BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Months of community input, school board discussions and forums with candidates whittled down the 17 applicants for the Bowling Green City School District's new superintendent to Pike-Delta-York Local Schools Superintendent Ted Haselman as the unanimous selection Wednesday.
BGCS Board President Ryan Myers said at the board meeting Wednesday he was excited to announce Haselman, who has been with PDY since 2015, as retiring Francis Scruci's successor.
"Along with observing his natural and caring interactions with students and teachers during the building tour at Kenwood, It was clear to me that Ted would be my first choice for superintendent," Myers said. "He'll be an effective leader for our schools."
Just outside the district's administrative office, residents at the Bowling Green Farmer's Market were happy to hear a choice had been made and laid out expectations and wants for Haselman.
Brian Howard, a father to two BGCS elementary students, said Haselman needs to tap into different parts of the community to bring out the best of BG.
"If you've got a superintendent that can come in and really convince the farmers that, 'Hey this is definitely something that will help our community grow and get better,'" Howard said.
Howard wants to see BG reflect the momentum spurring in area districts like Anthony Wayne and Perrysburg.
A school district is nothing without its students. The kids that make up BGCS want their voices to be heard too.
"A lot of snow days," Silas Kieffer-Airheart, a fourth-grade student at Crim Elementary, said.
"What my dad probably wants him to do is keep us safe. But what I want him to do is give us candy," Owen Ruck-Stillman, a fifth-grade student at Crim Elementary, said.
Myers said the next step is to finalize Haselman's contract, and then set up a meet and greet with the superintendent and the community.
Haselman said one of his biggest priorities would building relationships in the community. A challenge he will face is finding a way to pay for upgrades to aging school facilities, an issue that mired Scruci's tenure due to multiple failed attempts to pass a levy for new school buildings, most recently in 2022.
"I would want to be accessible, available and out in the community, join civic organizations, become a part of Bowling Green and build that trust between the schools and the community," he said.
Scruci is set to retire later this year.