West G Taps Benincasa as Next Superintendent 

September 24, 2024 by Allison Wilson

Despite audience concerns about process and fiduciary responsibility, West Geauga Schools Board of Education voted 4-1 Sept. 23 to hire Nancy Benincasa as successor to Superintendent Richard Markwardt. 

In August, Markwardt announced his decision to retire at the end of his contract next summer.

Benincasa, who currently serves as the district’s assistant superintendent, will be stepping into the role at the start of the 2025-2026 school year.

West Geauga parent Steve Goden questioned the district’s decision to fill the position internally.

“Having sat on numerous corporate boards over the past 30 years, whenever those organizations faced leadership changes, those boards always conducted comprehensive searches and selected the best candidate,” Goden said. “My perception, which may not be correct, is that that has not been the case with Dr. Markwardt’s upcoming retirement at the conclusion of the school year.”

Goden told the board if a search had been conducted, they should disclose the facts surrounding it and their reasoning.

Board action without a thorough and comprehensive search would be an abdication of their fiduciary responsibility, he said.

“By no means does this imply that Dr. Benincasa isn’t the best person to lead our district after Dr. Markwardt retires,” Goden added. “Dr. Benincasa may very well be the best candidate. But none of us know that unless a comprehensive search process has been conducted.”

Parent Hannah Harris shared similar concerns, asking the board to make sure they were doing what is best for the community and students.

“I also don’t know whether or not the candidate is the best one for the job. But, I’m not sure that you do either,” she said.

When it came time for the board to vote on the resolution, each member commented about their decision.

Board member Bill Beers said when hiring superintendents, the primary areas the board looks at are the person’s academic rigor and ability to assemble, lead and work with a team.

As Benincasa has been with the school district for over 10 years, the board has had the chance to see her performance first hand in many different situations, Beers said.

“She has been integral in moving and guiding our district to a top 10 ranking three times in the last three years, (and) has demonstrated the ability to find, hire and grow others in the district,” Beers said. “It’s for those reasons that I think it’s important that we hire Dr. Benincasa as our next superintendent.”  

Board member Kathy Leavenworth, previous president of the Ohio School Boards Association and long time board member, noted she has worked across the state with numerous districts and that there is no set procedure for how schools select administrators. 

Hiring without a search is also not unprecedented, she said, recalling a previous high school principal the district had considered to be such an outstanding candidate, they hired him without a search.

Leavenworth said Ohio’s school community knows people who have worked a long time in a position.

“I can assure you that our assistant superintendent … has that respect and has that elevation within the state,” she said.  

Board member Mary-Michelle Coleman Walsh also emphasized Benincasa’s respect outside the district.

“Every district that I talk to thinks of her so very highly and as a person who does have children in this district, I would not want anyone leading my children’s academic future other than Dr. Benincasa,” she said. 

Pam Claypool — who casted the sole dissenting vote — believed the district would have benefited from conducting a search.  

“I am going to be voting no, but I want to make a couple points,” she said. “First of all, it does not diminish my support for Dr. Benincasa. I don’t have the experience (the rest of the board has), but in the short tenure that I have had here, I’ve been impressed with her work.”

She later added, “I just come from a different view and I thought that the process should have included a search.”

Board President Christina Sherwood noted it is common for places to hire part time and watch how someone performs their duties before bringing them on full time.

“Dr. Benincasa has been here in a full-time capacity and we have had the absolute privilege of watching her work and learn alongside and with a team of administrators, a team of teachers who were a little bit skeptical when she first came in and started doing her thing,” she said. “And at that time, we were 133 in the state.”

Transitions can be difficult, Sherwood added.

“This is one way that this board can successfully mitigate any stress in the transition, not just for our students, who are at the primary focus of our concern, but also our staff,” she said. “This sends a message that we are confident and we appreciate the work and support the work that Dr. Benincasa has done and will continue to do for this district.”

Outside searches would have been fruitless, Sherwood said. 

“Nobody would be able to perform as well as she has already, for the last 12 years, and it just felt unnecessary in my opinion,” she said.

Benincasa expressed gratitude for the opportunity to lead the district.

“I am proud to represent West Geauga Schools and the community and the families and our students, and I look at this position as being so much larger than me,” Benincasa said following the vote. “I am one person representing a great big community.”

Benincasa said she has benefited from Markwardt’s mentoring and is committed to making the community proud.

“Even if I don’t have your support perhaps today, I hope that through the continued work of this team of people and my staff and our students, that we will earn your respect and your trust as we move forward,” she said.

Though he was not involved in the hiring process, Markwardt was in favor of Benincasa as his successor.

“As I look over my time in education, I have had a direct role supervising and training probably 13 individuals who have gone on to be assistant superintendents or superintendents in Ohio,” Markwardt said. 

Of that roster, two stand out as incredibly strong, one of those two being Benincasa, he said.

“One of the things that I see as valuable in a person is not only how well they do the job they’re assigned, but how well they can go beyond the job description and fulfill other responsibilities. And she does that,” he said, adding if she ever needs his advice, he will be a phone call away.