A new superintendent of public instruction has been chosen for Ohio’s State Board of Education.
Dr. Philip Wagner was named as the new superintendent in a Monday announcement from the board. The superintendent oversees board of education matters, and attends the meetings to give budgetary and administrative reports.
Wagner, a Delaware County resident, has been the superintendent of the Johnston-Monroe Local Schools since 2022, where he went after a stint as head of the Licking Heights School District.
The future state superintendent holds degrees from Kent State University, and is licensed as a school psychologist.
Paul LaRue, the board’s president, called the incoming superintendent an “experienced leader.”
“We want to make sure Ohio is a national leader when it comes to our teaching workforce, and he will position us to advance the work focused on having excellent educators in our classrooms,” LaRue said in a statement.
The outgoing superintendent, Paul Craft, announced in January his plan to leave the post as of July.
The state board oversees educator licensure, teacher evaluations, disciplinary conduct matters, and district territory disputes. The roles of the board were reduced after an overhaul of the state’s education department, now called the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.