{"id":207248,"date":"2026-06-24T23:00:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T04:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=207248"},"modified":"2026-06-24T23:00:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T04:00:48","slug":"leaser-stepping-down-from-van-wert-board-of-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2026\/06\/24\/leaser-stepping-down-from-van-wert-board-of-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaser stepping down from Van Wert Board of Education"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"
Van Wert City Schools Board of Education member Thaison Leaser is stepping down, effective June 30, with the board reluctantly accepting his resignation Wednesday night. Leaser took the oath of office in January of this year, but is moving just outside the school district. The board will soon begin accepting letters of interest from anyone interested in filling the season. The person chosen will be sworn in next month. Van Wert independent file photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A seat is coming open on the Van Wert City Schools Board of Education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Wednesday\u2019s monthly meeting, the school board accepted the resignation of board member Thaison Leaser, effective June 30. Leaser joined the board in January, replacing Scott Mull, who chose not to seek re-election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was just unfortunate timing,\u201d Leaser said of his pending departure. \u201cMy family and I purchased a house outside the district so I have to resign due to the residency requirements. It\u2019s not something I had planned on and I\u2019m definitely grateful for the short time I was able to be on the board.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Superintendent Mark Bagley lauded Leaser for his efforts and Board President Anthony Adams also offered praise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s made a huge impact,\u201d Adams said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adams said the board will begin accepting applications soon and will then hold special meetings interview applicants, with more information expected soon. If all goes as planned, a new member will be appointed at the July 22 meeting. The person chosen will fill the unexpired term, but will need to participate in a special election in November of 2027 for the remaining two years of the term that ends on December 31, 2029.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The board accepted the resignation of elementary school principal Tracy Wehner, then immediately approved a three-year contract for her as elementary school principal. She\u2019s replacing Justin Krogman, who\u2019s leaving for an administrative role in the Shawnee school system. Ty Wannemacher\u2019s resignation as a second grade teacher was accepted and he was then hired as elementary school administrative assistant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A long list of other personnel moves was approved, including the resignations of second grade teacher Kelsey Luthman, high school math teacher Emma Schmitmeyer and fifth grade teacher Tre Short. Christine Amstutz and Lindsay Bates were approved as Early Childhood Center paraprofessionals, along with Alysai Barnhart, third grade teacher; Faith Bruns, second grade teacher; Nicole Fry, elementary school secretary; Carson Shull, elementary counselor intern; Andrea Profit, high school paraprofessional, Dave Hohman, custodial\/maintenance worker; Spencer Adams, high school intervention specialist and middle school football coach, and Hunter Cunningham, elementary school cross-categorical intervention specialist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Three-year administrative contracts were approved for Director of Food Services John Marquez, Director of Technology Justin Bragg, Director of Transportation Benjamin Showalter, Marketing\/Public Relations Specialist Haley Michaud, Work-Based Learning Coordinator Adam Nygren, and Occupational Therapist Taylor Bendele.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other agenda items approved by the board were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • An overnight trip by the high school football team to East Harbor State Park in Lakeside Marblehead July 14-15.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • An agreement with the Wood County Juvenile Detention Center-Juvenile Residental Center of Northwest Ohio for the 2026-2027 school year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • A professional services agreement with Westwood Behavorial Health Center.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • A service agreement with Western Buckeye Educational Serfice Center.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • An agreement with New Tech Network July 1-June 30, 2028.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • An agreement with Gingo & Bair Law LLC to serve as the district\u2019s legal counsel.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The transfer of $5.2 million from the general fund to the capital projects fund.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Board members also heard a presentation by a group of student-athletes who qualified for regional and state competition and their coaches. They highlighted their respective seasons and explained what they do to succeed in the classroom and in athletics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The next regular meeting of the Van Wert City Schools Board of Education will be at 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 22, in the First Federal Lecture Hall at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent editor A seat is coming open on the Van Wert City Schools Board of Education. At Wednesday\u2019s monthly meeting, the school board accepted the resignation of board member Thaison Leaser, effective June 30. Leaser joined the board in January, replacing Scott Mull, who chose not to seek re-election. \u201cIt was just unfortunate timing,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-207248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-topstory"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-02 11:44:57","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207248"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":207256,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207248\/revisions\/207256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}