ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Walt Skaggs, superintendent of St. Clairsville-Richland City Schools, is president of the Ohio High School Athletic Association Board of Directors for the 2025-26 school year.

Skaggs is entering his second year of a three-year term on the OHSAA board and is serving as the AAA representative from the East District. He was recently elected board president.

“It’s very humbling. It’s quite an honor to represent the state as the president,” he said. “Obviously, I’ve got some big shoes to fill from past presidents and what not, but I look forward to the challenge and look forward to doing what is best for the kids.”

The OHSAA is the governing body of high school and junior high sports in Ohio. It is a voluntary, nonprofit organization that governs 815 high school and middle schools, which includes approximately 400,000 student-athletes.

“The board of directors basically oversees all the athletics across the state,” Skaggs said. “The board is also in charge of all the state tournaments, transfers, eligibility, etc … .”

Skaggs began his tenure on the East District Athletic Board in 2008, serving as president from 2013-15. He previously served on the OHSAA Board of Directors during the 2009-10, 2015-16 and 2017-18 school years, and he is also a member of the executive board of the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference, where he served as its president from 2013-15; the Buckeye Association of School Administrators and the Executive Board of the Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools. In addition, he was co-founder of the Buckeye 8 Athletic League, where he was president from 2003-08.

Skaggs said the board of directors meets about 10 times a school year, with the majority of the sessions taking place in Columbus.

Upon graduation from Muskingum College, Skaggs accepted a graduate assistant position at Ohio Northern University, where he served as assistant coach for the sports of football, wrestling and softball and was the head strength and conditioning coach. He began his teaching and coaching career in 1994 at Lima Senior High School, where he taught developmentally handicapped students, was a varsity football assistant (1996 Division I state champions) and the head coach for wrestling and tennis. In 1997, he moved back to Belmont County to serve as assistant principal and assistant football coach (defensive coordinator) at St. Clairsville High School. He became principal at the high school in 2000 and served in that capacity for eight years before becoming superintendent in June 2008. He held the dual duties of superintendent and high school principal from 2010-18.

Skaggs resides in St. Clairsville with his wife of 33 years, Denise. They have two sons, Cole and Reese.