By Joseph Pratt
Students of Valley Local School District will return to class Monday with a superintendent after all, after the board of education made a motion Wednesday evening to hire Valley alumnus Scott Rolfe for the position.
The school board accepted the formal resignation of Superintendent Carl McCrory at their regularly scheduled board meeting on July 15. McCrory left just before the school year to explore a new administrative position with the New Philadelphia School System. The board immediately reacted and went into negotiations with the South Central Ohio Educational Service Center (ESC) to locate a proper replacement.
The ESC and Valley Local Board of Education agreed on appointing the newly-named superintendent of the ESC, Sandy Mers, as the interim superintendent of Valley Local. The groups didn’t consider the decision to nominate Mers as interim for long, with her successful history in education and management as superintendent of Green Local Schools.
The groups spent the weeks interviewing nearly a dozen individuals, but ultimately decided to go into negotiations with Rolfe. All members of the board made a motion to accept him as the superintendent, with the exception of President Troy Gahm, who was out ill. Rolfe was granted a three-year contract at $90,000 a year.
Rolfe is currently employed at the ESC as a special education supervisor, where he works with all Scioto County Schools on various levels. As soon as the ESC can find someone to take over his responsibilities, he will be joining Valley.
He has trained many local professionals and has supervised 26 multiple disability and emotionally disturbed classrooms. During his time, he supervised over 60 employees and selected placement of over 200 students.
“Working at the ESC has been a wonderful experience; I have been able to expand my knowledge as an educator during my tenure in my current position,” Rolfe said. “The current administration has had a tremendous influence on me and has been very supportive with my decision to make this move.”
While he has spent many years as a professional in the ESC, he has had an ongoing relationship with the Valley Local School District, with a coaching record that goes back 20 years.
The board also accepted Rolfe’s resignation as assistant football coach and head basketball coach, just before approving him as volunteer for both positions.
Rolfe and his family have remained permanent residents within the school district and his kids, like himself, have enjoyed the Valley School District. Rolfe attended Valley and graduated in 1985. He then returned in 1989 to teach at the middle school for 16 years.
The new superintendent said he is excited to return to Valley Local Schools, this time with plenty of community support, modern buildings, and updated sports complexes.
“I would like to thank the Valley Local Board of Education for this opportunity; I am very excited to get back to the day-to-day operations at Valley,” he said. “There is a level of commitment the teachers, administration, board, and community members have that I feel makes this a special school district. I am looking forward to the journey we are about to begin with all of them.”
Reach Joseph Pratt at 740-353-3101, ext. 1932, or by Twitter @JosephPratt03.
