ST. PARIS – Graham Elementary will have a new assistant principal next year and a dean of students.

Current Graham Middle School Physical Education teacher Lynnette Roeth will be the new Graham Elementary assistant principal, effective Aug. 1. She replaces Robert Hodge, appointed assistant principal in April, effective Aug. 1.

The school board approved the resignation of Hodge, effective May 17, at its Monday meeting. Hodge resigned “to seek other professional opportunities,” according to his letter of resignation.

The previous elementary assistant principal, Chad Lensman, moved into the middle school principal position.

“Recently, Graham was made aware of public allegations made against Mr. Hodge’s professional and personal conduct outside of the district,” Superintendent Kirk Koennecke said. “No indication was provided to us from the charter organization (where he was employed) indicating that there was an issue. We do not have the privilege of knowing answers to those allegations, nor can we speculate on them. We have thoroughly investigated what we can. As a district, we did our due diligence in selecting and screening the candidate. We have moved on.”

Roeth is a former coach and has been a longtime leader of the Graham Education Association teachers union. She completed her administrative degree at Urbana University and received her administrative license from the University of Dayton, according to a press release. She was a core member of the district’s strategic planning team.

“I’m excited for this opportunity at Graham Local Schools. This is a wonderful community, and I’m happy to make the next step in my career as a Falcon,” Roeth said.

Graham Elementary Principal Chad Miller praised Roeth’s appointment: “In Lynnette Roeth, we have found a respected faculty member with a wealth of teaching, coaching, and leadership experiences to bring to her new role as an administrator.”

Roeth’s assistant principal contract will be officially approved at the school board’s June 26 meeting. Her current salary is $62,257 on a 184-day contract. Her new salary as assistant principal will be $68,155 on a 215-day schedule, Treasurer Judy Geers said.

New elementary dean

Graham officials selected Emily Shreve to serve as a half-day dean of students at the elementary school. She will continue her classroom duties part time, according to a press release.

“Emily is a proven leader. She has been involved as a valuable member of the building leadership team and has assisted with extracurricular activities for years. She has the respect of her colleagues, and she wants to learn,” Miller said.

The district created this new position to offer more supervision and provide professional development opportunities for its internal staff, Koennecke said.

“There is no question that developing leaders internally is part of our human resources goal. We believe those who wish to lead ought to be able to demonstrate that leadership,” Koennecke said.

He has used this role in several districts to develop future administrators, he said.

“These roles allow us to provide the district the opportunity to actively develop our team culture with those who know the new strategic plan and know our leaders, and in return we celebrate their dedication to Graham. That’s rare in schools today, but we value loyalty.”

Shreve taught the past 18 years at Graham and is earning her administrative license at Wright State University.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the students and families of GES as the dean of students,” Shreve said. “I will hold our students to a high standard and support them in becoming successful young citizens.”

Shreve will continue to be paid on the teacher’s salary schedule, Geers said. Her current salary is $62,257 on a 184-day schedule; her new salary will be $62,880 for the same amount of days.

In other action, the board accepted resignations of teachers Jesse Williams and Bethany Espich and aide Melissa Moody. Williams’ resignation is effective May 17, 2017; Moody’s is effective June 4, 2017; and Espich’s is effective Aug. 1, 2017. The board also approved a change in the resignation of Curriculum Director Becky Gerardi. Her resignation is now effective June 30, 2017.