McCall leaving NWSD, seat open

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Joseph Pratt

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Northwest is set to lose a Mohawk when Dr. Ryan McCall, member of the Northwest Local School District Board of Education, moves to accept a new position in Marion, Ohio.

McCall is the current vice president of Academic Affairs at Southern State Community College, but will be leaving to assume the position of president of Marion Technical College.

Marion Technical College stated that McCall was hired after an extensive national search.

McCall has served as vice president for academic affairs at Southern State for eight years. He oversees four campus locations and has increased dual enrollment from 50 students to over 700. McCall has also directly assisted with lobbying efforts to obtain funding for the Regional Higher Education Collaborative in South Point. He obtained his doctorate of philosophy in higher education administration from Ohio University, a master of science in biology from Morehead State University – College of Science and Technology, and a bachelor of science in natural science from Shawnee State University.

Northwest School Board President Keith Crabtree said, once McCall moves he will no longer be eligible to serve on the board. His absence will leave a vacancy on the board.

“I hope the decisions I’ve been part of through the last few years have moved the school district forward and set it up for better things to come. I appreciate the time and effort the board members, parents, faculty, and staff have put forward, to try to help our students do better and succeed,” McCall said. “I wish everybody the best, and I will miss the area, but I know I am leaving the district in good hands with the folks on the board now.”

According to Crabtree, a replacement will be found by the traditional method of accepting applications from interested parties.

Crabtree also claimed that he doesn’t see the recent November 3 election, which left two possible candidates without seats, playing much of a role in filling the position.

The two candidates who were not elected included existing member Jake Orlett and Adam Jones.

Orlett is currently unable to apply, since he currently has a seat, but Crabtree said that Orlett could apply for the seat if he resigned and reapplied. Orlett came in second-to-last place at 874 votes.

Adam Jones, who also sought the position, came in at last place, with only 773 votes, 18.63 percent.

Crabtree said that the board couldn’t consider appointing Jones without a formal application process.

“We have to go by the procedure and we are currently looking at posting and taking applications for that,” Crabtree explained. “We will be looking at all that we receive.”

Crabtree also said that the direction of the board will depend on whatever move Orlett makes in the coming future.

“A lot of it is going to depend on what Jake does, before we can make a decision on how to handle that,” Crabtree said. “I think, maybe, the fair thing to do at this point is to post the notice.”

McCall is set to take over the presidency of Marion come the first of the year.

“I know he is pursuing his career and we are all happy for him,” Crabtree stated. “We wish him well. I hate to see him leave the board, because he is very intelligent and a great board member. I think he would have been really good for Northwest, but he cannot continue to serve if he moves and we understand that.”

Reach Joseph Pratt at 740-353-3101, ext. 1932, or by Twitter @JosephPratt03.

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