BILLINGS - The Billings School Board voted to hire Erwin Garcia, area superintendent for the Houston Independent School District, to be the new superintendent of public schools.
The vote was unanimous with all nine board members voting in favor of Garcia.
Garcia was one of three finalists to replace Greg Upham, who is retiring at the end of this school year. The other two were Lewistown Superintendent Thom Peck and Brenda Koch, the executive director for K-12 for Billings Public Schools.
Koch was the board's second choice, and the board members voted unanimously to offer the job to her if Garcia declines.
The district must now draw up a contract offer to present to Garcia, which then would be approved by the board.
The base salary for the position is $205,000 with negotiation for the benefits, according to the board clerk and the human resources director.
The board chose Garcia after holding public interviews with all three candidates Wednesday night.
