Board approves superintendent transition
A full agenda led to a later night for the Ohio Hi-Point (OHP) Joint Vocational School District Board of Education on Wednesday, Feb. 26. And the focus was on some big plans for the future.
Dr. Rick Smith, superintendent, and Brad Richardson, assistant superintendent, presented their operational plan review — an extensive rundown of where they see OHP going and how they’re going to get there. By asking questions and gathering research, they came up with a list of recommendations.
“The number one priority coming out of this plan has to be developing consistency in our curriculum and resources,” Richardson told the board. “We need to start over and do a thorough study to help us and our students be successful.”
With that in mind, they want to create curriculum maps, something Richardson admitted will be a two-year process. Terrie Bodey, career tech supervisor, will move into a new role as curriculum director to help guide them through that.
Second, they want to address the school’s the long waitlists, specifically in the Health Careers Academy and welding. For instance, they have 50 students studying in a health career with another 79 on the waitlist. Smith and Richardson recommended hiring another instructor so they could accept 25 more students.
As for welding, Richardson said one potential interim solution might be to set up a portable, mobile welding lab in a semi trailer.
In considering how the school can expand to fit more students, the men suggested hiring an architect to draw up plans and make informed decisions in that regard.
To read the full plan, which also included facilities and grounds, the budget, and ways to work with middle schoolers, contact the school or visit the OHP website at ohiohipoint.com.
Superintendent Switch
The board also accepted Smith’s resignation. Smith, who is leaving OHP to be superintendent at Midwest Regional Educational Service Center (MRESC), will divide his time between the two jobs for six months starting July 1, as previously detailed in the Examiner.
Members approved a shared service agreement for Smith between OHP Career Center and the MRESC.
During the transition time, he’ll work with Richardson, who was approved Wednesday as OHP’s new superintendent beginning Jan. 1, 2026.
Richardson has been at OHP since 2016 and, according to Kelsey Webb, marketing and public relations coordinator, he and Smith have worked closely together for several years. That includes talking about this upcoming change.
“It will be a smooth transition,” Webb stated, “and will provide continuity as they both move from one position to another.”
At the MRESC, Smith is replacing retiring Superintendent Scott Howell, who has worked in education for 33 years. Howell retires in June 2025.
In other action, the board approved or accepted:
• the disposal of a lift located in the diesel lab (no value) for scrap;
• internship agreements with Belle Beauty, Bellefontaine; Elev8 Strength & Conditioning, Marysville; Hardbody Athlete, Plain City; Marie’s Candies and Springhills Auto Sales, West Liberty; White’s Service Center, Urbana; and Worthington Steel, Worthington;
• tuition reimbursement payments for initial teaching licensure or a district leadership request totaling $44,388.70 for Laura Atwood, Mary Gist, Zachary Goldsmith, Wes Hall, Kelsey King, Paul Morton, Erica Rice, David Rowe, Justin Silver, Brooke Sizemore, Heather Smith, Hayley Stratton and Michelle Suman at 100 percent and to Allison Koch, Mary Gist, Jeremiah Martin, Tonya Ramey, David Rowe and Amy Wagner at 75 percent;
• salary schedule movement for David Rowe, who earned 32 semester hours;
• resignations of Tamera Cooper, work-based learning coordinator, effective June 30; Philip Corwin, assistant technology coordinator, Feb. 28; Jamie Riley, intervention specialist, June 30; Robert Walker, facilities and grounds director, April 15; Connor Brandt, assistant technology coordinator, March 7; and John Marshall, agriculture education instructor, Feb. 17;
• employment of Chelsea Minter, CT financial assistant, Feb. 10 to June 30, 2025;
• the 2026-27 district calendar, which includes up to five calamity days as needed to be made up as needed on Jan. 18 and Feb. 15, 2027, and at the end of the school year.
• fingerprint background check processing fees for staff members, effective Feb. 1, set at $22 (BCI) and $24 (FBI);
• submission of a blended learning declaration request form to the Ohio Department of Education to allow the district to use a blended instructional model for the 2024-25 school year;
• the following stipends: academic summer school instructors at $30/hour for a maximum of five hours a day; summer work-based placement at $200/student up to a maximum of $2,400, to be paid with Perkins grant funds, if available; summer career exploration camp staff at $800 for three days of camp and one day of prep, payable upon completion; College Credit Plus (CCP), based on receiving funds from DEW’s CCP new course incentive program, to Leslie Bradley, John Brown, Bailey Hemmelgarn, Tyler Hodge, Douglas Hughes, Megan Schneider, Melissa Sizemore, Aaron Thompson, Mary Trudgeon and Lindsay Wyan;
• out-of-state study trips for Mary Trudgeon, Upper Scioto Valley senior advisor, to New York, New York, March 18-22; and for Lindsay Wyan, Riverside business satellite instructor, and Craig Bales, career tech supervisor, to chaperone five students participating in LifeSmarts National Competition in Chicago, April 24-27;
• donation of $500 to the ASPIRE Champion Fund and $500 to the OHP scholarship fund from Happytime LLC/Café Paradiso of Urbana;
• new academic courses of study: apprenticeship consumer math, agribusiness & production, animal science & management, horticulture, industrial power tech and quantitative reasoning.
• tuition reimbursements that do not fall within district policy to Robert Carder and Brooke Sizemore.
The next meeting is 7 p.m. Wednesday, Mar. 19. It’s a week earlier than usual due to spring break, which is March 24-28.
