WBESC, Allen County ESC to share supt.

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

After months of planning and collaboration, the Western Buckeye Educational Service Center, serving Van Wert and Paulding counties, and the Allen County Educational Service Center have created a partnership under one shared superintendent.

Stephen Arnold, formerly superintendent of Wayne Trace Local Schools, has been hired to lead both organizations, beginning August 1 with the retirement of Allen ESC Superintendent Dr. Dean Wittwer. He will then take over the WBESC in the spring of 2017 when Superintendent Brian Gerber retires.

All 10 board members of the two entities interviewed Arnold before making the mutual decision to hire him.

Arnold has been Wayne Trace superintendent the past five years and was an administrator at Antwerp Local Schools for 14 years, which includes being athletic director, elementary/middle school principal, and junior-senior high school principal.

“I am honored to have been chosen for this position and look forward to this exciting and unique opportunity,” Arnold said. “I know I have big shoes to fill with the retirements of Dr. Dean Wittwer and Mr. Brian Gerber (and) I hope to continue the many outstanding programs that these men and their staffs have in place, with the goal of moving both ESCs forward in a very positive light.”

At the request of the two governing boards, Dr. Wittwer and Gerber developed criteria for the shared superintendent’s position. They sought a highly qualified candidate who had experience as a superintendent and understands, or is willing to learn, the business world of an Educational Service Center.

Previous school district superintendent’s experience was preferred, with the person hired agreeing to make a longevity commitment for the stability of both organizations. A small list of potential candidates was then created, and those people were invited to have conversations to seek their interest, then interviewed by both boards.

Both ESCs are similar in their organization and philosophy on how to serve their client districts. The collaboration is not a merger, but a partnership that both ESCs hope will allow them to increase their capacity in the following ways:

• Create a stronger network of collaboration with school psychologists, special education directors, curriculum directors, gifted education coordinators, and physical, occupational, and speech therapists.
• Create a stronger grant writing network, as both ESCs team together to secure potential and future grants.
• Local networking with superintendents and principals regarding programs, staffing, fiscal resources, evaluations, and negotiations.
• Bus driver inservice and training.
• Cost efficiency of sharing the salary and benefits of the superintendent.
• Serving all schools in Van Wert, Paulding, and Allen counties equally. No district will be shorted time or resources.

Arnold said he was looking forward to the challenge of heading both organizations.

“Having living in northwest Ohio my entire adult life, I have witnessed first-hand the great civic pride in the school districts of Allen, Paulding, and Van Wert counties,” he said. “I am very excited to have this opportunity and look forward to becoming a part of each school’s tradition.”

Arnold said one of his first goals is to further develop his professional relationship with the superintendents served by both ESCs.

“I know many of them well already, but I look forward to getting to know all of them in order to start the collaboration process,” he noted. “My main priority is to make the transition to a shared superintendent as smooth as possible for each school district in all three counties.”

Both current ESC superintendents said they are looking forward to this new partnership and new style of leadership, as the ESC continues to move forward in the 21st century of education.