James Hilton

BLOOMINGDALE — The Jefferson County Joint Vocational School has a new official on board after James Hilton was named adult education director and grant writer.

Hilton was approved with a one-year contract during the regular JVS school board meeting on Tuesday and brings a wealth of experience in education. He has served as an elementary school teacher, principal and most recently, director of teacher education at Eastern Gateway Community College. The Tidewater, Fla., native earned his undergraduate degree in religion from Bethany Divinity College in Alabama and his graduate’s degree in elementary education and doctorate in educational leadership from Liberty University in Virginia. Hilton taught elementary school in Florida and Virginia and was a grade K-8 principal at Jubilee Christian School near Pittsburgh, where he honed his skills in grant writing and earned funding for technology to student tuition. He worked at EGCC until July and resides in Richmond with his wife, Joy, and their daughter, Felicity.

Hilton was ecstatic about his new role, which begins on Sept. 23, and wants to help the JVS continue to grow.

“I’m being brought in to develop an Ohio Technical Center here, which is really exciting to me. I was hired as director of teacher education at EGCC and we were the second largest program when the college ended,” he said. “I like to build things and I love to help individuals find what they are passionate about. There is a void that needs filled (with the closure of EGCC) and the JVS has an established presence. There are gaps to find skills, reskill and help those who want to stay here and start a business. What better way to invest in the community and the JVS is already here.”

The OTC designation would prepare people for careers beyond the vocational school concept and the JVS wants to develop training courses, while the addition of Hilton would aid with that concept. Currently, 43 of the 49 joint vocational schools across Ohio are OTCs.

Superintendent Todd Phillipson welcomed Hilton and has high hopes for the new administrator.

“We’re excited to have a great person to help with developing the OTC and we expect great things from our adult education director,” he said.

In related matters, the board will hold a workshop to brainstorm ideas for the future of the JVS and attain its OTC designation. Officials led a building and grounds committee meeting prior to the regular session and planned to conduct the workshop on Oct. 7 at 5:30 p.m., after which they will select an architect to help move the JVS forward. The board has a short list of architectural design firms which submitted requests for qualifications and the committee reviewed them during their session. Top contenders included SHP Architects of Ohio and Pennsylvania, Strollo Architects Inc., of Youngstown and McKinley Architecture and Engineering of Wheeling.

Phillipson said the board would negotiate with the selected architect and focus on how to update the facilities, while previous talks included relocating several labs and possibly adding programs.

“We need to come up with a plan and hold a workshop before we meet with them,” said board President Steve Bezak III. “We will do some brainstorming and then have them come to the November meeting and decide who to go with.”

Among other action, the board:

• Accepted the resignation of cafeteria manager Lori Yanczura and hired Cathleen Darling as her successor and head cook on a one-year limited contract. Officials also agreed to accept proposals for a food service management company;

• Approved Tammy Sismondo and Lisa McFarland to take six students to the Washington Leadership Academy in Arlington, Va., on Sept. 26-30;

• Approved Caroline Celani as intervention specialist for the current school year;

• Named Emily Holmes and Mary Alice Wise to the substitute teacher list and Laurie Shimko on the classified substitute list for the 2024-25 school year;

• Approved a contract with the Jefferson County Juvenile Court for a school liaison;

• Approved a memorandum of understanding with the GRIT Project Coalition;

• Announced board members’ terms will expire on Dec. 31 for Barbara Cunningham, Toni Jean Dondzila and Andy Reeves;

• Set the next regular meeting for 5 p.m. Oct. 15 in the board conference room.