It’s no secret West Geauga Schools Board of Education and superintendents haven’t had the best of luck securing a lasting relationship over the past few years.
So what’s different this time?
There was no split vote. Tuesday night, the school board voted unanimously in favor of Richard Markwardt to take the helm of the district.
Markwardt, currently the superintendent of Beachwood Schools, said he feels “very honored” to have been selected from a large pool of applicants.
He acknowledged the rocky history between the school boards and former superintendents, but he believes the board’s full backing of his hiring as well as the fact everyone is on the same page will make the difference this time around.
“I am very encouraged by the fact that my hiring was a 5-0 vote. And, I’m very glad that’s what it was,” Markwardt said after the special board meeting. “I think that what we have to focus on is the present and future.
“I think that one of my strongest qualities is my ability to build teams. I’m a very direct person, but I’m a very supportive person and I tend to be able to identify strengths in people and to harness those strengths. I am hopeful that people will do the same with me, that they will look at my strengths and also be able to capitalize on those strengths.”
He added, “I think the time for this district to move forward is now because I think it’s what the board desires. I think the board was determined to bring someone in that they felt would work with all the elements in the community and get us all to pull together toward a common goal. The fact the board (members all) agreed on the hiring … is very encouraging to me. It’s an endorsement and a responsibility at the same time. They expect good things of me and I’m determined to provide those to the best of my ability.”
The school board chose Markwardt, who lives in Troy Township with his wife, Nancy — a second-grade teacher at Ravenna Schools, out of 30 applicants.
“After a thorough process, which included school and community focus groups, a professional screening, extensive reference checks and extended interviews, we believe we’ve found the best person for our district and our community,” said board President Dan Thoreson in a statement. “We are very pleased to offer a contract to Dr. Markwardt. In addition to serving as Beachwood’s superintendent, he brings experience and a great track record in student achievement, school facility management, curriculum and instruction, safety and crisis management, and budget management.”
Prior to the vote, Thoreson expressed gratitude for the high quality of applicants the district received for the position.
“It also says something about Dr. Markwardt that he stood above 30 candidates quite clearly and we’re really proud to be able to offer him this contract,” he said.
The job is a homecoming of sorts for Markwardt. He served as superintendent of Berkshire Schools for five years prior to taking his post in Beachwood in 2004.
He also served in a variety of administrative positions in the Ravenna school district.
“I’ve lived in Geauga County for 17 years. So, I know the county very well. I know the institutions, I know the leaders, I know the traditions, I know the history, so that makes me, I think, a pretty understandable choice because I already know so much about Geauga County,” Markwardt said. “But then I’m also in with the districts that are considered some of the top districts in the state, those eastern suburban districts, you know, the Beachwoods, the Oranges, the Chagrin Falls, the districts that are very, very successful districts (with) academic achievement amongst their students.”
He said he believes West Geauga wants to get to that level and he doesn’t see any reason why it’s not there.
“I think that as we all work together and harness our resources and move in the same direction, we’re going to see West Geauga up there at the very top of the state within the next few years,” he said.
As for immediate priorities, Markwardt said he believes putting together a vision with “specific achieveable goals” is key.
The first thing to do is build a team, which will include board members, teachers, community members and students so that everyone will “buy into that vision,” he said.
“So the board will set the vision, the board will establish the goals, I will help harness the energy and hopefully help to create the synergy that will get us to those goals,” Markwardt said.
Another obvious focus for him is the overall district performance index.
“It is the most accurate indicator of how a district is doing in terms of its obligation to educate its children,” he said. “With that said, that can’t be the only indicator.”
Markwardt said the district has to also focus on the cultural needs, safety needs, security needs and emotional needs of the students.
“So I want a student who goes to West Geauga to have an extremely well-balanced education, one that stresses both the cognitive aspects of learning and also the affective aspects of learning and if we can address both of those areas, then I think we will be able to provide one of the finest educations for students in the State of Ohio,” he said.
Markwardt will start his three-year contract on June 15, replacing interim Superintendent Mike Nutter, who took over after former Superintendent Geoff Palmer was reassigned to special projects in 2014.
Markwardt will make $135,000 annually.
The board also thanked Nutter for his help in taking “the ship” over and providing guidance when it was most needed.
“We really have appreciated his leadership, we’ve appreciated all he has done for the district,” Thoreson said before looking over at Nutter. “We are just very thankful for all you’ve done to this point. We appreciate you helping us in this transition period with our next superintendent.”
Markwardt joked people had thought it was a stretch for him to take the Beachwood position, yet he grew up in Amherst, N.Y., which is a similar suburb to Beachwood.
He said the same can be said for his transition to West Geauga, having lived in Geauga County for 17 years, farming in the county, owning horses and being a fixture at The Great Geauga County Fair.
“I asked my daughters one time, which is more me, the me that you see in the designer suit in Beachwood or the me that you see with work boots and a sleeveless T-shirt?” Markwardt said. “They said, ‘They’re both you dad, but we’re used to seeing you in the sleeveless T-shirt with the work boots.'”
He added, “I think I bring an understanding of both dimensions to the job here and I think that’s one of the reasons, to be honest, that the board hired me.”
He said he not only is focused on academic achievement and providing a well-rounded educations for kids, but also has his “feet very much grounded in my work boots and jeans.”
“I’m determined to do my very best for this district and for the students of West Geauga,” Markwardt added.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Houghton College in Houghton, N.Y. with a major in history and a minors in philosophy and secondary education. His master’s degree in history and doctorate in educational administration are from Kent State University.
In February 2012, Markwardt published a children’s book, “Sometimes Life Just Doesn’t Seem Fair.”
He called it a “character education book” that is designed to show kids not to focus so much on what happens to them, but on how they treat others.
The 24-page rhyming book is aimed at children between ages of 4 and 7.