Ronnie M. Brown, the newly hired assistant principal at Mansfield Middle School, talks with Superintendent Brian Garverick.
Three administrators were hired and a fourth reassigned by the Mansfield City Schools Board of Education Tuesday evening on the recommendation of Superintendent Brian Garverick.
The moves nearly complete individual school administration for the 2017-2018 year. All that remains is the hiring of a third assistant principal at Mansfield Senior High, a position that is being added.
Hired Tuesday on two-year contracts that begin Aug. 1 were:
-- Timothy “Scott” Musser II as assistant principal at Senior High. He most recently served as principal and CEO of Bio-Med Science Academy STEM School in Rootstown, Ohio.
-- Ronnie M. Brown as assistant principal of Mansfield Middle School. He currently is principal of Yorktown Middle School in the Columbus City Schools.
-- Monica Hubbard as assistant principal of Sherman Elementary School. A member of the Mansfield City Schools Board of Education until her resignation in January, Hubbard is a former principal of Prospect Elementary School and an elementary school in Mount Gilead.
-- Jason Douglas reassigned as principal of Prospect Elementary School. He currently is assistant principal of Mansfield Middle School.
The personnel actions passed 4-1 on affirmative votes by Renda Cline, Sheryl Weber, Gary Feagin and Judy Forney. The lone negative vote was cast by Chris Elswick, who told local media afterward that he objected to Hubbard’s hiring.
Elswick told media that he questions Hubbard’s job performance at Prospect and in Mount Gilead. He also said he believes her hiring is a conflict of interest because as a board member she voted for the superintendent’s contract extension.
Assistant Superintendent Mark Manley, who also is the district personnel director, said Hubbard emerged as the top candidate from among 27 who applied. He said the process involved input from Sherman Principal Mike Wallace and involved three rounds of interviews that involved two teams of interviewers.
“We certainly believe in her (Hubbard’s) ability to work with urban students,” Manley told the Mansfield News Journal. “We have every confidence that she’s able to coach teachers and work with the staff. In fact, that’s probably her most outstanding quality.”
Earlier, Garverick cited information from the Ohio Ethics Commission which he said removed any question of conflict of interest regarding Hubbard’s hiring.
Garverick cited a written Ethics Commission advisory which said, “The law does not prohibit a former board member from competing for an employment position with the public agency he/she formerly served in an open and fair employment process if it is clear that he/she did not use his/her position, while on the board, to secure the job, and that the best and most qualified candidate is selected for the job.”