Granite School District superintendent Dr. Martin Bates has been selected among 41 district leaders to be named the 2016/17 Utah Superintendent of the Year.

“[Martin] is well known for his thoughtful analyses of complicated situations and thoughtful actions in helping both new and veteran superintendents,” said Utah School Superintendents Association executive director Terry Shoemaker. “He is seen as the go-to leader if one of them is struggling with a difficult matter.”

The high honor also means Dr. Bates will be considered for the National School Superintendent of the Year award, which will be announced in March at the American Association of School Superintendents Convention in New Orleans.

Dr. Bates was appointed superintendent of Granite School District in 2010. Before his appointment he served as the district’s assistant superintendent over Administrative and Legal Services. He held previous school administrative positions in Granite, Provo and Salt Lake City school districts and taught math for two years in Provo School District.

From the late 1980s through the mid 1990s, he worked in classrooms at the Park View Center as an instructional assistant and later as teacher with children with severe emotional and learning disabilities. In 1991 he served a six-month deployment with the Utah National Guard during Desert Storm.