Waterloo superintendent’s retirement adds to district leadership turnover struggles

As the calendars turn to June, the Waterloo Local School District will again have a new superintendent.

Joe Clark, who held the superintendent role for only the 2024-25 academic year, announced his retirement on March 5, citing the lowering of eligible service time for the state’s unreduced retirement plan as a reason. His resignation was effective as of June 1.

“It felt bittersweet,” Clark said. “There is a real relief in knowing that I will collect a pension for the rest of my life and an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the state teachers’ retirement system.”

The district has already named an interim superintendent for the months of June and July, as well as a full superintendent for the next academic school year.

In an April board meeting, Bob Wolf was appointed as the interim superintendent until Aug. 1.

And on Aug. 1, Frank Gant will come to Waterloo after serving Lake Local Schools in Stark County for nearly 11 years as a principal.

A superintendent departure has been a familiar story for the Waterloo — before Clark, Shawn Braman served in the position for about seven years, and Angela Terella was in the position for three.

Looking into leadership turnover at Waterloo

Leadership turnover is quite an issue for the district, said Waterloo Board of Education President Brian Pusateri. On top of Clark leaving his superintendent role, the district is also searching for a school board treasurer and a school board member.

Additionally, Clark said the school district has two principals in their second year of service, and two assistant principals in their first year.

Clark said there are two reasons leadership turnover in Waterloo Schools might be so high. First, he said there is a culture that is uninviting to administrators: a culture of not wanting to change. An administrator’s job is to want to help and improve things at a school.

His plan was to improve the schools so administrators would want to stay in the district, but the other reason turnover has been high in his mind is the pay.

“When you’re talking about small districts in rural parts of the state, they, frankly, just don’t pay very well for administrators,” Clark said. “I’m not just saying Waterloo; I’m saying all over the state. In smaller, rural parts of the state, people get administrative jobs to get their foot in the door, and they use that experience to move on to other places.”

Pusateri mirrored Clark’s point.

“While some of this turnover can be attributed to retirements or personal family situations, in most instances, the administrators have left for more lucrative opportunities in larger districts, often making significantly more salary with fewer additional duties,” Pusateri said.

Braman moved from the Waterloo School District to become the superintendent at Northwest Local Schools in Stark County. Meanwhile, Terella became the assistant superintendent for the Hudson City School District in June of last year.

Pusateri went on to mention how the strain of being a rural school district puts a lot of extra responsibility in the hands of administrators because of the struggle to pass levies.

“We are committed to strengthening leadership at all levels and are actively working to ensure that future leadership transitions are as seamless as possible,” Pusateri said. “Recruitment and retention of high-quality administrators remains a priority, and we’re confident that the efforts we’re putting into leadership development will pay dividends in the years ahead.”

The main focus for the board is to keep the environment positive.

“While we are operating within the constraints of limited funding – particularly when it comes to salary – we believe that fostering a supportive, engaging culture throughout the district goes a long way in retaining talented individuals,” Pusateri said. “Recognition, professional development opportunities and strong collaboration across the district are central to ensuring our administrators feel motivated to stay and continue their excellent work.”

Pusateri also said the board is getting creative with retention processes, citing the new decision to replace the treasurer position with a “shared services model.” This will be a collaboration with Rootstown schools in which the treasurer will serve both districts.

“Looking ahead, we recognize that continued investment in leadership development and retention strategies is crucial,” Pusateri said. “We’ll need to remain flexible and innovative in attracting new leaders, particularly as competition for highly qualified candidates remains intense.”

Turnover in leadership usually comes with a negative connotation about the standing of an institution, but Kyle Kalail, president of the Waterloo Education Association, has an optimistic view of the turnover.

“These changes have also created opportunities for the district to continue moving forward and building a brighter future for everyone,” Kalail said. “They have allowed us to welcome new leaders, who in turn bring fresh perspectives and new commitments to our schools. Waterloo has always had a culture of respect and teamwork between the administration, teachers and community. We are hopeful our new leaders will carry forward and continue this commitment of fostering a positive culture of respect and teamwork.”

Clark’s administrative timeline and retirement

Clark has been a superintendent for multiple school districts for the last 16 years.

In 2009, he was hired as the superintendent of Nordonia Hills City Schools, a school district in Northern Summit County. This was his longest stop in administration, as he served the district for over 14 years, leaving to become the superintendent of Westerville City Schools in October 2023.

Potential ethics violations related to the use of district time, facilities and resources for personal/private business resulted in a resignation less than one year into his tenure. Clark did not respond to a question about this resignation when contacted via email.

In August 2024, he became the superintendent of the Waterloo Local School District.

“I’ve loved every place that I have been at: Each place has had great kids, great staff and different challenges,” Clark said. “Working in different-sized districts with different levels of diversity has all been really rewarding for me, and I have made a lot of really good, not just friendships, but professional relationships throughout my career.”

Clark’s decision to retire came off the heels of a decision from the State Teachers Retirement System. On November 18, the decision was made to lower the eligible service time for the unreduced retirement plan from 34 years of service to 33. And on April 25, the STRS announced the service time to remain eligible for the unreduced retirement plan was lowered from 33 years to 32.

“They reduced it (in November) from 34 years of service to 33 years of service, and I happened to be in my 33rd year, so that made me eligible to retire, so I decided at that point that I was going to,” Clark said. “You’re probably going to see a lot more announced retirements coming up because they keep lowering the age.”

His intention is to not permanently stop working.

“I am only 54 years old and plan to work for another 10 years or so,” Clark said. “I am unable to work another public job for two months without forfeiting my pension, so I am looking to find a job in public education that starts August 1.”

Clark’s accomplishments at Waterloo

While Clark was only in his position for 10 months, he said Waterloo made great strides in his time.

“I am so proud of all the work that we have done here at Waterloo,” Clark said. “We are making some really, really good changes for the future. I hope that I set up whoever the next person is for a lot of success.”

One of the items he highlighted was the reception of three grants that helped with security improvements. Another was the expansion of student support and special education services. He transitioned to the Summit ESC Preschool Consortium as the new model for early childhood education, while also hiring two new intervention specialists.

And a big point of emphasis for the school district in his time was the revitalization of the arts and extracurricular activities. In an effort to ensure music education for all students, Clark helped reinstate elementary music and high school choir classes. After years of absence, the drama program was brought back, and he also helped with extracurriculars by renovating the high school track.

“Dr. Clark is an excellent superintendent and person; I wish him and his family the best in retirement,” Pusateri said. “I wish he would have stayed longer.”