plano ISD Board of Trustees announced its lone finalist for superintendent at a special meeting on Thursday. Florida educator Brian Binggeli was welcomed to a room full of residents and city officials at the meeting which took place in the board's chambers. The board will appoint Binggeli on March 26 following a 21-day waiting period that began Thursday, March 5. Binggeli's start date is set for July 1. Working with a search firm and taking input from the community since November, the board received 103 applications from 43 states for the position. Binggeli will replace Richard Matkin who retired in January after 40 years in public education, 14 of those in PISD. "[Binggeli] has managed districts of size and understands the scale of Plano ISD," PISD Board President Nancy Humphrey said in a release. "He has worked to improve achievement among all students tempered with an unwavering expectation for excellence. The board also found value in his appreciation and understanding of higher education and its connection to our school community. I appreciate his expertise in fiscal management of a larger organization and feel he will understand the financial future of Plano ISD and our accountability to taxpayers." Currently superintendent of Brevard Public Schools in Viera, Florida., Binggeli holds 34 years of experience in public education. Prior to his current position, Binggeli was the cluster IV assistant superintendent for Fairfax County Public Schools in Falls Church, Virginia and was named Henrico County Public School's Instructional Leader of the Year in 2000. He began his career as a teacher in Elyria, Ohio in 1981 and served as a teacher, coach, assistant principal and principal in Virginia. Binggeli has also served as an adjunct professor on Virginia Tech's Educational Leadership and Policy Studies doctoral program and in the University of Virginia's administrative licensure program. He holds a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from Virginia Tech. He earned his master's degree from Virginia State and his undergraduate degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. "It is truly an honor and a pleasure to be here," Binggeli said. "[The process] really gave [me] a feel for who you are and what you believe in. I did a lot of research preparing for that interview process, including watching a year's worth of board meetings. What comes out of that is a community that supports education including public sector leaders – an active sector that wants to be committed to the mission. In the end the mission is that children have living hopes and dreams. If those things come together there's really nothing we can't accomplish."