Retired Tri-County School Corp. Superintendent Gilbert “Gib” Crimmins has been named interim superintendent at the Lake Ridge Schools.

Crimmins takes over following the abrupt retirement of Sharon Johnson-Shirley, effective July 1. She didn’t send her retirement notice to the Lake Ridge School Board until mid-June.

Crimmins, of Remington, is expected to serve as school chief until January, when the school board hopes it will have a permanent replacement. He began his new job Tuesday.

Lake Ridge has 1,530 students in three schools and is located in unincorporated Calumet Township between Gary and Griffith.

“I believe we are in good hands,” said board president Kim Osteen in a release. “I am sure this will be a smooth transition as we begin our search for a new superintendent, and we hope to have that position filled by January.”

Crimmins is a co-founder of Administrators Assistance, an education research firm based in Brookston that offers consulting services.

Neither Crimmins’ contract nor Johnson-Shirley’s could be located on the district’s website as required by state law, so details of Crimmins’ salary weren’t immediately available.

Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.