Celina schools hires new treasurer

CELINA - Celina City Schools hired a new treasurer on Thursday night.

School board members during a special meeting hired Michael "Mick" Davis of Bryan. Davis has a history of handling budgets and finances for businesses, but not schools.

"I come from a world of contracting," Davis said Thursday in a phone interview. "I've worked in insulation and mechanical contracting for the last seven years."

The Ohio State University graduate served as chief financial officer for Precision Mechanical Insulators/C&K Paulding Holdings in Paulding and for Stark Inc. in Bryan.

He said he knew he wanted to work for a school system after hearing about his college roommate's experience.

"My college roommate started doing it about four years ago, and he used to work in the business world like I did," he said. "He talked about how much he liked it and all the challenges he dealt with every day. I like challenges."

Davis chose Celina because he has family who live in Rockford.

"My cousin said nothing but positive things about Celina," he added.

Board member Cindy Piper said although Davis has no experience in a school setting, he has a strong understanding of the five-year forecast and school finances.

Board president Matt Gilmore said the board was "tremendously pleased" with Davis.

"We all have enjoyed the opportunity to get to know Mick over the past several weeks," Gilmore said. "It's been a difficult process finding a treasurer with the skills and experiences this board required."

Former treasurer Mike Marbaugh retired in June. The board in May posted the position through the Ohio School Board Association, which advertised for and screened initial applicants.

OSBA's Cheryl Ryan recommended about 20 candidates. The board interviewed six applicants and called three back for a second interview. The board then rejected all the candidates and asked Ryan to re-advertise the position.

In recent weeks, Ryan recommended another 11 applicants, three of which were called for an interview. Only Davis was called for a second interview.

Davis accepted a three-year contract with the district and will take over as treasurer on Monday. His annual salary will be $75,000. Connie Rose, who has served as interim treasurer since Marbaugh's departure, will return to working as assistant treasurer.

"Mike (Marbaugh) was here a long time and was a very successful school treasurer," Gilmore said. "Mick knows he has some big shoes to fill, but the board looks forward to his progression in the position and believes the district will benefit from his enthusiasm to be its CFO."

Board members also hired Brad Green, a teacher for emotionally disturbed students at West Elementary; Mark Highley, a teacher for emotionally disturbed students at East Primary; Shawn Snider, assistant band director at the high school; and Kyle White, STEM encore teacher at the middle school.

The next regular board meeting is 6 p.m. Aug. 19 in the education complex conference room.