Lakewood Local Schools hire 'Mr. Lakewood' Scott Coffey as interim superintendent

HEBRON – The Lakewood Local School Board of Education has hired Scott Coffey as interim superintendent of the district, following the resignation of Mark Gleichauf.

Gleichauf, who served as superintendent for four years, taking over in 2020 , announced his resignation at the end of June to return to northern Ohio and be with his family. He came to Lakewood after five years as superintendent of Brooklyn City Schools in suburban Cleveland.

His last day was Wednesday, and Coffey, who takes over Thursday, is no stranger to the district. He has served as band director, dean of students, assistant principal, principal and substitute bus driver for Lakewood schools over the past 24 of his 30 years in education.

"I am honored to take on this new position," Coffey said in a news release . "I love our district's families and educators and look forward to building on the fine work of so many who have come before."

Coffey has also been a member of the U.S. military and currently holds the rank of sergeant first class with the United States Army Reserve.

“Mr. Coffey has served the Lakewood community well over the last 24 years in a variety of roles,” Board President Jonathan Lynch said. “We are excited to see him leverage his strong relationships and his knowledge of Lakewood to continue moving our district forward.”

He earned both a bachelor's degree and a master’s degree in education from Ohio University and a master's degree in educational administration and management from the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He also earned his superintendent license from Concordia University of Chicago.

Coffey lives in the Lakewood district with his wife, Debbie, who also is a Lakewood teacher.

The hiring was met with rave reviews by residents in the Lakewood district on its Facebook page. He was given a one-year contract, Lynch said, with many people hoping that he will eventually be hired permanently.

Lynch told The Advocate that he thought Gleichauf did a great job in his four years at Lakewood. He was originally hired on a three-year contract and had completed the first year of a five-year contract.

"We hired him during the pandemic, and he was able to come in quickly and make relationships, which was not easy to do during that time," Lynch said. "He did a good job, considering we lost a year to the pandemic. We developed a more structured summer school to make up for that lost time. When I came on the board in 2018, we were a 'D' school district, and we became a four-star district (out of five stars) under him."

Under Gleichauf, the district decommissioned the 109-year-old Hebron Elementary due to deteriorating conditions and relocated students to Jackson Intermediate in 2023-24. Five times the district has tried to pass a bond issue to build a new prekindergarten through fifth grade elementary school, with no success.

Lakewood Middle School now has a complete HVAC unit, and the high school softball field was renovated. Under Gleichauf, Lakewood became a National Distinguished School , there was increased programming at all schools and several facility upgrades were made.

"It came down to what was best for his family, and where he needed to be," Lynch said. "The board is proud of what he accomplished."

Gleichauf said his wife has been working and essentially living in Cleveland for the past four years.

"We thought through her remote working here a couple weeks a month we could make this work, but it became a bigger strain over the last year," he said.

He's taking a position as operations director for the Sheffield-Sheffield Lake City Schools .

Gleichauf said in addition to the improvement in academic performance, getting through COVID and coming out on the other side as a strong district, along with the move from Hebron Elementary, a safety vestibule and connecting corridor was added at Jackson, and there were improved lighting and security upgrades across the district.

"I loved my time at Lakewood, and thank the Board of Education for the opportunity," he said. "It was truly a team effort. Lakewood will continue to be strong into the future because of its great people."

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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Lakewood Local Schools hire 'Mr. Lakewood' Scott Coffey as interim superintendent