Overla is leaving FR

FORT RECOVERY — The high school will be getting a new principal.

During a special meeting this morning, Fort Recovery School Board accepted the resignation of high school principal Bill Overla effective July 31.

Overla, who led Fort Recovery High School for two years, is leaving to become principal at Graham High School in rural New Paris, Ohio.

“I certainly want to thank Mr. Overla for his service the past two years,” said school board president Nick Wehrkamp. “He’s moving closer to home, so that’s certainly a good thing for him.”

“It’s a shame,” added vice president Greg LeFevre of losing Overla from the district’s administrative team.

Graham is about 20 miles east of Troy, where Overla lives and spent much of his career before coming to Fort Recovery. He said he’s making the move in large part to allow him to stay closer to family.

He added that Graham is similar to Milton-Union Exempted Village School District — it’s about 10 miles southwest of Troy — where he was a student from kindergarten through 10th grade and later served as athletics director.

“I felt very comfortable with their administrative time when I interviewed with them,” said Overla, who was hired for his new job last week and will start Aug. 1. “No matter where you go, it’s always about people. It’s about the people you’re going to work with on a daily basis.

“It just seemed like a good fit from that standpoint.”

After this morning’s brief meeting, Fort Recovery superintendent Larry Brown said the job will initially be posted internally to gauge whether there is any interest. If an in-house candidate is not identified, the job would be posted externally with a hiring committee assigned to evaluate and interview applicants.

In terms of qualifications for a new principal, Brown said it would be nice to have someone with experience and that “focus on the students is key.”

He added he’d like to see the next principal continue in Overla’s path, specifically in treating the high school as a family.

“Obviously we’ve had a lot of challenges,” said Brown, referencing the shutdown of schools because of the coronavirus pandemic. “We held together despite those challenges.”

Communication amongst the high school staff was key to that success, he said.

“Bill was really good at doing that,” Brown added.

Overla has drawn praise particularly for his handling of the high school graduation ceremony, which was transformed into an outdoor event with seniors walking across the Butler Street side of the high school in staggered fashion to receive their diplomas. Because of the success of that event, a follow-up in-person ceremony that was set for Sunday at Barrenbrugge Athletic Park has been canceled.

“I try to get back to the kids and see what they want and let them be a part of the process in terms of making decisions,” Overla said. “They all bought into what we were doing.”

Overla becomes the second FRHS principal in a row to leave after a two-year stint. He replaced Marcus Overman, who departed Fort Recovery after two years to become the principal for grades seven through 12 at New Bremen.

Before coming to FRHS, Overla served as a supervisor at Miami Valley Career Technology Center for two years. He spent the previous 11 years as assistant principal and head principal at Troy High School.

“It’s been great,” he said of his time at Fort Recovery. “This is a great school. It’s got great kids. Whenever you’ve got great kids, it’s no secret how that happens. It’s because of the parents and people who make up the town. …

“I can’t be any more thankful for how they supported me in my time here.”erla for his service the past two years,” said school board president Nick Wehrkamp. “He’s moving closer to home, so that’s certainly a good thing for him.”

“It’s a shame,” added vice president Greg LeFevre of losing Overla from the district’s administrative team.

Graham is about 20 miles east of Troy, where Overla lives and spent much of his career before coming to Fort Recovery. He said he’s making the move in large part to allow him to stay closer to family.

He added that Graham is similar to Milton-Union Exempted Village School District — it’s about 10 miles southwest of Troy — where he was a student from kindergarten through 10th grade and later served as athletics director.

“I felt very comfortable with their administrative time when I interviewed with them,” said Overla, who was hired for his new job last week and will start Aug. 1. “No matter where you go, it’s always about people. It’s about the people you’re going to work with on a daily basis.

“It just seemed like a good fit from that standpoint.”

After this morning’s brief meeting, Fort Recovery superintendent Larry Brown said the job will initially be posted internally to gauge whether there is any interest. If an in-house candidate is not identified, the job would be posted externally with a hiring committee assigned to evaluate and interview applicants.

In terms of qualifications for a new principal, Brown said it would be nice to have someone with experience and that “focus on the students is key.”

He added that he’d like to see the next principal continue in Overla’s path, specifically in treating the high school as a family.

“Obviously we’ve had a lot of challenges,” said Brown, referencing the shutdown of schools because of the coronavirus pandemic. “We held together despite those challenges.”

Communication amongst the high school staff was key to that success, he said.

“Bill was really good at doing that,” Brown added.

Overla has drawn praise particularly for his handling of the high school graduation ceremony, which was transformed into an outdoor event with seniors walking across the Butler Street side of the high school in staggered fashion to receive their diplomas. Because of the success of that event, a follow-up in-person ceremony that was set for Sunday at Barrenbrugge Athletic Park has been canceled.

“I try to get back to the kids and see what they want and let them be a part of the process in terms of making decisions,” Overla said. “They all bought into what we were doing.”

Overla becomes the second FRHS principal in a row to leave after a two-year stint. He replaced Marcus Overman, who departed Fort Recovery after two years to become the principal for grades seven through 12 at New Bremen.

Before coming to FRHS, Overla served as a supervisor at Miami Valley Career Technology Center for two years. He spent the previous 11 years as assistant principal and head principal at Troy High School.

“It’s been great,” he said of his time at Fort Recovery. “This is a great school. It’s got great kids. Whenever you’ve got great kids, it’s no secret how that happens. It’s because of the parents and people who make up the town. …

“I can’t be any more thankful for how they supported me in my time here.”