Kettering schools name three finalists for superintendent

The Kettering school district has named three finalists for its superintendent opening, and all of them are superintendents at districts just outside of Montgomery County.

The finalists are Robert Hill of Springfield City Schools, Gabe Lofton of Xenia City Schools and Melinda McCarty-Stewart of Wilmington City Schools, according to district officials.

The finalists’ next round of interviews will be Tuesday with the school board. Kettering schools Treasurer Cary Furniss said there will be a separate event that day where K12 Business Consulting will facilitate “meet and greet” sessions between the finalists and an invited group of staff and community members.

Those meet and greets are closed to the general public, and school board members will not be present, according to Furniss. K12 Business Consulting will facilitate the sessions and then share feedback with the school board.

The new superintendent will replace Scott Inskeep, who plans to retire Aug. 1 after eight years as Kettering’s superintendent. The base annual salary range for the new superintendent is expected to be between $175,000 and $199,000.

In addition to the finalists’ current job roles, Lofton previously worked with the Cincinnati and Lakota school districts, as well as Wayzata schools in Minnesota. Hill has worked in numerous districts — Firelands and Olmsted Falls in northeast Ohio, as well as Columbus, Dublin and Grove City schools in central Ohio. McCarty-Stewart has worked in Wilmington and Mason schools since 1997. All three earned their bachelor’s degrees between 1993 and 2000.

The three candidates who made Kettering’s first cut but were not among the eventual finalists were Beavercreek assistant superintendent Bobbie Fiori, Mad River superintendent Chad Wyen and Versailles superintendent Aaron Moran.

Before the interview process, Kettering schools and K12 Business Consulting held a series of community and staff forums to gather input on what people were looking for in a superintendent.

Credit: Contributed

Credit: Contributed

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