Ted Haselman, right, signs the contract making his hiring as Bowling Green City Schools superintendent official. School board President Ryan Myers signed it next.
Superintendent Francis Scruci accepts a drawing of himself from Brynne Dean-Scheele.
Ted Haselman is officially the new superintendent for Bowling Green City Schools.
The board of education Tuesday approved a three-year contract with Haselman, which will start Aug. 1.
He will be paid an annual salary of $155,000.
“I do not take this trust you’ve put in me lightly,” Haselman said.
He added that he was excited for this opportunity.
“I look forward to working with everyone in the community, I look forward to working with all the staff members and most importantly with and for our students at Bowling Green City Schools,” he said.
Superintendent Francis Scruci, who is retiring, congratulated Haselman.
“You’re working with great staff,” he said.
Haselman was the board of education’s first choice out of the three finalists.
He has been superintendent at Pike-Delta-York Local Schools since 2015. He formerly served as a middle school principal in Swanton and a teacher in Perrysburg.
Haselman is an adjunct professor at the University of Findlay, where he has taught superintendent and doctorate level courses since 2020.
He holds a Doctor of Education from the University of Findlay and a master’s degree in education from Marygrove College in Detroit. He received his bachelor’s degree in business education from the University of Toledo in 1997.
“I was always in favor of his,” said Jean Suelzer, a former teacher who was in the audience, after the meeting.
She said she spoke to Haselman briefly.
She was impressed that he was a former teacher and principal and the fact he has a PhD is a bonus, Suelzer said.
“I think he’s going to be a great fit,” she said.
Haselman said after the meeting he has started searching for a home in the district.
Jeff Nichols, a teacher at the high school and president of the Bowling Green Education Association, spoke on behalf of the 200 members of the union, welcoming Haselman.
“We’re going to be behind you 100% because we’ve got to get some things done in this district,” Nichols said.
He also praised Scruci, who was the sixth superintendent he worked for in the district, for his leadership.
Scruci “has been a quality leader for this district and we as teachers appreciate your leadership.
“There are a lot of good things you’ve done. You have made us a destination district with salary along with the help of the board. You have done a lot of curriculum things that have put this district forward,” Nichols said.
“You have taken a heck of a lot of heat that was sometimes undeserved, but you had two things in mind: students and teachers and staff,” he said.
Art student Brynne Dean-Scheele presented Scruci with a portrait she did of him.
“I was so glad I was able to make something for you because you’re leaving this year,” she said.
She said she was so worried that it wouldn’t look like him, Dean-Scheele told Scruci.
“I think it looks a little better than me,” Scruci said.
Each board member was presented their portrait created by a member of Nicole Myers’ art class.
