BLANCHESTER — Blanchester Local Schools Superintendent Dean Lynch’s contract was renewed Monday night in a 4-1 vote, with Todd Bandow voting no. This means that Lynch will continue as superintendent from Aug. 1, 2018 to July 31, 2021.

The contract was renewed despite objections and protest from community members.

Before the vote was made, Glen Ray Vestal spoke to the board asking them to hold off the vote until December.

“The general feeling is that the people in this community are not happy with the way things are going,” said Vestal. “There have been guys who have been praising you guys (the board) left and right, and I get that. But when you hear and see all this negativity, there’s got to be a reason for this.”

He referenced students who had been going door to door to collect signatures for Lynch’s resignation. One of those students was Molly Campbell, who presented the board with signatures she collected.

As to Lynch’s critics who have noted that Lynch’s Ohio superintendent’s license expired in June, a Monday statement from Board President Keith Gibson read:

“As most of you are aware, the Board intends to consider the renewal of Dean Lynch’s Superintendent employment contract at tonight’s meeting. Some of you have expressed concern about the status of Dean Lynch’s superintendent’s license, which expired on June 30, 2017. Mr. Lynch has assured the Board that he has timely applied to ODE to have his license renewed; however, there is a delay by ODE in issuing the renewal license.

“We have reviewed this issue with the Board of Education’s legal counsel and have received assurance that Mr. Lynch may continue to be employed as Superintendent, even if there is a temporary lapse in his license due to ODE’s delay. The statute involved here is Ohio Revised Code Section 119.06(C), which reads in relevant part as follows:

‘When periodic registration of licenses or renewal of licenses is required by law, a licensee who has filed an application for registration or renewal within the time and in the manner provided by statute or rule of the agency shall not be required to discontinue a licensed business or profession merely because of the failure of the agency to act on the licensee’s application. Action of an agency rejecting any such application shall not be effective prior to fifteen days after notice of the rejection is mailed to the licensee.’

“Our legal counsel has received letters directly from ODE on similar matters involving other licensed individuals and school districts. These letters reinforce our counsel’s position that Mr. Lynch may continue to work as Superintendent of Blanchester School District during the pendency of his license renewal process with ODE.”

For more on this story, see Tuesday’s wnewsj.com and Wednesday’s print edition.

— The News Journal’s Tom Barr contributed to this story.