The Board of Education is comprised of five elected citizens and meets in regular session on the third Tuesday of each month at 4:30 p.m. and in special session (as needed) on the first Thursday of each month at 4:30 p.m.
Meetings are held in the Community Room in the Elementary School. The public is invited. Dates and times are posted on sign boards at the elementary and junior/senior high schools; agendas are posted in the main offices of both buildings and on the district website.
Email: rgnepper@ohschools.org Phone: 419-283-2963 Address: 2806 Falmouth Rd., Ottawa Hills, OH 43615 Education: B.A., Geography – The Ohio State University
Bio: Mr. Gnepper is Territory Business Manager - Non Viral Liver Disease for Intercept Pharmaceuticals. He and wife Colleen have lived in Ottawa Hills since 2003. They have three children: Reed (16 years), Blake (14 years), and Luke (11 years). He is a member of the Ottawa Hills Kindergarten Club and graduated from Ottawa Hills High School in 1991. Having grown up here, he has been extremely active in the community and the school system by volunteering on many committees and boards.
Mr. Gnepper has been a board member since January 2018.
Email: maara.fink@utoledo.edu Phone: 419-297-5451 Address: 4407 Indian Rd., Ottawa Hills, OH 43615 Education: J.D. – University of Toledo College of Law
Bio: Ms. Fink is a clinical professor of law at the University of Toledo College of Law. In addition to her activities at the law school, she currently serves on the boards and/or committees of the Ohio Mediation Association, Toledo Bar Association, University of Toledo Law Alumni Affiliate, and the Adrian College Law Advisory Board.
She and husband Chris Hamilton have four children enrolled in Ottawa Hills Schools: son Adam (a senior grade); son Noah (10th grade); daughter Sara (7th grade); and daughter Sophie (5rd grade). They have lived in the Village since the fall of 2012.
Ms. FInk has been a board member since January 2018.
Email: chupp@ohschools.org Phone: 419-376-7166 Address: 3428 Brantford Rd., Ottawa Hills, OH 43606 Education: B.A., Political Science - The Ohio State University
Bio: Mr. Hupp is Senior Vice President, at BridgePoint Risk Management. He and his wife Sandy have three children who attended Ottawa Hills Local Schools: Noah (Class of 2014), Miranda (Class of 2017), and Jillian (Class of 2019). He has lived in the Village since September 2000 and has been involved with OH Boosters, OH Youth Baseball, OHSPA, and OHLS Facilities Committee. Mr. Hupp previously served as a Village Council member (2012-2016) and chaired the Wildlife Management Task Force.
Email: klathrop@ohschools.org Phone: 419-262-7799 Address: 3805 Sulphur Spring Rd., Ottawa Hills, OH 43606 Education: Bachelor's degree in psychology from Colgate University and a master's of business administration degree from the University of Toledo.
Bio: Kathy Lathrop and husband George have lived in the Village for 20 years. They have three children in the district as well as one who is an alumna.
She serves on the ProMedica Toledo Hospital and Ebeid Children's Hospital Auxiliary Board; she recently finished a six-year term on the Ebeid Children's Hospital Board. She is a sustaining member and past board member of the Junior League of Toledo. In addition, she is the bookkeeper for Diabetes Youth Services.
In the Village, she is a board member and treasurer of the OH Boosters; in 2016, she co-chaired the biennial Green Bear Ball, a community fundraiser for Ottawa Hills Local Schools. And last fall, she served as co-chair of the 2020 campaign that put two levy issues before voters (both were successful).
Email: asmidi@ohschools.org Phone: 419-466-0766 Address: 4244 Halifax Rd., Ottawa Hills, OH Education: B.B.A: University of Toledo; MBA: University of Toledo; Ph.D. (in progress): Bowling Green State University
Bio: Mr. Smidi is the chief executive and principal owner of Joe's Autos, an automotive dealership in Toledo founded by his immigrant father Joe Smidi. He grew up in South Toledo, moved to Sylvania in high school, and graduated from Sylvania Northview High School in 2001. While working full-time, he obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Toledo in management and marketing. He is currently completing the doctoral program in Organizational Communications at Bowling Green State University.
He is a member of the Education Committee of the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo; of the Central Academy of Ohio board; and of the University of Toledo Family Business Center Advisory Board.
He has received several honors, including a “20 Under 40 Award” in 2019 in recognition of his leadership activities in the Toledo area. He also received the “Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award” and “Research Recognition Award” from BGSU’s School of Media and Communication. He also has been recognized as a dedicated advocate for women’s rights by Women of Toledo.
He has taught business and communication classes at both UT and BGSU. He also has been an invited speaker of nonprofit organizations to discuss how economic and social justice, women’s rights, and equality are values shared by Muslims and Americans.
While at BGSU, he served on the college’s Board of Trustees representing fellow graduate students. In his second year of doctoral studies, he published an article investigating the role of media in the Arab Spring, and presented two papers on faith-based organizations and Islamophobia at the National Communication Association conference, one of which received the 2017 “Top Student Paper Award.”
He and his wife Rana, a local pharmacist, moved to the village in June and have two children attending the Elementary School (1st and 2nd grades) and a pre-K child at home.
Once approved by the Board of Education, meeting minutes are searchable by date and type as well as an OCR search. They are stored in the district through its myscview.com site.
Educational Service Center of Lake Erie West serves the four local school districts of Lucas County: Ottawa Hills, Springfield, Anthony Wayne, and Washington Local. Services provided include: special education, Alternate Learning Center, attendance/social work, consultant, gifted and talented, preschool, psychological, and administrative. Visit the Educational Service Center of Lake Erie West.
