28 people want to be Ohio's next chief of public education

Ohio is searching for a new person to carry out its education policies as state superintendent and so far 28 people have applied.

The list of candidates includes:

• Superintendents from districts in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia.

• A former U.S. Department of Education official.

• Several people who work for charter or private schools.

• Steve Dackin, the former vice president of the State Board of Education.

Dackin, who was part of the committee searching for a new state superintendent, resigned at the end of February.

His departure from the board leaves an open position that Republican Gov. Mike DeWine will have to fill in the coming weeks.

That's no small task given that DeWine requested the resignations of two appointed board members in October after they refused to repeal an anti-racist resolution.

Many of the applicants referenced the recent upheavals in public education when applying. They also mentioned COVID-19 restrictions and mask mandates and the culture war over how topics such as racism and slavery are taught.

Former State Superintendent Paolo DeMaria retired in September, and Stephanie Siddens has filled the position on an interim basis ever since.

Here is the list of current candidates:

1. Rodriguez Broadnax, superintendent of Clintondale Community Schools in Michigan

2. Shannon Cox, superintendent of Montgomery County Educational Service Center

3. Steve Dackin, superintendent of school and community partnerships for Columbus State Community College

4. Olympia Della Flora, associate superintendent for school development of Stamford Public schools in Connecticut

5. Lindy Douglas, superintendent of Alexander Local School District

6. Richard Duncan, superintendent of Roane County Schools in West Viriginia

7. Benjamin Edmondson, superintendent of Romulus Community Schools in Michigan

8. India Ford, Ed Innovations Management, LLC

9. Richard Fulkerson, chief administrative officer for Muskingum Valley Health Centers

10. Michelle Grimm, high school counselor for Dover City Schools

11. Larry Hook, superintendent of Springboro Community City School District

12. Thomas Hosler, superintendent of Perrysburg Exempted Village Schools

13. Jennifer Judkins, assistant state superintendent for the Maryland Department of Education

14. Finn Laursen, educational consultant for Christian Educators Association International

15. Dewayne McClary, senior director at Digital Global Promise

16. Crystal Middleton, teacher at Oak Hill Elementary

17. Teresa Moon, instructional leadership specialist (PPIS) for the Department of Defense

18. Jonathan Moore, deputy superintendent for the Nevada Department of Education

19. Lawrence Paska, director of the National Council for the Social Studies in Maryland

20. Heather Peske, senior associate commissioner for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

21. John Pfeiffer, employee at Ohio Office of Budget Management

22. David Quattrochi, superintendent of Carollton Village Exempted School District

23. Kimberly Richey, president of RealignEd, LLC

24. Zito Daniel Sabonete, superintendent of public instruction in Zambézia

25. Richard Schroeder, associate partner at the International Center for Leadership in Education in Massachusetts

26. Arthur Stellar, founder of Stellar Advantage

27. Ronnie Tarchichi, superintendent of Pennsauken Public Schools in New Jersey

28. Asheer Tashfeen, assistant superintendent of Zenith Academy Schools

Anna Staver is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Who applied to be Ohio state superintendent? Here's a list