Bethel BOE hires Interim Superintendent

Board also approves renewal tax levy for November 2024 ballot

BETHEL TOWNSHIP - The Bethel Local Schools Board of Education has approved the hiring of former Mechanicsburg Schools Superintendent Mike Nutter to serve as interim Superintendent for the district.

Board members approved a motion hiring Nutter during their regularly scheduled meeting held on Tuesday, June 18. Nutter will start in the interim Superintendent position on Monday, July 1, following the retirement of current Bethel Superintendent Matthew Chrispin.  

“I’m looking forward to the challenges, and I’m looking forward to meeting the community,” Nutter said. “It should be a good year.”

“We look forward to working with you,” Board of Education President Jackie Leskowich said. “We’re excited for the next year, to get to business.”

Nutter is expected to serve in the Interim Superintendent position for 13 months, Leskowich said, and the district will start looking for a permanent Superintendent in January.

“We will accept applications anytime,” she said, “however, we plan to start our official search beginning in January.”

Chrispin has served as the district’s Superintendent for the past 18 months, Leskowich said. His retirement will begin on Monday, July 1.

“Anytime a Superintendent leaves that late in the year, it’s really hard to find a good candidate,” Nutter said. “I told them I would help them out and do the interim job for a year, and hopefully in January they’ll start the process to find a new Superintendent for the following school year.”

“My intention is just to be one year, interim,” Nutter said, when asked if he would consider the permanent Superintendent position.

A resident of the Columbus area, Nutter is married and has four adult children. He previously served as Superintendent for the Mechanicsburg School District.

“I was the Superintendent there, and I’ve spent over 30 years in and around education,” he said.

Board members also considered two other applicants before hiring Nutter for the Interim Superintendent position, Leskowich said.

“Two other people applied, but lacked the experience Mr. Nutter possesses,” she said.

The board president initially conducted a teleconference with Nutter, Leskowich said, and the board president and treasurer also met with Nutter in person. The board also conducted an in-person interview, she said.

In other business at Tuesday’s meeting, board members also approved a resolution to proceed with placing a 0.75 percent renewal income tax levy on the ballot for the upcoming November 2024 election.

The district’s current levy expires at the end of 2025, district Treasurer Tina Hageman said. The proposed renewal levy would last for a five-year period beginning January 1, 2026, she said, and the funds generated would be designated for operating expenses.

“Last month, we passed a resolution to ask the department of taxation for estimates on what our income tax would collect at 0.75 percent, which is just a straight renewal,” Hageman said. “With the estimate from the State of Ohio Department of Taxation, it is now worth $2,370,000 per year.”

Board members also voted to rescind the district’s current open enrollment policy, as a first step towards changing the policy and ending open enrollment in the future.

“We’re going from open enrollment to no open enrollment,” Leskowich said.

The changes will not affect students with parents who teach at Bethel Schools, she said, and the district doesn’t currently have any other students attending through open enrollment.

“At one time there were some kids grandfathered-in; they’ve all moved on,” she said. “It will not affect any of the teachers, because there is a negotiated agreement that has it outlined in.”