TIFFIN — During a special board meeting Wednesday evening, the Tiffin City Schools Board of Education hired a soon-to-be former superintendent in Crawford County.

Galion City Schools Superintendent Jim Grubbs was approved to be the interim superintendent at TCS for the 2020-21 school year.

“I’m very excited,” Grubbs said. “Tiffin has a lot of good things happening there. They have done a lot of things we did or are doing at Galion and a lot of things we haven’t.”

The position became open when former superintendent Gary Barber resigned in January, which will go into effect after July 31, following his second OVI charge since 2017. Since then, Robert Boes has been the interim superintendent.

Grubbs said he heard of the job and was encouraged by things he was told by a colleague who is a member of the Tiffin community. He said the things he’s seen of Tiffin encouraged him to keep working in education.

“I’m not done,” Grubbs said. “I think I’m still young enough to keep going and I’m excited to do that at Tiffin.”

He said it was going to take an encouraging career move to make him feel better about leaving Galion. Grubbs announced his retirement at a November 2018 board meeting, effective Jan. 1, 2019, but agreed to be a retire-rehire employee to set things up for the district’s next leader. That agreement ends July 31. He was hired at Galion in 2015.

Grubbs said as the date approached, he realized he was not ready to call it quits.

“It was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done,” he said. “They know I love Galion and the community, and I have given my heart and soul to the district. It was very difficult.”

He said he did not want to leave Galion, but being a man of his word, he was going to follow through with his initial announcement.

“Sometimes we make decisions in our lives and make statements. I thought I was ready to retire,” Grubbs said. “I thought I’d be ready to retire, and I made a statement I’d be done in July. That was a year-and-a-half ago.”

He said people at Galion who he holds in high regards made business moves based on his announcement, so he felt it best to follow through.

“I feel I am leaving Galion having set them up for success with the leadership put into place,” he said. “My replacement is one of the strongest administrators I’ve ever worked with, and I wish them nothing but the best and look forward to their success.”

Jennifer Allerding, previously the district’s director of instruction and learning, will take over as superintendent Aug. 1.

What seemed like a storm at sea by leaving Galion, was calmed by the sights of a sunny shore with the opportunity to lead at Tiffin.

Grubbs said he is most looking forward to building new relationships in the Tiffin community and strengthening existing ones the district has. He said he is excited to work in a city with two universities, as one of his favorite achievements is being at Galion when the district partnered with local community colleges to offer associates degrees at Galion High School.

He said he hopes to build relationships with the Tiffin community like he did with Galion community members such as former Galion-Crestline Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Joe Kleinknecht and Galion YMCA director Terry Gribble.

“Cannot thank those two enough for their support during my time at Galion,” Grubbs said. “I’m excited to build similar relationships at Tiffin. I have heard nothing but great things about the Tiffin staff and community.”

Grubbs will begin his role at Tiffin on Aug. 1 with a base pay of $133,000. The Tiffin school board said it will continue the search for a permanent superintendent, a position Grubbs said he is more than open to taking.

“I’m definitely not just thinking a one-year deal,” Grubbs said. “It is a one-year deal, but I don’t go into things thinking like that. I’m going to go in like I’m going to do it forever and do my best.”