Two Remaining Candidates for Maysville Superintendent Speak to the Public

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Ever since Monte Bainter announced in March that he will be resigning at the end of the year as superintendent, the Maysville Local School District has been searching for Bainter’s replacement.

The school district has narrowed their search to two candidates and both of them spoke publicly on Tuesday at Maysville High School. Both candidates gave opening statements and fielded questions from both parents and students. The parents and students filled out guidelines that graded the candidate’s responses to the questions.

Dr. Bill Gathers is one of the two candidates. He has spent that past 13 years serving as an educator, principal, and superintendent for the Mercer School District in Pennsylvanian. Dr. Gathers said he likes the path that the district is following.

“If you look at the structure of the school district I think they are going in the right direction,” said Dr. Gathers. “The buildings are wonderful. The kids, I think, are focused in the right direction. Obviously, the Common Core is in place, and we could have some debates over that, but I think everything is focused in the right direction.”

The other candidate for the spot is Ruth Zitnik. Zitnik is currently the principal of the Freshman Academy at Canton McKinley High School. She commented on one of the most controversial issues in American schools – Transgender bathrooms.

“Whenever we are dealing with children I think the bottom line has to be that we are empathetic and compassionate,” said Zitnik. “I’m not as interested in the political ramifications of it as I am how it impacts our students and our children that we deal with everyday.”

The Maysville Local School District board member will cast their vote for superintendent on May 26.