ROSSFORD — There was some disagreement among the Rossford Board of Education members as to how to proceed
with the information gleaned from the recently completed performance audit of the district. The topic
was the main focus of a special meeting of the board convened with a primary function of discussing the
audit.
After hearing the superintendent, Dan Creps outline his thoughts Monday night on the details of the
audit, the board members took differing views on the way to move forward.
Beverly Koch suggested the board develop and implement a strategic master plan for the district. However,
Jackie Huffman said she saw their role more to oversee Creps and Treasurer Jamie Rossler and allow them
to do the jobs they were hired to do.
Supporting Koch’s suggestion, board member Jackie Brown added: “I have heard a lot of ‘We will get to it,
we will evaluate it.’ What we need is to set goals and outline what we’re going to do and how to get
there.”
She recalled under a previous superintendent a similar plan was enacted and things ran very well.
Koch, noting the audit’s recommendation for reducing staffing by 31 full-time positions, indicating that
was the “most glaring” item in the audit. She stated it also indicated why the community “pushed us” for
the audit.
Stressing the need to preserve the quality education, Koch said there was within the district a “lack of
trust, lack of transparency and lack of sharing information.”
She also called the district extremely “top heavy” noting 14 administrative positions compared to an
average of six in comparable districts in Ohio as noted in the audit.
Thus, she asked the board, along with Creps and Rossler, to establish a plan for the district to
establish direction. She wants that plan to be complete with specific goals and objectives and a time
line to meet those goals.
Brown echoed the sentiment adding, “That is our job, that’s what we are elected to do.”
Huffman said the board should not be developing the strategic plan, but rather listening to the
superintendent and treasurer and helping them.
“We are not here to tell them how to run our district. We’re here to monitor the district,” Huffman said.
“This is a great community. We need Dan and Jamie for guidance. How can we be supportive and help them?
Let’s make this district and let’s make Rossford a great community again. My job is to let them run the
schools.”
Koch reiterated, “We’re elected to lead with input from Dan (Creps) and Jamie (Rossler).”
Board member Dawn Burks said the district is moving forward, reminding that Creps had shared how many of
the cuts had been made after data was collected for the audit but prior to the audit’s release.
“I like to be proactive rather than to react. We’re doing a lot but we still have work we need to do,”
Burks said.
Notably many of those cuts were associated with the closing of Indian Hills Elementary and related
staffing decreases due to retirements and attrition.
She suggested a more detailed website regarding finances “to help with transparency.”
Financial forecasts indicate the board may need to seek a levy. Rossler stated revenues and income
sources are flat with no real prospect of increases. He also noted a shrinking enrollment which will
lead to more reductions in the future.
Creps said: “We can’t look at cost savings any more. We can’t make up that gap with cuts.”
The superintendent praised the fact that it has been 12 years with no new requests for money from
taxpayers.
Suggesting the board end that streak, Creps said: “That’s something the board needs to consider. We can’t
cut our way out, we need more revenue.”
“I am not comfortable seeking a levy at this point as a board member and a citizen if we’re not going to
show the public where we are in our strategic plan,” Koch said, sharing how that is how the board can
demonstrate trust.
In his opening remarks, Creps addressed many of the 22 recommendations made by the Auditor of State’s
office. There were, however, many he simply stated were already done or were things that could be
implemented.
The superintendent stressed quality and calling the audit report “numerical representation of the
district” and “only one source of information.”
He summarized stressing the importance of maintaining quality. “There are a lot of things we have to look
at as we move the district forward,” Creps said.
When asked, Rossler defended some of the other procedures questioned in the audit and noted this
performance audit raised concerns and issues never addressed in the regular full audits. He says he has
asked for specifics not outlined in the audit but has yet to receive any answers.
When asked by Brown about the report of late payments in the audit, Rossler specifically stated, “The
regular audits don’t find the same things.”
He also alleged the audit assumed certain items were not put out to bid, when they in fact were. The
treasurer explained all the bids were not included with the purchase orders.