Troy’s new school superintendent coming from Triad

TROY - Chris Piper, superintendent of the Triad Local Schools, was hired this morning as the new superintendent of the Troy City Schools.

The Board of Education met in special morning session to approve the hiring after interviews with two finalists last week. The finalists were Jeremy Miller, current Troy schools’ assistant superintendent, and Piper, superintendent of Triad Local Schools in Champaign County since 2014.

Piper was awarded a four-year contract. He will be paid $147,420 a year.

Troy Superintendent Eric Herman notified the board in January he would retire at the end of July. He has been superintendent since 2011.

The board received 18 applications, narrowed the list to eight for interviews and then to two finalists who were available last week to meet with the community. The board was assisted in the search by K12 Consultants.

Piper said he was attracted to the Troy schools by the community.

“I talked to anybody and everybody that knew anything about Troy. I continued to a person to hear nothing but excellent things about the community, what a great place it is to live and what a great job the schools have done,” he said.

Board of Education President Doug Trostle said the selection process was “a very intense and a very condensed process.”

He pointed to Piper’s commitment to “helping move this district forward” as a key in the selection.

Board member Michael Hamm said the board had “wonderful candidates” to choose from in what was a “tough decision.”

In addition to the four-year contract, effective Aug. 1, the board approved a consulting agreement with Piper. Under the agreement, he will be paid for up to 15 days through July 31 to meet with administrators and staff and help transition to his new role.

Trostle said the interview process involved a group of community residents recommended by board members. “This initiative was designed to engage a larger audience, rather than only five board members. We view the appointment of a superintendent to be one of our most important responsibilities,” he said. Also included were members of the school unions, administrators and representatives of the city, township and police and fire departments.

Piper has a bachelor’s degree in educational leadership from Wright State University, a master’s in educational leadership from Wright State University, principal licensure from Wright State and in the educational leadership PhD program at the University of Dayton. Piper was an assistant principal and athletic director, at Jonathan Alder High School, a middle school principal and transportation director at Alder Junior High and junior high principal at Alder before joining the Triad schools.

Piper and his family live in Marysville and will be joining the Troy community.

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