The Fairfield Local School District has selected a Greenfield resident as an interim replacement for Bill Garrett as superintendent.
Tim Dettwiller was unanimously selected by the Fairfield Local Schools Board of Education to become the interim superintendent effective Aug. 1, according to a news release.
Garrett told The Times-Gazette on Friday that he resigned, effective July 31, to take a high school principal’s job at Eastern Brown.
“My youngest son is going to be a freshman at Eastern Brown, the opportunity was there, and I decided to go so I could be a little closer to him and spend more time with him,” Garrett said.
Garrett said he feels the Fairfield schools had a great run while he was there.
“We showed a lot of improvement academically, and I’m very pleased that we were the only school district in Highland County during that time to receive an Excellent With Distinction Award,” Garrett said.
Garrett said the district’s voters passed three levies without any failing, the district was able to build additional classrooms and a new track and soccer complex, increased its unencumbered funds from $100,000 when he arrived to its current $7 million, doubled computer lab space, added Smart Boards in every classroom, upgraded a majority of the bus fleet, and put a great staff in place, among other accomplishments. He said the school board, other administrators and the community made all that possible.
“And a lot of the credit goes to the staff and the students,” Garrett said.
Dettwiller most recently served as superintendent of the Madison Plains Local Schools, a position he held since August of 2014. Prior to that he served as treasurer at Madison Plains from May of 2010 until he became superintendent. He holds a master’s of educational leadership degree from Ashland University and a bachelor of arts degree in accounting and business from Wilmington College. He also completed the Ohio School Leadership Institute through the Buckeye Association of School Administrators in March of 2018.
“We are very pleased with the amount and quality of candidates we had interested in this position,” said Fairfield School Board President Dr. Rindy Matthews in a news release. “We have an amazing district and are very excited about this next school year. We are looking forward to working with Mr. Dettwiller. He brings an abundant amount of talents and skills to our school district. We are very pleased with the outcome of the search and are excited to welcome Mr. Tim Dettwiller as interim superintendent of Fairfield Local Schools.”
Beth Justice, superintendent of Southern Ohio Educational Service Center (SOESC), told The Times-Gazette that the interim superintendent will remain place until a suitable replacement is found. She said the search for a permanent superintendent is expected to commence in January.
Detwiller resides in Greenfield with his wife of 32 years, Robin Dettwiller. They have four children and five grandchildren.
“I am so excited to return home after living and working outside the area for the past 18 years,” Dettwiller said, according to the news release. “The chance to work with the incredible board and staff at Fairfield is a wonderful opportunity. It is my hope to help the district to maintain its academic and athletic excellence and to seek improvements where possible. It is a great day to be a Lion.”
The SOESC, which provides educational services to school districts in Highland, Adams, Brown, Clinton and Fayette counties, provided information for this story.
Reach Jeff Gilliland at 937-402-2522 or [email protected].
