Firks leaving FR for Bethel

FORT RECOVERY — Add superintendent and elementary school principal to the list of open positions.

Fort Recovery School Board on Wednesday accepted the resignation of superintendent Justin Firks, who is leaving the district to become superintendent at Bethel Local Schools in Tipp City. He was officially hired by the Bethel school board on Monday.

The board also OK’d a shift for elementary school principal Tracy Evers-Westgerdes back into the classroom.

Firks has served as superintendent at Fort Recovery since 2015, when he took over for Shelly Vaughn. He said he’s excited about the opportunity at Bethel, which is located on the east side of Interstate 75 north of Dayton.

“It’s the fourth-fastest growing school district in the state of Ohio,” said Firks. “Their enrollment numbers are kind of off the charts right now …  They’re growing faster than what they can keep up with right now.

“It provides some great opportunities for me in the next step in my career.”

One of the key factors in looking for the next leader was finding someone to lead the changing district, especially with building projects on the horizon.

“I think Justin’s leadership will guide us and our community to the right answers,” said Bethel School Board president Jacob King. “Justin consistently provided answers or thought processes that were in line with our beliefs and visions of where we wanted our Bethel Local Schools to go.” 

Firks’ contract runs through July 31, but he said Thursday he expects to work through the end of June and then use accumulated vacation days and personal days to fill out the remainder of the obligation. He said he will likely spend some days getting acclimated at Bethel during July, and his official start at the school district is Aug. 1.

Firks has spent four years leading Fort Recovery Local Schools after being hired in May 2015 to replace Vaughn, who moved on to become superintendent of Mercer County Educational Service Center. A 1997 Coldwater High School graduate, he previously served as junior/senior high school principal in Fort Loramie.

“I appreciate the opportunity the school board gave me in 2015,” said Firks. “It was a tremendous experience as far as getting to learn how to do the job.

“It’s been a pleasure to serve the students and staff. I wish them the very best in the future.”

He said he’s proud of improvements made in the areas of academics, finances, safety and facilities, passing on credit to the students and staff.

The board on Wednesday also approved Evers-Westgerdes’ move back to the classroom as a music teacher. Her continuing contract as a teacher allows her to make that move.

The school district has several high-profile positions currently open as it is looking to hire an athletics director in addition to superintendent and elementary school principal.

Both the boys and girls basketball coaching positions are also open following the recent resignations of Michael Bashore and Brian Patch, respectively.

The board last month hired Deanna Knapke as the district’s new treasurer to replace Lori Koch, who is retiring.

The elementary principal job has already been posted internally. It will be posted for external candidates next week. A committee including Firks, middle school principal Tony Stahl, high school principal Bill Overla and five elementary staff members has been formed to review applications and handle the interview process.

Fort Recovery School Board is seeking guidance from current and former school administrators to develop a plan for hiring the district's next superintendent. That process will be discussed at a board work session Monday.