Kettering schools administrator dies after crash

Kettering City Schools human resources director Chris Davis died Tuesday due to complications from a car crash over Christmas break, according to district officials.

Davis was in his first year with Kettering schools, having been hired as HR director last summer.

In a note to school staff, Kettering Superintendent Scott Inskeep said Davis had been receiving treatment for “a serious spinal cord injury and subsequent paralysis” from the crash, at University Hospital in Cincinnati. After some medical complications, Davis passed away Tuesday evening.

“In the brief time that Chris was here in the Kettering Schools, he touched a lot of people and truly embodied the Kettering attitude that we are all one big family,” Inskeep said Wednesday. “HR can be kind of a cold, negative aspect of an organization, but with Chris at the helm, this was not the case. He was the consummate professional who also approached work and life with a keen sense of humor.”

Davis spent most of his career working at school districts on the east side of Cincinnati. He was HR director for West Clermont schools from 2014-16, principal of Sycamore High School from 2007-14 and a principal in Milford and Mason schools for years before that.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Chris’s wife, Kathy, and to his children,” Inskeep said. “We will do everything we can to support his family during this very difficult time.”

Inskeep and Kettering schools’ existing administrative team are managing HR duties for now. That includes Debbie Mears, who was HR director last year before becoming director of instructional services.

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