ASHLAND — Steve Paramore, currently the interim superintendent of Ashland City Schools, will officially take the helm as superintendent on April 1.
Ashland’s Board of Education unanimously approved his contract at a special meeting Monday.
Back when Paramore was just a student at the district, he had no plans to one day lead it.
“I admit that when I was in high school, middle school, I’m not sure I knew what I wanted to do. I did know that I wanted to go play college golf, and so I knew that I needed to have my academics in order to do that,” he said.
His love of golf led him back to the district in 2004, when he came back to work as a golf coach. Now, 19 years later, Paramore delivered an emotional speech on Monday, thanking the district, his family, and everyone who helped him along the way.
“I just am blessed to live in a city that’s on the rise and (I) am blessed that my family gets to experience the great individuals and the potential,” he said. “There are individuals that are in our preschool that don’t know their potential yet. And that’s the opportunity at hand.”
Ashland City Council president Steve Workman and Mayor Matt Miller both congratulated Paramore at the meeting.
“I just wanted to address the board by saying that we wholeheartedly support you as well as Mr. Paramore, and we look forward to a good working relationship going forward,” Workman said.
Mayor Miller described Paramore as “someone that is proven, someone that has come up through the ranks, who knows the schools inside and out.”
In addition to well-wishes, the mayor also brought the new superintendent a kilt and a green hat for him to wear for this week’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
“There’s rain in the forecast that could impact whether or not you actually get to see Steve Paramore walk down Main Street in a kilt,” Miller said.
“But here’s the trick, now that you have it, you have to wear it on St. Patricks Day — even if it is around the halls of the city schools, you must don your Irish (outfit).”
Paramore knew he would be receiving a kilt from the mayor, but he didn’t know it would happen at Monday’s meeting.
“That’s Matt Miller for you,” he said.
In other business, Paramore announced that the district would have three kindergarten orientation days August 23-25 at the start of the next school year.
“What that allows for is they really get to understand what goes on that day. It’s a lot of individualized attention,” he said.
