By Scott Halasz
XENIA — An opportunity to go back home and be close to family was too good to pass up for Xenia school board member Gil Esparza, who resigned from the board effective Nov. 18.
Esparza, who was appointed in September 2015 to fill a vacancy created when elected member Arch Grieve resigned, accepted a government job in Texas, where Esparza’s 90-year-old mother lives.
“That was kind of the icing on the cake there,” he said.
Currently a Greene County Common Pleas Court adult probation officer, Esparza will run a veterans program in the Lone Star State.
It wasn’t an easy decision for Esparza, who has lived in Xenia nearly 15 years and been with the court for a decade.
“Being so far away from my mother, who is aging, and being fully invested in the community here are the things I wrestled with,” he said. “It was a decision we thought about, we prayed about. Decided to go ahead and take it.”
Esparza was chosen to replace Grieve, in part, because of his unique background in the criminal justice system.
“Gil added a dimension to the board that we had not at any time had on the board,” President William Spahr said. “He will be missed. He was very dedicated.”
The board’s by-law spells out the process for replacing a vacancy and members hope to vote on the new board member at the Monday, Dec. 12 meeting. Esparza’s current term expires Dec. 31, 2017. Interested citizens must deliver their letter of interest to board treasurer Eric Soltis, 819 Colorado Dr., Xenia, Ohio 45385 by 4:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2. Applicants should indicate “board vacancy” on the envelope.
The board has sechedule an executive session for 7 p.m. Monday Dec. 5 to go over letters of interest and then will conduct interviews 6 p.m. Dec. 7-8. Another executive session has been scheduled for Friday, Dec. 9, when the board will discuss the candidates.
