By Kyle Nagel and Jill Kelley, Dayton Daily News Staff Writers Updated 6:39 PM Monday, September 26, 2011

CENTERVILLE — Ron Ullery, a teacher, coach and athletic administrator at Centerville High School for 35 years, will retire as athletic director of the area’s largest high school at the end of the calendar year. He hopes to remain as football coach.

Ullery, a Brookville native who has been part of the Elks coaching staff since 1977 and head coach since 2000, said the timing felt right for the decision. He has served as both football coach and athletic director since 2002.

“I tried to never slight one of the jobs at the expense of the other,” Ullery, 56, said of serving as math teacher then athletic director as well as coach. “I treated them as two separate full-time jobs.”

Superintendent Tom Henderson called Ullery a work horse who has dedicated his career, both in the classroom and on the field, to Centerville High School.

“He’s in the office at 4 (a.m.) or 4:30 in the morning,” Henderson said. “He’s very organized and gets a great deal accomplished.

“I don’t know if there is anyone else around who contributes as much time and energy to the success of the athletic program at Centerville High School as Ron Ullery.”

Ullery’s retirement will be effective Dec. 30. He intends to continue as football coach, but by protocol the position must be posted in the spring for applications, Ullery said.

The Centerville Board of Education approved Ullery’s retirement at its Monday meeting.

Henderson said he and the board should know by the end of this week how they will fill the role of athletic director.

“One option would be to post the position now and move forward and see who all is interested internally and externally,” Henderson said. “Another way would be to offer an interim position (to complete the school year), and then post the job in the spring.”

Henderson said if the district were to post the position now, it would look primarily within the district.

“Most people outside are already under contract and deeply ingrained in their districts,” he said. “If we post it in the spring, we will probably consider both in inside and outside (candidates).”

Henderson said this year Ullery is making around $111,000 as athletic director, due to his professional growth steps and 35 years in the district. The base salary for AD is around $73,000.

As a football coach with more than 10 years of experience, he makes $7,643.

Henderson could not say whether Ullery will return as head football coach.

“The position will be posted, so it’s hard to say right now what direction we’ll go,” he said.

According to updated Ohio High School Athletic Association enrollment figures, which determine divisions by counting students in grades 9-11, Centerville has the state’s fourth-largest count behind No. 1 Mason, No. 2 Fairfield and No. 3 Lakota West. The Elks have 27 varsity programs and about 1,300 sports participants per year.

Ullery, who holds degrees from Bowling Green and the University of Dayton, said he applied for several teaching positions out of Bowling Green in 1977. He joined Centerville during a growth period for the school and served as offensive line coach and offensive coordinator for longtime Elks coach Bob Gregg, who compiled a 219-61 record from 1973-99.

Ullery has a 88-39 record, including 2-3 this season, as head football coach entering Friday night’s home matchup with Fairmont. The Elks have made six playoff appearances in Ullery’s first 11 years as coach, including the past four seasons.

“It’s been 35 years, and I never (felt like) I had a job,” Ullery said. “I always intended to retire when I still loved coming to work, and I do.”