Hamilton High boys basketball coach is new member of Ross school board

The newly appointed Ross school board member isn’t a new face to this Butler County school community.

Last month’s unexpected resignation of Ross Board of Education President Steve Stitsinger forced board members to quickly fill the seat.

On Monday they chose former Ross High School basketball coach and local real estate businessman Sean Van Winkle.

Acting Board President Ed Bosse said 11 candidates submitted applications and the board picked Van Winkle, who is currently Hamilton High School’s boys basketball coach, to join them on the board.

The 43-year-old Van Winkle, who is married with two children, left the Ross school system nine years ago and took the dean of students position with Lakota West High School in West Chester Township.

He said he is happy to be back.

“I love being part of a team. And I really do owe a huge debt of gratitude to Ross Schools and I want to serve in this community,” said VanWinkle, who is a realtor and co-owner of a local property investment company called Husker-Cat LLC.

In recent years the rural Ross Twp. school district, which enrolls more than 2,800 students, has consistently been among the top academic performers among Southwest Ohio school systems.

Stitsinger cited personal reasons for his resignation. He had served more than a decade on the Ross board and told district officials he would not be speaking publicly about the reason for his departure.

Under Ohio school law Van Winkle will have to be on the November ballot and win voter approval to retain the four-year seat through 2022, which he told the Journal-News on Tuesday he intends to do.

He has never before held nor ran for public office.

Bosse praised Van Winkle, saying his new colleague, who will be sworn on to the board Wednesday, is “full of energy and willing and wanting to learn.”

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