LIMA, OH (WLIO) - After nearly 15 years at the helm of the Lima City Schools, Superintendent Jill Ackerman has announced her retirement after 37 years in the district.
After nearly 15 years at the helm of the Lima City Schools, Superintendent Jill Ackerman has announced her retirement.
She says it felt like home when she started as a substitute special education teacher in the winter of 1988. She then worked her way up the ranks at several of the district's school buildings and into the role of assistant superintendent in 2002 and became superintendent in 2012. There have been many changes in education during her career, and she is proud of being at the forefront of several of them.
"We were the first school district in the state of Ohio to do ALICE training with Officer Vastano. So we're very proud of that. We were pioneers in school safety. And the second thing we were the second school district in the state of Ohio to implement a school-based health clinic, and that we are very proud of too. And the food pantries and just that whole ability to serve the whole child and the whole family. Not just in academics but with emotional well-being and meeting all those physical needs. That's been very important too," stated Jill Ackerman, superintendent of Lima City Schools.
Ackerman says she's not letting up on the gas and has more yet to do in the district.
Ackerman says she's not letting up on the gas and has more yet to do in the district. The school board will meet later this month to start the process of finding a new superintendent. Ackerman's retirement takes effect on August 1, 2025.
January 14, 2025, Press Release from Lima City Schools: The Lima City Schools Board of Education accepted Superintendent Jill Ackerman’s retirement at last night’s regular board meeting.
The retirement will go into effect Aug. 1, 2025.
The school board will hold a special meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29, to begin the process of finding the district’s next superintendent. The board will enter into executive session.
Ackerman has spent her entire career with the Lima City Schools, beginning in 1988 as a special education teacher. She later served as assistant principal and principal at North Middle School. Ackerman was named assistant superintendent in 2002 and became superintendent in 2012.
