Creating Opportunity Through Connection: A Profile of a Visionary in Rural Education Leadership

Representing diverse public sector voices from across the country, NCSI’s Advisory Committee members bring a wealth of expertise and experience from the field that has helped shape NCSI’s priorities. Over the course of this year, we are featuring Advisory Committee members speaking about insights gained through their work to drive school infrastructure improvements. Here we interviewed Brad Rohrbach, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services for Porterville Unified School District in Porterville, CA, to hear about the ways that creative partnerships can translate into student and community success.

In the heart of California’s Central Valley, Brad Rohrbach is reimagining what it means to serve a community—not just by managing school district budgets and facilities, but by weaving together learning, opportunity, and partnerships in ways that are both visionary and practical. 

Raised in Porterville—located halfway between Fresno and Bakersfield—Rohrbach left briefly for college and a successful stint in public accounting. But the pull of home—and a desire to give back—led him to return. His early years in a small school district as a business manager taught him what it means to wear many hats. That experience proved invaluable as he transitioned to a larger and more complex role as Assistant Superintendent of Business Services for Porterville Unified School District.

What sets his leadership apart isn’t just his ability to manage multimillion-dollar budgets or oversee departments ranging from facilities to student nutrition to transportation and risk management. It’s his unwavering focus on how every decision ultimately serves one goal: creating opportunities for the kind of education that changes lives.

He also leads with pragmatic resilience that turns constraint into creativity. Despite certain challenges—such as multiple unsuccessful local bond measures—he and his team continue to push forward. “We’re trying to do what we can with what we have,” he says.

This mindset has led to creative solutions in facilities management, energy efficiency, and student engagement, proving that even without ideal funding, schools can still be places of innovation and hope.

One of the most defining elements of his leadership is a deep commitment to creative facilities use. Under his guidance, the school district has collaborated with city government, nonprofits, and regional agencies to align on innovative solutions to communitywide challenges. In one case, a dormant school property was sold to the City of Porterville to become a navigation center for individuals experiencing homelessness—a win-win that reflects the district’s commitment to community wellbeing.

Another standout example is the partnership with Climate Action Pathways for Schools, a statewide nonprofit that supports Porterville’s ambitious energy sustainability initiatives by  creating a ten year climate action roadmap to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These collaborations have enabled the district to secure grants from the Department of Energy, CAL FIRE, and others, funding both infrastructure upgrades and student learning experiences.

Rohrbach also pushes for joint use in Porterville’s school buildings, for example installing a branch of a local credit union in one of the high schools. The branch is the only student-run credit union facility in the nation and provides financial literacy and career exploration to students while simultaneously serving the broader Porterville community as a fully functioning financial institution. Plus, Rohrbach notes, the public-facing ATM invites community members on to the school campus, positioning that school facility as a valuable asset to the community—not just to the district.

Rohrbach doesn’t stop with Porterville’s real estate portfolio: he sees the entire community as “infrastructure for learning.” Porterville supports 14 different career-themed pathways—real, tangible avenues for learning that connect classroom education to real-world careers. This hands-on, community-embedded learning empowers students to visualize, prepare for, and pursue meaningful careers by connecting their classroom learning to the workplace.

One particularly promising development is the district’s partnership with Kaweah Health, offering internship slots across 20 departments of the regional health provider. To ensure students can take advantage of these internships, the district recently added a microtransit solution through a California Mobility and Schools grant—literally removing barriers to educational and career-oriented opportunities.

These pathway examples reflect a belief that learning should be expansive and inclusive, opening doors regardless of a student’s starting point. “College begins in kindergarten,” Rohrbach recalls a former superintendent saying, and it’s a mindset he’s taken to heart.

At the core of his work is a simple but powerful belief: “Creating opportunities and changing lives.” It’s more than a mission statement—it’s the lens through which every project, every partnership, every pathway is evaluated.

This leader’s journey—from small-town beginnings to big-picture impact—shows how commitment, flexibility, and strategic partnership can redefine what’s possible in public education. He doesn’t just manage a system; he nurtures a network of people, programs, and possibilities, each connected by the shared goal of helping students thrive.

In a time when educational systems are challenged like never before, his work in Porterville serves as a compelling example of what it looks like to lead with heart, humility, and an eye on the future.