Penta chooses Matter to lead career center

7/9/2009

Penta Career Center has a new superintendent.

Ronald Matter, who has worked as assistant superintendent at Penta since 2005, was named superintendent yesterday by a 7-2 vote of the school board.

The board approved a two-year contract for Mr. Matter at an annual salary of $120,000. He will replace Fred Susor, who is retiring July 31 after 12 years in the job and 31 years with Penta.

"The thing that impressed us about Ron was obviously he has a knowledge of Penta, which helps, but also he knows northwest Ohio, the area schools, and had been an administrator in a school inside Penta's area," said Eric Myers, president of the Penta board.

Mr. Matter, 50, of Maumee was superintendent for Northwood Local Schools for seven years before moving to Penta and was previously a principal at Northwood High School and Lark Elementary. He also was a middle school principal, business teacher, and coach at Pandora-Gilboa Local Schools in Putnam County, and a teacher and coach in Forest Hills Local Schools near Cincinnati.

Mr. Matter said Penta is respected in the region and in the state and he does not anticipate making sweeping changes when he takes over the top job.

"It's not going to be a whole new era," he said. "I've had the opportunity over the course of my career to work with a lot of really good superintendents and I count Fred [Susor] among them."

Mr. Matter said Penta has established itself as a leader in technical career training and adult education and he wants to build on that.

"I think we can be a very important component of economic revitalization for this area and all of Ohio as can all career centers with what we offer for young people," he said.

There were 15 applicants for the job. Mr. Matter and Judy Wells, high school principal for Pickaway-Ross Career & Technology Center in Chillicothe, Ohio, were the two finalists.