School District Begins Search for New Treasurer

Treasurer Denise Holcomb has announced she will be retiring on Feb. 29, 2012. The school board has begun the search for her replacement.

Holcomb, who was hired on Feb. 29, 2000, has logged 39 years working for school districts. Prior to joining Avon Lake, she worked in Port Clinton.

“Working in Avon Lake has definitely been the high point of my career,” Holcomb, who has worked in four separate locations, said. “Every place I went everything was a little better, different.”

The district began advertising the position last week, including a posting on the Buckeye Association of School Administrators and the Ohio School Boards Association. The board, who is responsible for hiring the school district superintendent and treasurer, will accept applications until Oct. 3. Superintendent of Schools Bob Scott said the board is expected to hold an executive session (closed to the public) on Oct. 5 to review applications.

The salary for the position has not been set, Scott said, and it will be based on  the experience of the candidate hired. No salary range was given in the posting. Holcomb's current salary is $113,000 per year.

Scott said he expected there will only be a few qualified applications submitted for the position and said the board, who is currently conducting its own search, is not compelled to select from the submitted candidates.

Similar to the selection process of Scott, the board had initially narrowed down a field of superintendent candidates, then scrapped the search and started over. Scott was selected when he applied in the second search.

The superintendent said Holcomb has done an admirable job for the school district.

There are two diff levels,” Scott said. “If you look at our audits, there have been only a few very minor things. She does an excellent job of the nuts and bolts of the finances.

Holcomb confirmed that in the four past years, Avon Lake School District has had three perfect audits from the state which is highly uncommon.

The superintendent has maintained a good relationship with Holcomb.

“On the other side, one of the most important things is the professional relationship  between the superintendent and the treasurer,” Scott said. “The superintendent keeps track of the money and the treasurer spends it.”

Scott appreciated Holcomb’s forthrightness.

“We sit down every year and talk about the costs that go into the school experience,” he said. “She’s very honest; she looks after the future. “She will get me the dollars to go with the three to four-year forecast if it’s possible. Sometimes she’ll just say ‘we can’t do that.’”