Hobbs leaving FRHS principal job

FORT RECOVERY — There will be a new leader next year at Fort Recovery High School.
FRHS principal Jeff Hobbs was approved Wednesday evening at a special meeting of the Fairlawn School Board as the school system’s new superintendent. The Commercial Review first reported the move earlier in the day.
Hobbs had pursued several superintendent jobs over the last few years, including in Fort Recovery and Coldwater last summer. He was also a finalist for the Fort Recovery job in 2012.
“I’ve wanted to be a superintendent for a while,” he said, adding that the decision to leave Fort Recovery was still difficult. “It’s bittersweet. It really is.
“To me, this has been the best seven years of my educational career, and it’s gone by in a blur. It’s bittersweet that you’ve got to live a place that’s just tremendous to start a new chapter.”
Hobbs will replace Steve Mascho, who retired after 17 years leading the Fairlawn district.
Mascho announced his retirement Jan. 4, and his final day on the job was Feb. 29. Fairlawn High School principal Jo DeMotte has been serving as interim superintendent since then.
Fairlawn was looking for an upbeat leader to take over the leadership role, said school board president Andy Brautigam.
“First and foremost, his attitude, his wanting to go to a district and be positive, lead it in a good manner, his overall willingness to look at others and be a leader,” he said Wednesday afternoon. “He really impressed upon us … that he’s currently at a district that is similar to ours. They’re doing really well. We’re doing well at Fairlawn ...
“We want the district to go in a positive direction. And we really felt Jeff was a good person, a very positive attitude, likeable, and in our district, that’s very important. He felt like a very good person to bring people together.”
Hobbs’ contract at Fort Recovery runs through July 31, and his new deal at Fairlawn will start Aug. 1. He could make the transition sooner, depending on who Fort Recovery hires to replace him and when that new principal is available to begin work.
Fort Recovery superintendent Justin Firks noted that the school board must accept Hobbs’ letter of resignation before posting the job.

He expects the board will act on that at a special meeting that is already scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday.
A search committee would then be formed, Firks said, and ideally, a new principal would be named within about two months.
He noted that Fort Recovery’s hiring protocol focuses on “three characteristics, three qualities — integrity, energy and content knowledge. Relationships are key, not only with staff members but also with students.
“So (we want) someone who is going to be the face of our high school building, who is going to be present and active with our extracurriculars, our activities, our academic programs our athletic programs,” said Firks. “Someone that can communicate well, who has a vision for the direction we’re going in the future …”
Hobbs, who lives in Sidney about a 7-mile drive from his new school in southeastern Shelby County, has served as FRHS principal for seven years, having taken over for Dave Warvel in 2009. He has previously been director of business affairs for Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical Schools in Columbus, and also served as principal at Sidney and Greenville.
A Washington Court House native who has a bachelor’s degree from Wittenberg University and a master’s degree from the University of Dayton, Hobbs taught elementary and high school before becoming an administrator. He said from his first day on the job that Fort Recovery felt like home, and reiterated that thought Wednesday.
“It’s become a second home for me. That’s why it’s a really hard decision,” he said. “It’s a great job that I’m accepting. But it was still really hard because of the relationships and the community and the kids. The teaching staff at Fort Recovery High School, they’re a second family for me.
“It’s tough, but it’s the right thing to do. The time is right and it’s a great opportunity.”