NEW CONCORD -- Jill R. Johnson earned the official sanction Wednesday as the next superintendent of the East Muskingum Local School District.
Formerly the assistant superintendent and lately the interim superintendent, Johnson accepted the three-year contract during a special meeting at 8 p.m. It takes effect Aug. 1.
"I want to thank you for believing in me," Johnson said after the board voted unanimously to promote her.
"We're looking forward to this lasting a long time," board Member Gail Requardt said.
"Congratulations," board Member Matt Abbott said. "Your past experience speaks for itself. I look forward to working with you at East Muskingum and keeping the legacy."
Noting that board members serve as the elected trustees, as it were, of the school district, board President Ken Blood said the board is charged with a variety of tasks.
"But there is nothing more important that we do than hiring a superintendent," Blood said.
"We talked a lot about what makes this district great and what we need in a superintendent. I agree that the process worked and that we picked the right person for the right job at the right time. Congratulations."
Because of the process used by the board, Johnson was the only candidate considered for the position.
Blood explained that the selection of a superintendent is a two-step process.
The first step is to open the vacancy to qualified applicants within the district. If the board is happy with the intra-district applicants, the process does not move to the second step which is soliciting applicants from outside the district.
Johnson was the only intra-district applicant to apply for the position.
"Just because she was the assistant superintendent, her hiring was not automatic," Blood said. "We put her through a thorough vetting process."
That process included a three-hour interview as well as an extended check of her references.
Interim superintendent since June 1, Johnson served East Muskingum as assistant superintendent for the four years previous.
Prior to that she served two years as the curriculum director at Tri-Valley Local Schools and four years as the principal at Frazeysburg Elementary School.
Before becoming an administrator, she taught for one, two and seven years, respectively at Northern, Tri-Valley and East Muskingum local schools.
A 1986 graduate of John Glenn High School, she received both her bachelor's and master's degrees from Ohio University and her superintendent's course work at Ashland University.
jlowe@daily-jeff.com
Comments