LAKE ORION, Mich. – On Wednesday, May 29, 2024, the Lake Orion Community Schools Board of Education threw an open house for departing Superintendent Ben Kirby in the LOCS Administration Building. Kirby started with LOCS in 2020, taking over the position from Marion Ginopolis and lead the school district through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kirby’s resignation was officially accepted on April 24 during a regular school board meeting. He will continue his position with the school district through the end of June. On July 1, Kirby is expected to become the superintendent of Forest Hills Public Schools in Grand Rapids, Mich.
At 3:30 p.m., friends and colleagues gathered in the administration building on Lapeer Rd. to congratulate Kirby on his new position and to celebrate his accomplishments with the district.
Photo by Joe Johnson
Kirby met with several community leaders and exchanged thanks, laughs, hugs, handshakes and gratitude.
ONTV’s Lexi McKinney spoke to Kirby about his time with the school district and what his plans are going forward.
“It’s a pleasure to come to work, it’s a pleasure to be an employee of Lake Orion Community Schools,” Kirby said. “The feeling of being a ‘dragon’ is something unlike that I’ve experienced in other school districts. Everybody rallying around being a dragon, whether it’s our elementary schools, middle schools, high schools – we all have the same purpose, the same drive, the same passion – and that is what is really different about Lake Orion.”
Some notable figures at the open house included members of the Orion Board of Trustees, the Orion Area Chamber of Commerce and members of the Village Council and the Downtown Development Authority.
“I’m looking forward to figuring out what is my reason for going to Forest Hills and that’s one of those things when I got here, I knew, it didn’t take very long to figure out why I was put here,” Kirby said. “This has been amazing… It’s all about the personal side for us as a family, getting back together, I’m from the west side of the state, we knew we were going to head back there but this particular position that opened is not one that opens regularly and it was just everything just kind of lined up.”
Kirby had an eventful closing remark during our interview as a final sendoff: “I finish everything with… Go Dragons!”
For more information about the Superintendent search visit lakeorionschools.org/board-of-education/superintendent-search-2024.