8 apply for post of district treasurer

The plan is to have a new treasurer on board by the end of the calendar year.

By HAROLD GWIN

VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Only eight candidates, including the district’s current assistant treasurer, are vying for the position of treasurer of the Youngstown city schools, a job currently paying $93,000.

The school board will meet in special session at 4:30 p.m. today to begin reviewing the applications for the post being vacated by Carolyn Funk, who is retiring.

Jamael Tito Brown, chairman of the board’s personnel committee, said the board intends to interview all eight candidates.

Only those eight people applied for the position, said Damon Dohar, assistant superintendent for human resources.

A number of current and former school district treasurers from around the state, as well as Youngstown’s current assistant treasurer, have applied for the job.

Youngstown is trying to recover from a $15 million general fund deficit last fiscal year, enacting a plan of recovery that includes broad cost reductions and a proposed 9.5-mill tax levy that will go before the voters for a second attempt at passage in November.

The red ink prompted the state of Ohio to place the district in fiscal emergency, resulting in the appointment of a five-member Financial Planning and Supervision Commission that is overseeing all district finances.

With district 10 years

Funk said the district’s financial situation played no role in her decision to retire from her $93,000-a-year post with the expiration of her current contract Dec. 31.

She joined the district 10 years ago after serving 18 years as treasurer in the Salem city schools. She was initially hired under a two-year contract and was subsequently given two, four-year pacts.

She announced her plans to retire in April, saying that she has other interests in her life she wants and needs to pursue, most of them family-related.

Funk turns 61 in October and said she never planned to stay at her job until she was 65.

The board formally accepted her letter of retirement in May.

The Rev. Michael Write, board president, said at the time that no one pressured Funk to resign. Her letter of retirement was purely voluntary, he said at the time.

Announcing her decision in May has given the board time to search for a successor, and Write said the board wants to have a smooth transition by having her successor in place as Funk leaves.

gwin@vindy.com