JEROMESVILLE — Two incumbents and a newcomer secured spots on the Hillsdale Local Schools board, according to final unofficial voting results tabulated on Tuesday night.Â
Keith Yeater and Steven R. Smith were re-elected. Mark W. Hoffman, a political newcomer, was also elected, edging incumbent Vella J. King.
The results are according to final unofficial results from Ashland and Wayne county boards of election. The school district dips into Wayne County.
| Candidate | Ashland County votes | Wayne County votes |
| Mark W. Hoffman | 762 | 26 |
| Vella J. King | 704 | 16 |
| Steven R. Smith | 755 | 14 |
| Keith Yeater | 857 | 22 |
(Numbers from Wayne County are as of 10:55 p.m.)
Hoffman, 65, said he’s excited to serve the community in this way.
“I’m very happy to be able to continue serving the community after teaching here for 36 years and now being able to be on the school board. It’ll be exciting,” he said. “And I would just like to thank everybody for putting their support behind me.”
Smith, 48, thanked the voters for “instilling their trust in me.”
“I’m grateful for that,” he said, adding he was surprised by the results. “I kind of thought that I might be the outlier.”
The incumbent said he wants to keep everything stable and ensure the company behind the Rover Pipeline “follows through” and that the district gets its funding from them.
Yeater was not immediately available to comment.