Blum said if Lantz wasn’t in one of the district’s nine buildings working with administrators, teachers and students, he was likely connecting with the larger community through his involvement with organizations such as Rotary Club and the Chamber of Commerce.
“He comes with a great amount of energy to his position,” said Blum. “He didn’t need to be in the office to know what was going on and to follow through on everything that needed attention.”
Lantz will leave his position in July to head to Edgewood City Schools to become the district’s new superintendent as of Aug. 1.
Northmoor Elementary Principal Rachel Phillips said it has been Lantz’s ability to balance a “hands-on/hands-off” approach that has made a difference and will be missed most by the Northmont community.
“At school events, he’ll roll up his sleeves to come and serve the parents meals,” Phillips said. “But, what stands out to me is how he’s trusted his building staff. He doesn’t just jump in and take over. He likes a grassroots philosophy; he supports us, but trusts us to know how to run our buildings.”
Lantz doesn’t see anything unusual or extraordinary about his active approach to education.
“It’s the way I’m wired, I guess, based on my life experiences,” Lantz said. “I’m passionate about what I do. I just can’t sit behind a desk. For me, being hands-on is wanting to know what is going on, not coming in to do people’s jobs for them. Everyone is part of the team, but we all have to be accountable for our own jobs.”
New superintendent faces challenges
The ripple effects from a defeated May levy and legal issues from an August ballot levy attempt will still be felt throughout the district: staff and program cuts will change the landscape of its schools all while Edgewood strives to pull itself to earn an “excellent” rating on the state’s report card.
It’s not exactly what a new superintendent wants to walk into, but Lantz’s colleagues believe his experience has prepared him well for the rough waters that will be waiting for him in his new job.
Northmont High School Principal George Caras said change is something Lantz not only understands as a necessity for improvement, but also fully embraces.
“Doug doesn’t come in to change things just for the sake of change,” said Caras. “But, when he sees things that need to be looked at and needs attention, he doesn’t hold back. If there’s a problem, he doesn’t put it on the back burner just because it might make people uncomfortable. Whether it’s good or bad, he’s going to look at it at face value and say, ‘Let’s deal with it.’”
Less than a year into his tenure as Northmont’s superintendent, Lantz worked to convince the district to close Phillipsburg Elementary, a 90-year-old building to cut costs.
“Generations upon generations of families graduated from there; it was a tight-knit community,” said Northmont school board president Linda Blum. “But, enrollment was down and Doug said merging Phillipsburg with Union Elementary would save us considerable money. It had been talked about for more than 10 years, but no one really moved on it until then. He took a lot of heat for really moving us on that decision.”
In the end, merging the two schools saved Northmont more than $700,000 annually. Lantz said while the process was difficult, it is important to be open-minded to keep priorities straight.
“If I know we can save that much money and don’t do it, how do I explain that to the community?” Lantz said. “With 80 percent of our budget tied to staffing, you can’t avoid touching people. I try to do things through attrition. I ask can we shift people, combine grade levels, look at extended days, reduction of hours or benefits or some other combination to avoid layoffs, then that’s what we need to look at.”
Too much change?
Since 1994, Lantz has held five educational leadership positions: Director of Business Affairs for Norwood City Schools, Business Manager for Milford Exempted Village Schools, Business Manager for Lakota Local Schools, Superintendent for Franklin City Schools and Superintendent for Northmont City Schools.
Edgewood Board of Education President Jim Wirtley said Lantz’s “past experience both in and out of the public school arena will provide the leadership we need as we continue to face many challenges throughout our district.”
Others though, wonder if Lantz’s varied experience is an indication of whether the new Edgewood superintendent intends to stick around for the long haul.
“I will be honest and say his moving around was a concern of mine,” McIntyre said. “My concern is if he is going to use us as a stepping stone instead of staying around for a while.”
Current co-workers of Lantz said that is not the man they know.
“When Doug came to Northmont more about two years ago, he said this was a place he was going to land and run it (his career) out,” Caras said. “There were some residency issues and family needs that came up which complicated things. I don’t think he’s looking at Edgewood as a stepping stone; he doesn’t need one at this point in his career.”
Lantz, 53, was candid about his primary reason for choosing Edgewood.
“No question, first and foremost is the location,” said Lantz, a Franklin resident. “My wife’s mom and dad live in Hamilton. Unfortunately, my wife’s sister has dealt with liver failure and is in hospice at Garden Manor. Our whole family lives in the Hamillton/Cincinnati area.
“I enjoy being involved in the school community for meetings, sports and other events,” he said. “But, while I was here in Northmont, the only way I could be involved was to be here all day and night. I wouldn’t see my family. I want to be able to focus on both and Edgewood will give me a chance to do that.”
Lantz and his wife, Paula, have been married 29 years and have three daughters: Courtney, Taylor and Kelsey, who just graduated from Franklin and will attend Miami University Middletown.
In addition to being closer to family, Edgewood’s newest construction project was a big draw for Lantz.
“I’m extremely excited that they are breaking ground on a new high school,” he said. “I enjoy construction with the excitement and everything involved with that. It’s so neat for the community because it helps home ownership and can bring new people to the area. When anyone looks at an area, I find one of the first things they look at is the high school as a representative of the district and the area.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2551 or mrossiter@coxohio.com.
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