Revere selects board member, interim superintendent
By Anne Dennée
GREATER AKRON — Christopher Kostoff is the newest member of the Revere Local Schools Board of Education.
At the Sept. 5 meeting, the school board appointed Kostoff to replace Marie Parker, who resigned in August, citing family issues, after about eight months of service.
Kostoff, a Copley resident, is
executive director of corporate communications for Summa
Health System, where he has worked for four years. Prior
to that, he was employed
for 17 years at Dominion, where he served in various
marketing and communications roles.
Kostoff grew up in Fairlawn and
attended Copley High School. He graduated from The University
of Akron in 1983 with bachelor’s degrees in marketing
and industrial management. He earned a master’s
degree in business administration from The University
of Toledo in 1984.
When asked what motivated him
to apply for the vacancy, Kostoff cited his positive
experiences working with children and his life-long
love of learning.
“I thought with my background
in communications, I could make a contribution to the
district,” he said.
Kostoff, who is currently secretary
of the Revere Soccer Club, said he has been involved
with Revere schools since he and his wife, Gigi, a kindergarten
teacher in Hudson, moved to the district eight years
ago. They have three sons: the oldest two attend Revere
schools; the youngest is in preschool.
School board members usually
serve four-year terms. Kostoff’s seat will be
up for election in November
2007. Kostoff must run in the election if he wishes
to serve out the remaining two years of his seat’s
term.
The four-year terms of three
other board members (Mario Bonacci, Sandra Deveny and
Diana Sabitsch) also will be expiring, and those seats
will be up for election as well.
Also at the Sept. 5 meeting,
the board appointed Elisabeth McNicholas as the interim
superintendent for the 2006-07 school year. McNicholas
has been serving as assistant to the superintendent
since the beginning of
the 2005-06 school year. She replaces Superintendent
Jon Ritchie, who is leaving after three years with the
Revere district to take a job as superintendent of Orrville
City Schools, effective Oct. 15.
McNicholas has been a teacher
and administrator with Akron Public Schools. She joined
the Revere district in 1999 as assistant principal at
Hillcrest Elementary School. After two years in that
position, she became the principal at Hillcrest, a role
she filled for four years until becoming the assistant
to the superintendent in 2005.
“I am looking forward
to the opportunity to continue the positive relations
in the district,” McNicholas said. “There
are a lot of good things going on here, and I want to
keep the momentum going.”
Revere Treasurer David Forrest
said he expects McNicholas to serve out the school year
as interim superintendent since viable candidates for
the superintendent position will not likely be available
to participate in the hiring process until January or
February. The district hopes to have a new superintendent
in place by the beginning of the summer.
In other business:
• The board approved out-of-district
placement for 16 students, the majority of whom will
attend Nordonia or North Royalton schools. The board
authorized acceptance of eight tuition-paying students,
all from the Nordonia district.
• Members approved agreements
for the 2006-07 year for an alternative education program
provided by the Blick Clinic, special education programs
provided through the Educational Service Center of Cuyahoga
County, instruction on English as a Second Language
provided by the Berlitz Language Center, and substance-abuse
prevention and intervention services provided by consultant
Katharine Quigley.
• The board authorized the
annual contract with Heights Driving School II Inc.
to provide driver education to high school students.
The contract carries no expense for the district; it
will cost students $265 to take the driver training
course.
The next regular school board
meeting will be Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. at the board’s
administrative office, 3496 Everett Road.
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