The board named Robert M. Elliott as the new president and chief executive officer of Dayton Christian Schools.
Elliott has served as president of Legacy Ministries Foundation since July 2009 and led one of the most successful annual fund campaigns in the school system’s history, nearly doubling the level of giving from prior years. The foundation provides fund-raising assistance for all ministries of Legacy Ministries International.
Elliott previously served as executive director of Emmanuel Christian Academy in Springfield, which he helped to found in 1997.
Schindler, 75, said, “I am overwhelmed at what God has done these many years through the ministry of Dayton Christian School System and look forward to what God will do in the years ahead under Bob’s direction.”
Schindler served as the school system’s superintendent for 37 years.
Stepping down “wasn’t a quick decision” and a succession plan has been in the works for five years, he noted.
“It’s time for new blood and new ideas and new visions,” he said.
In 1999 Schindler took on the additional role of president of the school system’s newly formed parent organization, Legacy Ministries International. He will be retiring from that position, too.
Legacy Ministries International also runs several other ministries under its umbrella, including Legacy Village Retirement Community, Legacy Village Assisted Living, LMI Services, and The Schindler Banquet Center. Those organizations are on the 250-acre Legacy Center campus in Xenia, which it had purchased in 1999 from the state to relocate Xenia Christian Schools.
Schindler saw the school system start in 1963 and watched it grow into one of the largest Christian school systems in the country.
Dayton Christian Schools now has more than 1,500 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade at its Dayton Christian and Xenia Christian School campuses and in its Dayton Christian Homeschool program.
“For nearly 50 years, Bud Schindler devoted his life to this ministry,” said Dr. William Wilson, the board’s chairman who called Schindler’s service “a blessing to countless lives.”
Schindler, who is married with four grown children, said he will continue to interact with parents, donors, alumni, and students on a regular basis in his new role of president emeritus.
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