Garbrandt appointed to Conotton Valley school board

At a special meeting of the Conotton Valley Board of Education, held May 5, a new board member was appointed.

This action came after the resignation of veteran board member Rob Higgenbotham at the April meeting. Higgenbotham resigned due to personal reasons. The board held an executive session following the regular April meeting to discuss personnel, with no action following.

At the special May meeting Superintendent John Zucal introduced Joshua Garbrandt as a candidate to fill the position vacated by Higgenbotham. Garbrandt is a 2011 graduate of Conotton Valley.

Three of the four active board members, Curt Hanstine, Logan Putnam and Nicole Bower, voted in favor of the appointment, with only Shawn Leggett voting against. District Treasurer Gabriel Tingle administered the oath of office to Garbrandt, who then took a seat at the table.

Garbrandt is a construction manager by trade and had made his home in Virginia prior to returning to the area last fall. He said at the time he saw candidate signs for the November 2025 election and had “never really gave it (serving as a board member) any thought” before then. But when the opportunity arose upon Higgenbotham’s resignation he decided that he “wanted to give something back to the community.”

Garbrandt and his wife Marissa, a 2013 graduate of Conotton, have four children aged 10, 9, 6 and 2, three who currently attend Conotton Valley. Garbrandt says that his wife is “very supportive” of him getting involved with the school and that the best thing about moving back to Ohio is “the people, the community.”

Garbrandt was appointed to a seat expiring Dec. 31, 2027.

In other business the board discussed two items that were tabled, for further discussion, at the April meeting.

In one motion the board approved an agreement with Benchmark Construction for the renovation of the art classroom in an amount not to exceed $55,000.00 and an agreement with Benchmark Construction for football bleacher infill construction in an amount not to exceed $50,000.

The next regular meeting of the Conotton Valley Board of Education will be held Wednesday, May 20, at 7 p.m. in the administrative board room.