Westerville City Schools narrows superintendent search to three candidates
Westerville City Schools has narrowed its search for a new superintendent to three candidates and plans to make a final decision soon.
The district's Board of Education, which hired the Illinois-based firm Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates to help in the selection process, received applications from 19 people to become the district’s next leader.
The finalists are: Joseph P. Clark, superintendent of Nordonia Hills City Schools, Summit County; Cameron M. Ryba, superintendent of Strongsville City Schools, Cuyahoga County; and Adham C. Schirg, superintendent of Fairbanks Local Schools, Union County.
Westerville school board President Tracy Davidson said the board will make a final decision within two weeks.
Nearly 1,000 community members, staff and students provided input during the recruitment process, she said.
"I can’t thank them enough as their feedback truly helped inform and guide our decision-making process throughout this search for the district’s next Superintendent," Davidson said in a statement.
About the Westerville City Schools superintendent finalists
Joseph P. Clark, superintendent of Nordonia Hills City Schools, Summit County
Clark has been the superintendent of Nordonia Hills City Schools since 2011.
He previously served as an an assistant superintendent of Nordonia Hills City Schools; assistant superintendent for Kent City Schools; assistant principal, principal and assistant superintendent for Barberton City Schools; and high school English teacher for Springfield Local Schools. He also serves as a professor for the American College of Education, which is based in Indianapolis.
Clark has a master’s degree in educational leadership and a doctorate in K-12 leadership, with a focus in school law from Kent State University.
Cameron M. Ryba, superintendent of Strongsville City Schools, Cuyahoga County
Ryba has been superintendent of Strongsville City Schools since 2015 and previously served as the district’s assistant superintendent.
He also served as a high school principal for Copley-Fairlawn City Schools, an elementary and middle school principal and middle school assistant principal with Strongsville. Ryba began his educational career as a fourth-grade teacher in the Twinsburg City Schools.
Ryba completed his master of education degree in elementary education at Ohio State University and earned his doctorate in education from the University of Akron.
Adham C. Schirg, superintendent of Fairbanks Local Schools, Union County
Schirg has been superintendent of Fairbanks Local Schools since 2019.
He previously held several positions in the Worthington City School District, including principal of Worthington Academy and Phoenix Middle School, assistant principal and athletic director of McCord Middle School and dean of students at Worthington Kilbourne High School. Schirg also served as a middle school social studies teacher in Westerville City Schools.
He earned his master of arts degree in educational policy and leadership from Ohio State University and is currently pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership and policy through Miami University.
Former Superintendent John Kellogg left in June for another post
Former Superintendent John Kellogg announced in March that he would leave at the end of June to begin a superintendent-in-residence position with the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio and Columbus State Community College.
Kellogg, 60, led Westerville schools for the past decade, through an operating levy and bond issue in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
“We benefited from generating a strong candidate pool, which is due in large part to our district’s reputation and location in the highly-desirable central Ohio region,” Davidson said.
Mark Hershiser serves as the district's interim superintendent.
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the length of Joseph Clark's tenure as superintendent of Nordonia Hills City Schools. He has served in that role since 2011.
Peter Gill covers immigration, new American communities and religion for The Dispatch in partnership with Report for America. You can support work like his with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America at:bit.ly/3fNsGaZ.
pgill@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Three finalists selected in Westerville Schools superintendent search
