Stahl shifting to FRHS principal

FORT RECOVERY — The high school didn’t have to look far to find its next principal.

Fort Recovery School Board during a brief special meeting Monday hired current middle school principal Tony Stahl to move to the high school position effective Aug. 1.

The move comes just six days after the board accepted Bill Overla’s resignation as FRHS principal.

Stahl’s hiring was the only item on the agenda for the meeting and was met with a round of applause from board members Nick Wehrkamp, Greg LeFevre, Anne Guggenbiller, Don Wendel and Jake Knapke after they voted unanimously in favor.

“I think the only people who are upset are the middle school teachers,” Wehrkamp joked after the vote.

Overla is moving on to become the high school principal at Graham High School in rural New Paris, Ohio. He led FRHS for two years after taking over for Marcus Overman in 2018.

Stahl has been Fort Recovery’s middle school principal for four years.

“Tony’s done some wonderful things at the middle school, working with the staff to maximize the academics and student growth,” said Fort Recovery superintendent Larry Brown. “He certainly will be missed at the middle school, but he’ll do a wonderful job here at the high school.”

Stahl was a finalist for the high school principal job when Marcus Overman was hired in 2016 and then was later chosen as the middle school principal following the resignation of Matt Triplett. He decided not to apply after Overman departed in 2018, feeling he had just gotten into the groove of being middle school principal at that time.

When the high school job came open this month, the timing felt right, he said, though it was still difficult to choose to move on from the middle school.

“I’m leaving a great situation, a great staff,” he said. “It was not an easy decision. …

“I’m excited to be here. It’s a great opportunity, great district, great kids. I’m looking forward to it.”

Stahl broke the news to his middle school staff and also met for the first time with his high school staff Friday.

One of his goals in the new job is to continue some of the efforts he started at the middle school to develop a culture of success.

“The biggest thing with a school like Fort Recovery is to continue to maintain that excellence,” he said, noting the challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. “I think the big thing is to maintain what we’ve been doing, navigate through the post-COVID era and get the admin team firing on all cylinders.”

Stahl was already the senior member in terms of experience in administration at Fort Recovery, as elementary school principal Kelli Thobe, treasurer Deanna Knapke, athletics director Brent Niekamp and Brown all just finished their first year in their respective positions.

Monday’s decision leaves the district with a new administrative opening to fill. Brown said the middle school principal job will be posted both internally and externally today with the goal of having Stahl’s successor selected in the first half of July.

The district will be looking for a candidate to follow in Stahl’s footsteps, Brown said, someone who will be focused on the students and work collaboratively with the staff.

Stahl, a St. Henry native, earned his bachelor’s degree at Wright State University in 2012 and a master’s degree from Miami University. He completed his superintendent licensure at the University of Dayton.

He taught history and social studies at St. Henry before shifting to Fort Recovery. He started his high school career at Manual High School in Indianapolis.