MANSFIELD, Ohio — The Mansfield BOE unanimously voted and approved the hiring of a permanent treasurer, Robert Kuehnle, during Tuesday’s meeting.
“I’m very happy,” board president Renda Cline said after the meeting. “He is very experienced and detail oriented. He’s going to help the board understand financial happenings in order to better the district.”
According to Kuehnle’s 31/2-year contract, he will earn an annual $95,000 salary. For his first year, the treasurer is eligible to receive a board-paid 5.25 percent pay bump if he receives a positive annual review. Every subsequent year, the annuity increases to 10.5 percent.
The board also approved an extended interim contract for existing pro tempore treasurer Trevor Gummere, extending his stay through Jan. 14. His contract originally expired Dec. 31.
Kuehnle will then take over as interim treasurer from Jan. 15 to Feb. 1, when his official contract as treasurer begins. The two-week period will give Keuhnle time to finish his duties at Benjamin Logan Local Schools, Mansfield district spokesperson Larry Gibbs said.
The time will also give 39-year-old Kuehnle and his wife time to search for a home in the district.
“We’re looking to move this way; we’re looking to see what’s available. I would prefer to live in the district,” Kuehnle said.
Though he enjoyed his 12-year tenure at Benjamin Logan schools, Kuehnle said he was ready for a change. He worked as an assistant treasurer at Reynoldsburg City Schools for one year prior to his position at Benjamin Logan.
He said it is too early to have specific plans on how to expunge the city’s fiscal emergency status, and how to keep it that way. However, he is proud of how he managed Benjamin Logan’s insurance policy, what he referred to as a wellness initiative.
“My strengths so far has really been in wellness and insurance,” Kuehnle said. “It helps the district in many ways, so I think that’s one of the areas I will look at when I first get in.”
According to Kuehnle, Benjamin Logan was one of the first school districts to put a wellness initiative for all staff members into practice.
“I think that’s an area that is really catching fire. It’s been in the private sector for a long time. Wellness initiatives are really newer to school districts … but we realized that their (staff members) health and wellness helped keep our (the district) costs down,” Kuehnle said.
Before the special meeting, Sheryl Weber was sworn in as the board’s newly elected member. She replaced Cliff Crose, who has served on the board since 2010. Crose worked in the school district for 13 years prior to his board membership.
The board of education will meet in regular session on Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 5 p.m. in the Raemelton administration building off Cook Road.
