Guymon assistant superintendent named Oklahoma statewide administrator of the year

Julie Edenborough’s impact in Guymon has shown up in the places families notice first: on bus routes, in school hallways, in counseling offices and in the long-range plans that keep a growing district moving. The assistant superintendent for Guymon Public Schools was named the 2026 Oklahoma Association of School Administrators State Assistant Superintendent and Central Office Administrator of the Year, putting a Texas County educator in the statewide spotlight.

Edenborough was also selected as the District 1 honoree and will be recognized at the Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration Summer Leadership Conference on May 27-29. OASA announced the statewide winners on May 11. The award is meant to recognize more than a job title. It reflects leadership in educational philosophy, human relations, professional growth and the ability to support others, the kind of work that often determines whether a district can keep classrooms staffed, services steady and facilities open.

In Guymon, that work touches almost every corner of the district. Edenborough oversees transportation, maintenance, facilities, enrollment, federal programs and compliance for a system that serves about 3,000 students across multiple campuses in the Oklahoma Panhandle. The district’s central office includes roles such as chief financial officer, federal programs specialist, enrollment center specialist and human resources director, a reminder that the administrative load behind one school district is broad and constant.

Her record also extends into student wellness. Edenborough helped lead an opioid abatement initiative that expanded prevention education, counseling and mental health support through a multi-tiered system of support in a region with limited providers. That effort came as the Oklahoma Opioid Abatement Board awarded $2.5 million in grants in November 2024 to help curb the state’s opioid crisis, part of a wider push to reduce harm through treatment, recovery, education and supply reduction.

Edenborough also helped secure a $50 million U.S. Department of Energy cooperative agreement for Renewable Futures: Guymon Junior High School & Workforce Development Center, a project tied to a net-zero junior high school and workforce training. The district’s bond work has moved alongside that effort. About 70% of voters approved Guymon Public Schools’ $38 million bond package in 2024, funding a new 3rd and 4th grade center, a safe room at Stone Ridge Elementary, band improvements, more buses, playground updates and stadium bleachers. District transparency materials say Proposition 1 includes $34.89 million for the new grade center.

Edenborough had already been named the 2022 OASA District 1 Assistant Superintendent/Central Office Administrator of the Year, and the new honor shows that her influence has grown well beyond one campus or one budget cycle. For Guymon families, teachers and students, the award reflects something concrete: steadier operations, stronger support and a district that can plan for the next decade instead of just the next school day.