The next installment in the local superintendent shake up is Clear Fork Valley Schools. In their August 6 meeting, the school board accepted the resignation of Dr. Matthew Dill and named Dave Ritter the interim Superintendent. His first day on the job was August 7.
Dave Ritter is neither stranger to the interim role, nor to Clear Fork schools. Since his retirement from Huron schools, Ritter has helped districts as an interim superintendent for 16 years.
After Dan Freund left Clear Fork for Mansfield Schools three years ago, Ritter stepped in as interim superintendent then and is happy to return today. Thanks to his experience with that former appointment, he and Dill already have a working relationship that will facilitate a smooth transition for the district.
Dill served as superintendent for two and a half years. Under his leadership the district continued to receive a rating of Excellent on the Ohio State Board of Education local report card. The rating was first attained under the leadership of Freund. During Dill’s tenure test scores continued to rise, and the teachers at Clear Fork High School attained their highest teacher ratings last year. Dill also significantly increased student safety through measures implemented throughout the district. His safety efforts were no small feat. He is credited with bringing local law enforcement, fire and other services together in innovative ways that increased communication.
According to school board president Gary Mathes, “He accomplished a heck of a lot.”
The next superintendent will have some big shoes to fill, and he or she will do so early in 2014. More than half of the existing school board will turn over this January and the board agrees that it isn’t in the district’s best interest for the new superintendent to be selected by a lame duck board. A search committee will be formed shortly and that committee will begin the task of identifying candidates. The new board will conduct interviews after the first of the year.
Clear Fork Valley Schools’ first day is August 21 and the staff and administration are busy preparing for yet another successful year. With 20 new hires, they will be busy, but Mathes wants one message to be crystal clear, “Assure parents that as always, the education of their children is our number one priority.”
