The state superintendent is the top administrator for ODE, which oversees the school funding system, develops academic standards, manages state achievement tests and school report cards, and handles licensing of teachers and other education personnel.
The seven finalists are: Stephen Dackin, Larry Hook, Thomas Hosler, Finn Laursen, David Quattrochi, Kimberly Richey and Ronnie Tarchichi, according to the ODE.
Ohio’s interim superintendent is Stephanie K. Siddens, who assumed office on Sept. 25, 2021. She replaced Paolo DeMaria, who was state superintendent for the last five years before he retired in 2021, eventually becoming president and CEO of the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE).
Siddens, who until 2021 served as ODE’s senior executive director of the Center for Student Supports, did not apply for the superintendent job.
Hook assumed the Springboro superintendent role in August 2020 after serving as the superintendent of Carlisle Local Schools for 10 years.
Hook received his Masters of Education from Xavier University and previously served in Milford Exempted Village Schools, according to the Springboro schools website.
“I really feel like I have something to offer the children of the state of Ohio,” Hook said.
Hook said the job was not something he aspired to, but something that came at the right time.
Hook’s contract with Springboro is up at the end of July 2023.
Montgomery County Educational Service Center superintendent Shannon Cox applied for the job but was not listed as one of the finalists.
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