Cloverleaf High hires new principal

WESTFIELD TWP. — Cloverleaf High School will have a new principal when students return in the fall. The board of education approved Friday the hiring of Gary A. Miller, who has been the principal at Northridge Middle School, in Springfield, for the last seven years. Overall, Miller has 14 years of administrative experience. The 48-year-old educator was selected from a pool of eight candidates that were interviewed. "Gary rose to the top of the mix," Cloverleaf Superintendent Daryl Kubilus said. Miller signed a three-year contract for $119,907 a year, effective Aug. 1. "I'm real excited to come back to the area," he said in a phone interview from Florida. "I'm originally from Massillon. I'm very familiar with the area. With the momentum Cloverleaf has with the building projects, it's an exciting time to be a part it. "I like the stability of Dr. Kubilus, who has been there a long time. It's a great fit for me. I'm real excited to get started and to work with the students and staff." He currently lives in Marysville, near Columbus, and will eventually relocate to the area. In the meantime, he will stay with his parents in Bath. Kubilus was impressed with Miller's 100-day plan he developed to "kick things off at Cloverleaf." "He's highly motivated. He has a great personality. He'll be a great fit at Cloverleaf," he said. "He'll hit the ground running with the high school building project." Kubilus said he'd give Miller a tour of the district next week before taking his family on a one-week vacation out west. He said the new principal had no negative references when the hiring committee reached out to administrators and teachers that Miller has worked with over the years. Miller will replace Jamie Lormeau, who left Cloverleaf to become principal at North Ridgeville High School. She had been with the district for 10 years, the last seven as high school principal. Miller said he was a science teacher for 11 years, was the dean of students at Richmond Heights High School and assistant principal at Grant Middle School in Marion. He has an extensive background in coaching — he was head football coach at Bradford, Benjamin Logan, Richmond Heights and Canton South high schools — as well as athletic director at Marion Harding, Bradford and Richmond Heights high schools. He graduated from Massillon Washington High School, got his undergraduate degree at The College of Wooster and his master's degree at Ashland University. He said he loved being a coach and AD, but "knew early on I wanted to follow the administration pathway." "It was a great experience and it helped lay the groundwork for some of the skills I needed as an administrator. At a certain point, I had to step away from coaching. I have two young kids, so I still get to coach their youth teams. That keeps my hands in it." Miller said his experience as a middle school principal at Northridge groomed him to be a high school principal. "It gave me an understanding of what it's all about," he said. "It will make me more of a well-rounded person. "I took over a position (at Northridge in August 2014) that had four principals in four years. I had to develop stability and trust. I'm a people-person by nature. I enjoy being around people and kids. I like to bring out that sense of camaraderie and team. It might go back to my time in coaching." He and his wife, Christy, have four children, Tori, Cole, Aubrey and Mason. Next on the board's agenda is finding a middle school principal, as Brian Madigan has moved on to be assistant superintendent of Wooster Schools. Interviews for Madigan's replacement will begin later in July, Kubilus said. Also at Friday's special meeting, Omnia Lachhed was hired as food service director. She will get a three-year contract at $53,000 a year, effective Aug. 1. Contact reporter Bob Finnan at (330) 721-4049 or rfinnan@medina-gazette.com.