WHEELING — Attorney Erik Schramm will return to the Ohio County Board of Education after being appointed by West Virginia Schools Superintendent Michele Blatt on Thursday.

Schramm will fill the seat left vacant following the death of Grace Norton on May 20.

Sitting board members met June 29 to appoint someone to fill the Magisterial District 1 representation on the board, but were deadlocked between former school board candidate Jessica Powers and Olivia Litman, marketing director for the Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Both names were sent to Blatt for consideration. But she instead chose as an alternate the former member Schramm, who served on the board from 2004 through 2012. The last two years of his tenure, he was board president.

“I appreciate and am grateful for the trust Superintendent Blatt has placed in me with this appointment,” Schramm said in a statement released by the Ohio County Board of Education. “I look forward to serving the county again in this capacity and advancing the work of the Ohio County Board of Education.”

When contacted Thursday afternoon, Schramm said he had yet to speak with any of the sitting board members or administration. He wanted to do so before making any additional comment.

Schramm is a resident of District 1.

“Mr. Schramm will be an asset to the Ohio County Board of Education because of his love of the community and his depth of knowledge about local, regional and state education issues,” Blatt said. “He will offer insight, expertise and continuity to the existing work, and his extensive professional, personal and charitable background illustrate how much he cares for the public school system and the children within its care.”

Ohio County Schools officials expect he will likely join the board as its newest member when they next meet on July 24.

Superintendent Kim Miller thanked Blatt for her thoughtful consideration in the selection, and she looks forward to working with Schramm.

“Mr. Schramm has valuable experience as a past board member and board president,” Miller said. “I anticipate that he will work well with the current board members in working toward the best interest of the students of Ohio County Schools.”

During his tenure, Schramm led Ohio County Schools’ first capital campaign for the construction of the J.B. Chambers Performing Arts Center. He and his wife Sharon established the Warwood Middle School Band Scholarship.

Schramm earned a bachelor of science degree in biology from Bethany College; a master’s in business administration from West Virginia University; a master’s certificate in federal government contracting from WVU and the Federal Market Institute; and a Juris Doctorate from WVU.

He is a partner in the law firm Hanlon, McCormick, Schramm, Bickford and Schramm in St. Clairsville.

Schramm will be the third attorney on the Ohio County Board of Education, alongside members David Croft and Molly Aderholt. The other two members on the five-member board — president Andy Garber and Pete Chacalos — are retired educators.

The unexpired term being filled by Schramm expires June 30, 2024.