BLOOMINGDALE — The Jefferson County Joint Vocational School Board of Education covered plenty of ground during their brief session Tuesday.

Superintendent Ted Gorman said he had returned from the New and Aspiring Superintendents Academy conference in Zanesville that day, which he said proved helpful as he learned the ropes of his new role at the JVS. Gorman said he attended the cohort and heard from career center superintendents about their experiences.

“The New and Aspiring Superintendents Academy has been an excellent opportunity to connect with other leaders and learn from some of the best in the field,” he said. “Each session gives me practical ideas to bring back to the Jefferson County JVS as we continue building a school where students and staff are proud to come every day.”

He added that more conferences were on the horizon, including the Ohio School Boards Association Capital Conference in Columbus on Nov. 16-18 and the National Association for Career Technical Education CareerTech Vision Conference on Dec. 9-12 in Nashville, Tenn. According to the website, the ACTE event will be held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center and offer comprehensive programming covering high-quality CTE in secondary and postsecondary environments and emerging trends in the field to help career and technical educators thrive in their careers. There will also be an expo, hundreds of concurrent program sessions, and numerous networking opportunities.

Supervisor-Principal Heather Hoover said the school would be hosting upcoming tours for eighth-graders and sophomores who may attend in the near future. The eighth-grade tours are set for Nov. 6,7 and 10 while the sophomore visits are scheduled for Nov. 12-14. Among the participants are Buckeye Local, Edison, Indian Creek, Toronto, and Jefferson County Christian School as well as homeschooled students.

“A majority of our home schools have signed up for the sophomore tours, but anyone who wants to attend may contact (school counselor) Shellie Henderson,” Hoover added.

She continued that the multimedia and design program were completing a recruitment video while she and teacher Allison Boyd were creating posters, while tables for program labs will be stationed around the cafeteria for the touring students to visit. Sophomores also will complete a card with their top three choices of programs they would be interested in if they attended the JVS.

“Once the students get a feel of the labs, they can go in and spend time and also make peer-to-peer contacts and talk with them,” she said. “For the sophomore visits, the student council will take them around. If time is available, they can visit the labs and we’ll also put together cards about the credentials so they learn what they need (for the programs.)”

The board also:

• Approved the teacher seniority list;

• Approved the re-appointment of Jim Mills and Jamie Freeman to the Local Professional Development Committee for a two-year period from January to December of 2027;

• Accepted the resignation of head cook Cathleen Darling, hired Lou DeChristopher as auto service aide and William Trimmer as part-time building cleaner, approved Kacey Moore, Tina Rawson and Dana Meadows as substitute teachers for the 2025-26 school year and approved a one-year limited contractor for Emily Waggoner as part-time adult education coordinator;

• Approved a contract with Julian & Grube for advisory services;

• Approved the purchase of access control for exterior doors from i2c Technologies for $19,684.36;

• Approved the sale of old cafeteria tables which are no longer needed for school purposes;

• Approved the purchase of workstations for the MAD program from CDW-G for $58,792.14;

• Approved a field trip to the SkillsUSA Leadership Conference in Columbus on Nov. 19;

• Set the next meeting for 5 p.m. Nov. 11 in the board conference room.