photo by: Joselyn King

Ashlea Minch addresses Ohio County Board of Education members after being named the school district’s new director of assessment federal programs Tuesday night. She succeeds Walt Saunders, who resigned to take the job of superintendent of Hancock County Schools.

WHEELING – Ohio County Board of Education members Tuesday night tapped Woodsdale Elementary Principal Ashlea Minch to be an administrator in the central office.

Minch will succeed Walt Saunders as assessment and federal programs director for the school district.

Board members on Tuesday also accepted Saunders’ official resignation effective Jan. 16, when he left to become the new superintendent of Hancock County Schools.

Minch expressed fondness for Woodsdale Elementary School, where she has served as principal for more than a decade.

“Ten years is a long time,” she said. “I have formed lots of relationships with students, families and especially my staff. It’s very bittersweet. Woodsdale is my home. I promise I will take care of them for life. The best part of this is I get to work with all schools, but I will get to peek in on them now and then.”

Minch noted her favorite memory at the school was upgrading the school’s playground, and the day the renovated area opened to students.

“Every day was a great day there,” she said. “There’s a lot of things I will miss, for sure.”

Superintendent Kim Miller noted that Minch has worked as a “a teacher, a Title 1 reading interventionist, an assistant principal (at John Marshall High School), and as an elementary school principal.”

“She certainly comes with all the tools necessary to be successful in her new position,” Miller continued.

Minch told board members she was honored to accept the new job.

“Woodsdale has been more than a workplace,” she said. “It has been a community, a family, and a place where I have grown alongside our students, staff and families.”

Minch also thanked Miller and Assistant Superintendent Rick Jones for their support and belief in her over the years.

“Your mentorship has shaped my leadership, challenged me to grow and prepared me for this next chapter,” she told them. “I would not be standing here today without your encouragement.”

The board will now need to hire a new principal for Woodsdale Elementary.

The position will be posted before Thursday, and interested educators will have five days in which to submit their applications, according to Susan Nolte, human resources director for Ohio County Schools.

No temporary principal will be named, and a central office administrator will be at the school as needed, Miller added.

The school board meeting on Tuesday night was considered “an emergency meeting” after the regularly scheduled meeting set for Monday was canceled due to winter conditions, board president David Croft explained. Only matters pertaining to personnel and unpaid bills were considered during the meeting that lasted just eight minutes.

Board members Anne Hercules and Andy Garber participated by phone.

The board’s next regularly scheduled meeting is set for 6 p.m. Feb. 9 at the board office, 2203 National Road, Wheeling.