After more than a decade holding the reins of the Beachwood City Schools, Superintendent Dr. Richard Markwardt is stepping down from his post this month.

Asst. Superintendent Robert Hardis has been named Markwardt’s successor, and will assume the role on Jun. 15.

“I think he’s been an excellent superintendent,” Beachwood Board of Education President Mitchel Luxenburg said.

Markwardt, who has been with the district since 2004, has long been public about his anticipated date of departure, which was formally announced to the community in Aug. 2014.

In April 2013, he told The Beachcomber he anticipated being “ready for something different” upon the conclusion of the 2014-15 school year.

That sentiment proved true, as, later this summer, Markwardt will once again be back in the saddle, serving as superintendent of the West Geauga Local Schools, in his home county of Geauga.

“[He was] the right superintendent at the right time,” Luxenburg said, noting that Markwardt improved district finances and placed academics on an “upward trajectory.”

“We have been able to control spending while we expanded services for kids,” Markwardt said in a recent Beachcomber interview, attributing much of the district’s financial health to Michele Mills, district treasurer and director of finance.

“We have a very, very healthy fund balance now,” Markwardt said. “When I came here, we were … at half a million [dollars]. That’s next to nothing in [a] budget.”

He explained that the fund balance currently sits “well above” $20 million.

Fiscal responsibility is not all Markwardt takes pride in.

“I think what I’m really proud of is our … academic performance,” Markwardt said.

“Beachwood was struggling in certain areas when I started,” he said.

“I was very surprised when, [my first year in the district], we didn’t even achieve the level of proficiency in fifth grade math, … which means that we didn’t have enough kids passing fifth grade math to even score ‘proficient’ as a district,” Markwardt said.

“[For many years,] we were well behind the pack,” he said. “And we’re not any more. We’re at the front of the pack.” Markwardt noted that in recent years, the district has been consistently ranked as one of the highest-performing in the region.

He said the district was able to determine what was needed to best align instruction with the state curriculum.

Over the years, Markwardt has also worked closely with faculty.

“I think that he makes it a point to understand our point-of-view and our narrative,” said Evan Luzar, BHS English teacher and President of the Beachwood Federation of Teachers.

“We might not [always agree,] but I know that he’s heard our point-of-view,” he said.

While parting ways may be difficult, the transition is anticipated to be a smooth one.

“No one could be better positioned to lead our district than Mr. Hardis,” Luzar said. “I look forward to continuing to work with him in the future.”

Markwardt said that, in recent months, he has delegated more responsibility to Hardis, in anticipation of the transition.

While he said he still personally handles many day-to-day operational matters, he has encouraged Hardis to take a greater role in long-term planning.

Markwardt has kept Board members in the loop with his post-Beachwood plans, Luxenburg said. “We always knew that he was going to go on to someplace else.”

The Aug. 2014 announcement was made in part, Luxenburg explained, to assure students and parents that the district was prepared for the shift in power.

“[We didn’t want people to think it was] an uncomfortable situation for us,” said Luxenburg, who has served on the Board since 2010.

“We’re sad to see him go,” he said, but noted that Markwardt will be a “great fit” at West Geauga.

Luxenburg praised Markwardt for his balanced decision making.

“He may form an initial opinion on something, but he always waited to form his final judgement until he had the opportunity to investigate all the facts,” he said. “[It’s a] quality most people don’t possess.”

“From issues ranging from cutting spending to investing more in a program, from hiring staff to terminating them, he is diligent and methodical in all he does,” Luxenburg added.

“I make my decisions [based on] what I think is right, not what I think is popular,” Markwardt said.

Luxenburg said he feels there is nothing Markwardt should have done differently over his tenure. However, he did acknowledge “hiccups” with certain endeavors.

Markwardt, retrospectively, admitted some errors in judgement, such as the previous outsourcing of student transportation to a private company. The outsourcing caused bus delays and other issues, inconveniencing students and parents.

“It was a mess,” he said. “It turned out not to be a good decision.”

However, he said he feels the district’s transportation department is now in “much better shape” than it was upon his start in Beachwood.

Junior Henry Grasso, who has been enrolled in the district since he was in the first grade, said he generally approves of Markwardt’s performance. Markwardt has served as superintendent for the entirety of Grasso’s education in Beachwood, thus far.

“I think he has been an effective leader of the school district,” Grasso said.

However, Grasso was critical of Markwardt’s handling of the BHS renovation, explaining that he felt the auditorium project should have been completed simultaneously with the rest of the building.

Markwardt explained that one of the greatest struggles he dealt with during his tenure was the “pervasive sense of pessimism” he said he found upon his arrival.

“When I first came here, there were a lot of people who believed that this district had seen its best days,” he said, adding that these concerns were related to district finances, academics and other areas.

“There was just a sense of pessimism in the community and the schools that I found … very, very difficult to deal with.”

“I had to confront it, at times,” Markwardt said. “Mostly, I just had to prove to them that they were wrong.”

“And, ten years later, we’ve done it.”