New Cincinnati Public Schools board member sworn in Monday night

James Crosset is the newest Cincinnati Public Schools Board of Education member.

Sworn in during Monday night's board meeting, he was one of 20 candidates who applied to fill the empty seat left by Mike Moroski, who resigned in mid-July .

He is expected to serve the rest of Moroski's term, which is up in December 2025.

The board voted unanimously to appoint Crosset during a special meeting last week. According to the district's website , Crosset is a Walnut Hills High School graduate and has been a member of the district's audit committee since 2002. He is retired and previously served as the chief financial officer for Mesa Industries and the University of Cincinnati College of Law.

Cincinnati Public Schools is the largest school system in southwest Ohio and the second-largest public school system in the state. It serves more than 35,000 students across 65 school buildings. About 60% of the district's students are Black, and more than 80% of the district's students are economically disadvantaged, according to state data .

Crosset said he is honored to join the school board and is confident that his 20 years of experience on the district's audit committee will help him in this new endeavor. Addressing the board for the first time, he thanked each member and acknowledged the other candidates who applied for the job.

"It's a great response from the community to support the schools, and a lot of good people in that list as well," he said. "So, I'm very honored and humbled and excited to have been selected."

School board president Eve Bolton said in a previous news release that Crosset brings considerable experience to the board from his time on the audit committee, and "we look forward to his contributions to further the mission and vision of Cincinnati Public Schools while upholding the District’s priorities and our duty to the community."

The board's next meeting will be a special public joint meeting with Cincinnati City Council’s Healthy Neighborhoods Committee on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: New Cincinnati Public Schools board member sworn in Monday night