News Photo by Julie Goldberg Onaway Area Community Schools Superintendent Rod Fullerton is seen recently at his desk. Fullerton has been with the district for 20 years, the last 10 as superintendent and business manager.

ONAWAY — Rod Fullerton has been with Onaway Area Community Schools for 20 years, the last 10 as superintendent and business manager.

Fullerton, 50, was the business manager for 10 years before taking on both roles. He said he wanted to be superintendent to continue moving the district in a positive direction.

“We were making really great strides, and I wanted to continue that,” Fullerton said. “I didn’t want to see that disrupted. My situation is unique in that I’ve been working with our secondary principal and elementary principal for the entire 10 years I’ve been supe, and we operate very much as a team of three to run the school district.”

Secondary Principal Marty Mix said Fullerton cares about the students and staff and is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure the district’s needs are met.

“There isn’t a position in the school he hasn’t helped with,” Mix said. “He has supported every program intently and he cares about our students and staff. He simply guides our building by example and is someone who we can look up to.”

Superintendents have to be involved in and aware of so many things, Fullerton said, from building maintenance to data from test scores, and other items.

“I’m going from determining how many bus tires to buy to how many textbooks we need in the classroom,” Fullerton said. “A guy told me a long time ago, ‘You have to know a little about a lot.'”

Fullerton said the best thing about being a school superintendent is the students and watching them succeed. He has seen students struggle while in elementary school, but he gets to watch them grow and eventually graduate.

He has also seen students succeed in college and in the workplace and then come back and tell their experiences to the school.

“That’s a phenomenal thing, to know that you are a part of their upbringing,” Fullerton said. “That’s pretty huge to me.”

Some goals for Fullerton this school year are continuing the district’s academic success and improving technology. He wants to continue the district’s growth, overall.

Fullerton said he’s never had the desire to go to a larger school district, so he doesn’t have plans to leave Onaway anytime soon.

“I’m very happy where I’m at here,” he said.

Julie Goldberg can be reached at 989-358-5688 or jgoldberg@thealpenanews.com. Follow her on Twitter @jkgoldberg12.