Austintown district treasurer to retire

By Elise Franco

Barb Kliner said her colleagues made her career a success.

AUSTINTOWN — Barb Kliner, Austintown Schools treasurer, has seen as many downs as ups in her 20 years with the district, and said she’s ready for a new phase in her life.

Kliner, who has worked as a school treasurer for 30 years — 20 with Austintown and 10 with East Palestine — said she’s not sure what she’ll do after she leaves Austintown, but she said she won’t stay still for long.

“I’m ready to do whatever it is that comes next,” she said. “The possibilities are unlimited.”

Kliner said she would like to continue working, but she’s ready to do something different. She said she’s not ruling out working at other school districts, possibly as a fill-in or interim treasurer.

“I have 30 years of knowledge, so if I stay out of the field for even six months, because the job changes so quickly, what I know may not be as valuable,” she said. “I don’t want to lose that.”

An informal announcement of Kliner’s retirement was made at May’s school-board meeting, but board President Rick Zimmermann said they’ve known for quite some time.

“She told us last fall that her time was up and she was looking at doing other things,” he said. “It’s going to be hard replacing someone who has so much dedication to Austintown.”

Superintendent Doug Heuer said Kliner has been an ideal treasurer for Austintown schools.

“She is a very knowledgeable and skilled treasurer,” he said. “She understands that her role, along with everyone else’s in the district, is to focus on delivering a high-quality education.”

Kliner said her job entails more than just counting and keeping track of money.

She said she’s part of a team helping to make decisions on the future of special-education students, and she’s involved with planning for the Ohio School Facilities Commission project to build two new schools.

“I love every minute of that aspect,” she said. “Building AMS was one of the most stimulating, exciting projects I’ve taken on.”

Heuer, who has been employed by the district for four years, said Kliner expands her role even more by keeping other staff members focused and positive.

“It’s been a real pleasure for me to work with someone who I believe is one of the best treasurers in the state of Ohio,” he said.

Kliner said she will miss her colleagues.

“I have an absolutely fantastic office staff. They’re the ones who have made me as good as I am,” she said. “They’ve enabled me to go beyond a regular accounting person.”

In her 20 years in Austintown, Kliner said she’s seen her share of good and bad times.

“We’ve had financial difficulties, building problems, EPA issues, built the middle school and bus garage, gone through several union contract negotiations and worked like crazy to get levies passed — some that have taken six or seven tries,” she said.

When Kliner first began the job, using only an adding machine, she said she never fathomed such advances in technology.

“I went from that to computers, spreadsheets, databases. Look at the wild range of things that have happened since then,” she said. “It’s mind-boggling.”

Kliner said the treasurer position will be open for applications through June and can be found on the Ohio School Board Association and Ohio Department of Education Web sites.

She said she’ll stay on until Dec. 31 to help the new treasurer become acclimated to the position.

Heuer said whoever is chosen will need to rise above accomplishing average daily duties.

“Certainly I would be hopeful to have someone willing to work corroboratively with the superintendent’s office,” he said. “It needs to be a joint venture for planning and implementation if you’re going to be successful.”

Zimmermann said the district’s next treasurer has “one very large set of shoes to fill.”

“Barb has been a godsend for our district,” he said. “You could not ask for a better employee or person to work for you, and it’s going to be very hard to find somebody to do her job.”

efranco@vindy.com