ASHLAND – When Rick Ewing and his wife Jenn returned from Columbus to their hometown of Ashland in 2004, they were hoping to feel like part of a community again.
Ewing took a job as project and facilities manager at Ashland University, where he has since been promoted several times to his current role as vice president of facilities management and planning.
For many people, maintaining that job and being a father to eight kids would be plenty. But Ewing’s desire to serve his community led him to run for a seat on the Ashland City School board of education, a position he has held for three terms.
Ewing decided not to seek reelection and instead to turn his efforts to other areas of the community. He serves on the boards of Ashland Main Street and Ashland County-West Holmes Career Center and recently joined the city’s planning commission. His last Ashland City school board meeting is Monday, Dec. 18.
Looking back over the past 12 years, it’s clear the district has come a long way. Most visibly, Ashland built new middle and elementary schools as well as a new theater addition to the high school.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve done with our facilities, with the new middle school, with Reagan, with the auditorium here, but also the little things like the turf on the field, the renovations we’ve done at Edison and now moving to Taft,” Ewing said. “I’m very proud of my part in that, but that’s my expertise. That’s what I do.”
Ewing is especially proud of Archer Auditorium. Although the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission would not co-fund an auditorium to replace the old middle school’s McDowell Auditorium, the community made it a priority and agreed to fund it through a combination of private donations and local tax dollars.
“What I really like about Archer was that was outside the OFCC standard package if you will,” Ewing said. “This was an element that as a community we knew was important to us. We knew as well it was something that was going to be distinctive. It’s not something many school districts of our size can boast of a facility such as this.”
Even more than the buildings themselves, Ewing said he is proud of the direction the district is headed — looking ahead toward continuous improvement rather than looking back at the past or dwelling on problems.
When Ewing was elected to the board in 2005, the district was struggling.
“I think all districts have challenges. You have challenges financially. You have challenges with personalities in some respects. You have challenges with operations and just making ends meet,” Ewing said. “I wouldn’t say that the district was necessarily in a good place, but in my 12 years on the board I know there’s always challenges.
“How you respond to those challenges and move forward is really the key to being successful.”
The district board made leadership changes and enacted tough budget cuts. Then it set its sites on a plan to update facilities.
Ewing was a vocal advocate of a plan to build a new high school rather than a middle school, but that plan never came to fruition.
“It was all about matching what the district needs were with what the community was able to do or what the community valued… We found a solution that worked,” Ewing said.
After the bond issue for new schools passed in 2012, Ewing had a large role on the construction committees. Using his professional experience in facilities planning and project management, he was able to ask the right questions and suggest alternatives to improve quality and efficiency.
The outcome was a win not only for the schools but for all of Ashland, Ewing said.
“I think the new school buildings, like it or not, were somewhat of a catalyst for the community,” Ewing said. “It showed we can be successful, and it showed the hard work, the effort to get the bond issue passed to go through the construction and get us to the point where we are now, it’s paying dividends. Our school is now a very positive element of our community, and that helps bring other positive elements to our community.”
Ewing is excited about progress downtown and development in other areas of Ashland, including near the I-71 exit at U.S. 250.
“I want to continue to see the city grow and develop and change and mature,” Ewing said. “Those are things I’m excited about and want to participate in.”
As for the school board, Ewing said he feels it’s a good time for new voices, new perspectives and new passions to come to the table.
“It’s good to go out when things are good,” he said. “I’m not leaving because I’m running from something. I’m leaving because I feel that I’ve done a good job and I want to see others carry that on.”
Superintendent Doug Marrah said he will miss Ewing’s role on the board.
“What was really unique about him as a board member was he would always ask me great questions, and the feedback I received once I talked to him was always of a nature that it helped move the project forward,” Marrah said.
Ewing said he has learned a lot from his experience as a school board member.
“Hopefully I brought value to the school district, but this experience, this learning that I’ve done, has really helped me as well. So I’m thankful for the time I’ve been able to spend here,” he said.
