ORANGE COUNTY – The search continues for the next superintendent of the Orange County School System.

Donna Coffey, Chair of the Board of Education, says Dr. Del Burns was named as the interim superintendent in July.

“We needed to give ourselves enough time to get qualified applicants in and go through all of the resumes, look at them, and choose who we wanted to interview,” Coffey says.

Burns served as the superintendent for the Wake County Public School System from 2006 to 2010. Coffey says Burns will remain in the position until a permanent hire is found.

“Our original schedule called for us to name a superintendent in September and we started the process in late July and are working through that right now,” Coffey says.

Former Orange County Schools Superintendent Patrick Rhodes retired on June 30; he held the position since 2007 and also worked as a school teacher or administrator in North Carolina for 30 years.