The Southern Ohio Educational Service Center Governing Board has announced that they have voted unanimously to hire Beth Justice to serve as the 15th superintendent of the Southern Ohio ESC.

Justice will replace current superintendent Tony Long, who announced his retirement earlier this year. Justice will begin her official duties at the SOESC on Jan. 1, 2017.

Justice, who currently serves as the director of the Region 14 State Support Team, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph, a Special Education Certification, and a Master of Administration, Curriculum and Supervision, from Wright State University. She also holds Ohio principal, assistant superintendent, and superintendent licenses.

Justice began her career in education in 1988 as a special and regular education teacher and later principal in the Miami Trace Local School District. She then served as principal at Sunnyside kindergarten in the Washington C.H. and in 2008 was named the assistant superintendent of the Washington Court House City Schools. In 2014, Justice became a school improvement consultant for the Southern Ohio ESC and in 2015 was named director of the Region 14 State Support Team, where her organization serves 18 school districts in Adams, Brown, Clinton, Fayette and Highland counties.

Board President Richard Peck stated that, “The governing board is very excited to welcome Beth Justice as the new superintendent of the SOESC. Beth’s varied experiences in the field of education, as well as her knowledge of how the SOESC operates, led the board to choose her. We look forward to her leadership as we face the education challenges of the future.”

Justice resides in Washington C.H. with her husband, Chris, and their rescue dog, Cooper. Their daughter Logan, a graduate of the Washington Court House City Schools and Cleveland State University, now lives in Houston, Texas.

Information for this article was provided by Diana Miller, who coordinates communications for several area schools.