Waynesville superintendent leaving school district

After 14 years, Wayne Local Schools Superintendent Pat Dubbs will be leaving the school district.

Dubbs is leaving for a new position with the Goshen Local Schools as director of college and career readiness. The Goshen Board of Education Monday approved the hiring of Dubbs to a two-year contract that begins on Aug. 1, according to Goshen Schools Superintendent Darrell Edwards. Edwards said Dubbs will receive an annual salary of $106,500.

Edwards said Dubbs will working with the district’s secondary staff and curriculum staff as well as the high school staff to ensure students are prepared for the workforce through internships and apprenticeships or for college or community college.

Earlier Monday evening, the Wayne Board of Education hired former high school principal Sam Ison as the assistant superintendent of schools. Ison will serve in that role from Aug. 1 through Sept. 5 to familiarize himself with the district and to ensure a smooth transition from the outgoing superintendent, according to Board President Jim Byers.

Starting Sept. 6, Ison will begin his duties as the interim superintendent for the 2022-23 school year until a permanent superintendent is selected or until July 31, 2023, whichever comes first, according to Ison’s new contract. He will receive a salary of $130,000.

Ison previously served as principal of Waynesville High School and retired in 2021, after serving as an educator for 42 years. Last school year, Ison served as the interim principal of the Warren County Alternative School. Prior to joining the Wayne Local Schools in 2017, Ison served four years as superintendent of the Middletown City Schools.

“We hope to start the search process in late fall or early winter to select a permanent superintendent, Byers said. “We’ll be working with the ESC (Warren County Education Service Center) and OSBA (Ohio School Boards Association).”

Byers said, “it’s sad to see him (Dubbs) go because he has done a lot for the district over the past 14 years.”

He also said it was nice that Ison was willing to help out the district by serving as interim superintendent.

This is the second time in the past two weeks that a Warren County school district has replaced a superintendent.

On June 30, the Springboro Board of Education awarded a five-year contract to deputy superintendent Carrie Hester as the new superintendent. She succeeds Larry Hook, who took over as superintendent in the Forest Hills School District.

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