BELLVILLE — The Clear Fork Valley Local school board has narrowed its candidate list for interim superintendent to two finalists.
Supt. Kevin Kimmel of the Mid Ohio Educational Service Center confirmed that Steve Mohr and John Thomas are the two finalists for the position.
The Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center (MOESC) is aiding Clear Fork in its search. Eleven people applied for the position, which has a start date of August 1 “or earlier” according to the initial job posting.
The board met Monday to interview candidates. The school board will conduct a second round of interviews Thursday. Staff and representatives from a citizen committee will also have a chance to interview candidates and provide feedback to the board.
John Thomas
John Thomas holds a bachelor’s in education from Bowling Green State University and a master’s in educational administration from Akron State University.
Thomas has 55 years of experience in education, including 50 as an administrator. He has served as the superintendent of Crestview Local Schools, the Alliance City School District and Delaware City Schools.
Since officially retiring in 2003, he’s worked as an educational consultant for more than 200 school districts. He has also held interim administrator roles throughout the region.
Thomas has been interim superintendent for multiple nearby school districts, including Mansfield City Schools, Madison and West Holmes. He served as an interim elementary school principal for Danville Local Schools in Knox County in 2022. He currently serves as an interim elementary principal for Lexington Local Schools.
“As an interim administrator, I have experience working with all teachers, staff and administrators to bring calm and restore hope and enthusiasm for the task of working with children in the district,” Thomas wrote in his letter of interest.
“I have helped the Boards in my interim capacity to know what their employees are looking for in the next leader by interviewing every employee and asking them what they are looking for, and then reporting this information to the Board prior to their beginning their search.”
Steve Mohr
Steve Mohr holds a bachelor’s in health and physical education from Heidelberg University and a master’s in education administration from Ashland University.
Mohr has worked in education for more than 27 years. He spent nine years as the superintendent of Wynford Local Schools. Prior to that, he spent nine years at Colonel Crawford Local Schools, where he worked as junior high school principal, high school assistant principal, athletic director and transportation director.
“Twenty five of my 37 plus years as an educator were spent in districts similar to Clear Fork – rural, small town, conservative communities,” Mohr wrote in his letter of interest.
Mohr said that while superintendent at Wynford, he remained active in community organizations like the Crawford Partnership for Education and Economic Development, the local Rotary club and Good Hope Lutheran Church.
Since retiring from education, he has become a certified member of the Maxwell Leadership Team and conducted more than 300 leadership and personal growth presentations to students, teachers, administrative teams, businesses, churches and government entities.
“If selected for this position, I would consider it my responsibility and a priority to develop the professional growth of the staff and the leadership teams at Clear Fork,” he wrote.
Other applicants for Clear Fork interim superintendent
The other candidates who applied for the position were:
Alicia McKee, the current middle school principal at South Central Local Schools. She began her career as a school counselor in 1997. She holds master’s degrees in school counseling, education psychology and administration.
Andrew Buck, an education research scientist at The Ohio State University. Buck holds a masters in educational policy and leadership and PhD in educational policy from the Ohio State University.
Benjamin Bethea, a real estate investor and independent insurance broker. Bethea worked for Clear Fork Valley Local Schools from 2002 to 2015 and the Northmor Local School District from 2015 to 2019.
Dave Danhoff, the high school and middle school principal at Seneca East Local Schools. Danhoff worked as a school superintendent in various districts for 22 years.
Doug Potts, a technology instructor at Mansfield City Schools. Potts has worked in education since 1987, serving as a special needs educator, administrator and coach.
Jennifer Klaus, principal of Clear Fork Middle School since 2014. Klaus also served as special education co-coordinator from February 2020 to 2021. Prior to her administrative career, she taught family and consumer science at Ontario Middle School and Clear Fork High School.
Jerry Herman, a teacher at Indian Valley Local Schools. Herman has eight years of experience as a superintendent in small, rural districts and six years of experience as a principal.
Susan Hayward, who retired as assistant superintendent of personnel at South-Western City Schools earlier this year. She has previously served as superintendent of Fredericktown Local Schools and Washington Local Schools.
Todd Boggs, superintendent of Perkins Local Schools since 2018. Prior to that, Boggs spent nearly five years as superintendent of the Osnaburg Local School District.
Why an interim superintendent?
Supt. Janice Wyckoff’s contract with the district expires on July 31.
Kimmel said districts that have gone through a period of turmoil often hire an interim superintendent before selecting a long-term leader. He said a position like the one Clear Fork offers will likely be attractive to recently retired, experienced leaders who may not want to commit for more than a year or two.
“The board felt at this point that they needed to bring somebody in on an interim basis before launching a search for a permanent superintendent,” Kimmel said.
“There’s a benefit to having someone who has that wealth of experience to really come in and calm the district, set things in place.”
