Buckeye Valley Board of Education President Amy Dutt announced Friday the board will be interviewing four applicants next week for the district’s superintendent position.
The four candidates were selected from a pool of 23 applicants this week and were announced in a press release. The candidates are Robert Britton, the current superintendent of Ridgedale Local Schools in Marion County; Paul Craft, former superintendent of Delaware City Schools and CEO at META (Metropolitan Educational Technology Association) Solutions; Benjamin Richards, the current superintendent of Valley View Local Schools in Montgomery County; and Eugene Thomas, the current superintendent of Lowellville Local Schools in Mahoning County.
Dutt said the board selected the four applicants because of their experience as superintendents and because they matched the search profiles that were developed based on input from the board, school staff, the community and students.
Dutt noted the board was “extremely pleased with the quality of all candidates for the position, but experience became key to the Board’s decision.”
The deadline for applications for the superintendent position was April 13, and the board went into executive session Wednesday to review candidates. According to a timeline on the district’s website, the next step will be initial interviews on April 27 and 28 with final interviews taking place May 11. The timeline states the board will then approve the employment of the final candidate May 18 with an estimated start date of Aug. 1, 2022.
According to the district’s site, the ideal candidate must “be committed to the highest personal and professional standards and exhibit leadership in the district and community.”
“The Superintendent must maintain integrity and high standards of ethics in all matters,” the district states on its website.
The vacancy was formally announced earlier this year after former Superintendent Dr. Andy Miller announced in December 2021 he would be stepping down from the role due to a health diagnosis. Dr. Jeremy Froehlich, the assistant superintendent, has been serving as interim superintendent since Jan. 1.
