Fairfield residents: What we want in new school leader

At 9,000 students, Fairfield is Butler County's second largest school district after Lakota Local Schools. And the clock is ticking since Fairfield's current superintendent — Paul Otten — will be leaving June 30 after announcing last month that he is resigning to take the top job at Beavercreek Schools in Greene County.

The school board is scheduled to meet later this month to discuss “characteristics and qualities” the governing board is seeking in candidates to replace Otten.

And those qualities were what the meeting’s director, former Lebanon Schools Superintendent Bill Sears, wanted participants to discuss as a preliminary step in the hiring process.

“This (meeting) is a really valuable tool in the hiring process,” said Sears, who is now a superintendent search consultant with the Hamilton County Educational Service Center. He was hired by the Fairfield school board to help them find their next superintendent.

The characteristics the meeting’s participants — and those who also e-mail Sears by end-of-business day Monday, May 9, with their input — are crucial keys, said Sears, in narrowing board members’ questions for job candidates.

School district residents can share their opinions by emailing Sears at bill.sears@hcesc.org.

“This helps to make sure the board has the right questions to assess these candidates,” said Sears, who has performed similar public meetings and assistance in finding superintendents for other area school districts, including Hamilton County’s Three Rivers, Reading and North College Hill schools.

Fairfield school parent Sandy Foster praised the process and the school board for using it.

“It shows transparency. It’s not just the board’s decision on hiring a new superintendent, it’s also the community’s,” Foster said.

Fairfield’s next superintendent should have classroom experience and be familiar with Ohio school law, she said.

“I want an Ohioan, but I’d like someone outside our district for a fresh start,” Foster said.

The board’s next meeting on May 11 will include an initial public discussion on its superintendent search. The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at the Fairfield Administration Building at 4641 Bach Lane.