Graft, a former teacher and principal, has worked in a variety of Butler County school systems since 1993.
The selection of Graft was a high-stakes decision for the career school, which is one of the largest in Ohio, coming in the wake of school, community and business officials calling for more partnerships with expanding health care centers and industries.
“The board is unanimous that Jon is the right person to lead Butler Tech into the future,” Pete Robinson, president of the Butler Tech Board of Education said Friday. “Jon is ready to work with our staff, our students and their families, and the local business community to ensure that Butler Tech delivers the best educational experiences and workforce services.”
The board is scheduled to vote on Graft’s hiring at its Tuesday meeting.
A Monroe resident, Graft said “business leaders, elected officials and educators are gaining a deeper appreciation every day just how important career technical education will be in preparing students for the jobs of tomorrow.”
“Butler Tech has been a longtime innovator in career tech, and I’m excited to join the staff in developing a vision that the entire community can rally around,” said Graft.
Graft replaces Bill Miller as permanent superintendent for Butler Tech. Miller retired Jan.1 and was replaced by Interim Superintendent Laura Sage, a former administration official with Butler Tech.
Butler Tech serves 27,000 full- and part-time high school and adult students on five campuses throughout the county and is one of only three, publicly funded career schools in Southwest Ohio.
Graft was one of three remaining superintendent candidates out of an original pool of 15.
Joel Anderson, superintendent of Hamilton County’s Reading Schools and Celena Roebuck, superintendent of Cuyahoga Valley Career Center in northern Ohio, were also being considered.
Graft has more than two decades of experience in education, most recently serving as the Superintendent of the Butler County Educational Service Center (ESC) and Interim Superintendent of the New Miami Local School District.
His previous roles with the Butler County ESC include Assistant Superintendent and Executive Director of Preschool Programs. He has also served as a principal at Creekview Elementary (Middletown City Schools), Madison Intermediate School (Madison Local Schools) and Madison Junior School (Madison Local Schools). Graft started his teaching career at Madison Junior School in 1993.
Graft earned a bachelor of science in education at Bowling Green State University and a master of education administration at the University of Dayton. He is a member of the Southwest Ohio Computer Association (SWOCA) Executive Committee, the Miami University Education Health and Society Advisory Board and the Great Miami Valley YMCA Board of Trustees.
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