ONTARIO — Supt. Keith Strickler said it wasn’t difficult to decide who he wanted as Ontario Middle School’s next principal.
Strickler said Tina Crim came highly recommended.
“When you have people that you respect and they talk about (someone) all the time about how great she is, that’s exciting,” Strickler said. “To me, it was a no-brainer.”
Crim and her family attended a board meeting Wednesday night when the board voted to make her hire official.
“Tina, you are exactly the principal that we need right now,” Strickler said. “The only people that I’ve talked to that didn’t think it was a good idea are some the teachers at Buckeye Central that are losing you as their principal.”
Crim will succeed Chris Miller, who resigned last month. Miller said leaving Ontario was “an incredibly difficult decision” in his letter of resignation.
“I want to thank Ontario Local Schools for the trust placed in me and for the personal and professional growth I have gained here,” he wrote. “I wish the district, staff, students, and community continued success in the future.”
Crim has worked in education for nearly two decades and started her career as a second grade teacher. She earned her master’s degree in administration from Ashland University, then worked as a principal in multiple buildings at Galion City Schools.
Her most recent job was in Buckeye Central, where she served as middle school principal.
“I love the relationships you can build (with middle schoolers). You can plant some good seeds with them,” she said. “The relationships that you build with middle schoolers are unlike any other because they are very unpredictable.”
Crim said she applied for the Ontario job in part because it’s closer to home.
“It was a pretty cool opportunity. Mr. Strickler has been fantastic. Why not work for somebody who’s going to build you up?” she said. “It felt like the right fit.”
Crim said she wants to continue the school’s momentum.
“I’m not going to come in and make any major changes. I want to see where we’re at and set some goals based on needs,” she said.
“I’m in this for children and and staff. I want everyone and every one of my students to succeed inside and outside of the building. I’m going to do whatever I can to help mold them and shape them to and support them in doing that.”
Ontario High School grad hired at Stingel Elementary
The board also hired three additional staff members at its Wednesday meeting.
Jordain Jones, a 2017 Ontario High School graduate, will return to the district as an intervention specialist at Stingel Elementary.
Strickler said Jones’ resume stood out in part due to her involvement in building leadership, positive behavioral interventions and support (PBIS) and multi-tiered systems of support teams at her previous schools.
“If there’s a committee, you’re on it. That’s very exciting, to see somebody that is willing to jump in there and give it give it their all,” Strickler told Jones, who sat in the audience with her husband and two young children.
Emily Clevenger was hired as a seventh grade science teacher. Strickler said she came “highly recommended.”
“Getting to meet you and talk to you about your ideas for the seventh grade science and all that, I knew that you you’re going to be a great fit,” he said.
Sally Carsner was hired as an intervention specialist for the intermediate cross categorical room. She spent last year as a long term substitute at Stingel Elementary.
“What I hear about her is that she works very well with the students and with the teachers,” Strickler said.
The board also approved three-year agreements with its administrators and support staff represented by a local Ohio Association of Public School Employees union.
This agreement with OAPSE employees includes a three percent base wage increase in the 2026-2027 school year and 2 percent base wage increases in the following two school years.
The OAPSE union includes bus drivers, bus mechanics, lead cooks, cooks, custodians, maintenance, principals, athletic secretary, aides, bus aides, guidance secretary, playground aides and study hall monitors, according to the agreement. It does not include supervisors and the secretarial employees at the central office of the board of education.
