CRESTLINE — Crestline Exempted Village Schools gained another administrator during its special board of education meeting Monday evening.

During the meeting, the board approved the hiring of Kevin Fourman as the new Crestline High School principal. He accepted a three-year contract for the positions which leads grades 6-12.

He replaces Jamie Masi who left the district for Lexington Local Schools after one year at Crestline.

Fourman comes to Crestline with 33 years of experience in education, all of which were worked at Bucyrus City Schools.

Before his role in administration, Fourman spent 27 years as a high school Spanish teacher at Bucyrus High School.

He then spent two years as the director of an educational options program at Bucyrus, where he shouldered some administrative duties, such as programming, as well as supervision of both students and adults. He then became a high school associate principal, which he served as for the previous four years.

He said a move to principal was the next logical step for someone in his position, professionally, and Crestline was a good fit for that step.

“I’ve been neighbors here to Crestline for my entire career, 33 years, down the road in Bucyrus and have always looked at Crestline as a very comparable school district,” Fourman said. “I think, with the renovations and new buildings here, they’ve had some successes over the years and I was excited to be a part of that.”

He said the new leadership at Crestline also played a large factor into his decision to accept the position.

Matthew Henderson was approved as the new superintendent for Crestline EVS in May. He previously served as director of curriculum at Bucyrus City Schools.

“It was a critical piece in me making the decision in accepting this position when it was offered,” Fourman said. “I know that in any school building and school district you go through some bumpy patches and some spots where you need some assistance, and I think more so than anything, it’s important to have people that you can work with that you know will support what actions you’re taking. Mr. Henderson and I, in different capacities, had the ability over, I believe, 10 years to be able to work together.”

Henderson said Fourman’s knowledge of classroom management and how that transitions into instruction and building leadership impressed the hiring committee.

“Kevin emerged as the person that has the most sense of what it takes to lead at this point in his career. He has the experience of running a secondary building as an associate principal.

Henderson said Fourman also understands teaching with his many years of experience, “which is a critical piece.”

Henderson said while he works with the learning curve as a first-time superintendent, it is beneficial to have an administrator he has experience with join the district.

“I know he is ready to lead a building, and that definitely sets my mind at ease in terms of being a person that I know we can talk about what I think needs to happen and he can carry that forward,” Henderson said.

After spending so much time with one district, Fourman said it was not an incredibly easy decision, but knew it was the right one. He said his coworkers he met during his more than three decades at BCS are who he will miss.

“I’d be remissed if I did not thank all the teachers and administrators that I worked with, way too many to name and probably even remember over those years,” he said. “It’s been a great district for myself and my family and I’ve been very happy to be there.

“Certainly, here over the last little bit of time, I think it’s evident to a lot of people that between their financial dealings, treasurer and potentially some of their board members they’ve got some internal things to figure out and I wish them all the best.”

Fourman said he appreciated the longevity he found before at Bucyrus and plans to bring longevity and stability to the 6-12 grade levels at Crestline in his new role.

His first day as principal will be Aug. 1.