BY LINDA FISH-ODA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON -- David Lewis, who has guided Mason City Schools through an unprecedented growth spurt for 11 years, announced Monday he is leaving the district, effective Aug. 1.
When he took over as superintendent, the high school was surrounded by cornfields. Agriculture dominated most of southern Warren County at the time.
Today, subdivisions, apartment complexes and retail projects surround the school, thanks to a building boom that has transformed Mason into a regional hub of commercial growth. Across the street is a middle school, and nearby is an elementary school that is to open in the fall.
Mr. Lewis, 57, said it was time for new challenges. He has accepted the middle school director's position at Summit Country Day School in Hyde Park.
"I could have retired five years ago, but I love this district and Mason so much that I just didn't want to," Mr. Lewis said. "But this is a really great opportunity for me. I couldn't pass it up." CP:Kevin Bright
Summit Country Day has an enrollment of 1,100, with about 375 students in the middle school.
His replacement also was announced Monday. Kevin Bright, 45, who has been assistant superintendent for eight years, will move into the top spot of one of Ohio's fastest-growing districts.
When Mr. Lewis began at Mason, there were fewer than 2,400 students. Today that number tops 5,000, and by 2000 school officials are bracing for about 6,600 students. The district is growing by about 10 percent annually.
Mr. Lewis' annual salary in Mason was $90,313.
Mr. Lewis retires with 35 years of public school experience. He taught history and physical education in the Xenia City Schools, physical education in the Cincinnati Public Schools and was a guidance counselor at Mariemont High School.
He also served as an assistant high school and junior high principal at Huber Heights City Schools in Dayton, Ohio, and was principal for Tecumseh High School in New Carlisle.
Before accepting the head position in Mason, Mr. Lewis was superintendent of the Mad River-Green Schools in Springfield for six years.
