Friday, June 04, 1999
Middletown board seat to open up
12-year member Mitchell retiring
BY SUE KIESEWETTER
Enquirer Contributor
MIDDLETOWN — The Middletown/Monroe Board of Education will get at least one new member in November's general election.
Longtime board member A.C. Mitchell has decided not to seek re-election. His term, along with those of board President Tom Brickey and board member Katie McNeil, all expire at the end of the year.
“Twelve years is a long time to serve,” said Mr. Mitchell, who is finishing his third term on the school board. “I'm getting near retirement age, and I wanted to announce early that I wasn't running to give someone else a chance to run.”
Mr. Mitchell said he decided to leave the board because he wants to spend more time with his family. He also plans to retire from AK Steel, where he has worked for 40 years, in another year or so.
“In order to serve the students well, you let your family go,” said Mr. Mitchell, 58. “You forget about your family.”
Mr. Mitchell said he plans to finish his work on the district's athlete drug-testing committee, a cause he has championed.
He regrets he might not be on the board when it decides whether to resubmit a $97.5 million bond issue to repair schools and reconfigure grade levels in buildings. The issue failed in February. A series of town meetings on that and other issues will conclude this month.
One of his strengths, Mr. Mitchell said, has been his ability to listen.
“I've never been a real talker,” said Mr. Mitchell, a 1959 graduate of Middletown High School. “I feel I'm a good listener, and that's a good quality to have in schools. When you do say something, people really do listen.”
Three people have taken out petitions to run for a seat: Sara Brownand Dr. Mark McClure of Middletown; and Suzi Rubin of Monroe. Mrs. Rubin said she will not file her petitions if the Ohio Board of Education reverses its 1997 ruling that denied the Committee on Reviewing Education (CORE) to form a separate Monroe school district. That decision should come this summer.
Dr. McClure said there are a variety of issues he would like to help the district address. He said his role as a parent of two children in the district and his business experience, combined with previous work as a college professor, gives him a good perspective.
“I know how to manage money, and I can speak on behalf of those in education because I've been there,” Dr. McClure said. “I really feel committed to doing this.”
The deadline for filing petitions is in August.
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