State hires chief of schools from Cleveland

COLUMBUS (AP) — After a national search, the state Board of Education on Tuesday voted unanimously to hire a schools superintendent from Northeast Ohio over a deputy education secretary from out of state.

Deborah Delisle, 55, superintendent of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District, will replace Susan Tave Zelman, who departs Oct. 31. Delisle will be paid a salary of $194,500 a year and get an annual car allowance.

The other finalist was Catherine Maple Cross, a deputy education secretary in New Mexico.

Before taking the helm of her Cleveland-area district in March 2004, Delisle served as its associate superintendent for education services. She has taught graduate-level education courses and is the co-author, with her husband, of the Parent Choice Award-winning book “Growing Good Kids.”