EMIS & School Funding 2026-2027

Elena Sanders is a Senior Financial Manager at the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW) Office of Budget and School Funding, where she oversees the state foundation funding and other state funding programs. Prior to coming to that office, she was an Assistant Director in the Office of Federal programs. She has an Ohio Treasurer’s license and master’s degree in educational administration and supervision. Elena is the captain of the USTA 3.0 tennis team and this year the team advanced into the districts to compete in Cincinnati.

David Ehle is Director of EMIS at the Ohio Department of Education.

John Espy is currently the Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer for Loveland City Schools. Prior, he was at the Milford Exempt Village School District, having also served as Treasurer/CFO and before that in both Miamisburg City School District and in the Clermont Northeastern Local School District.  Prior to his appointments as a Treasurer/CFO, he served as a Financial Software Specialist and Coordinator of Fiscal Applications at the Hamilton Clermont Cooperative (HCC) located in Loveland, OH.  In this role, Mr. Espy developed and led training sessions for over 42 school districts in southwest Ohio.  He also served as the team lead for the implementation and training of the state software redesign accounting and payroll software as well as Powerschool’s eFinancePlus applications at HCC.  Mr. Espy worked closely to configure and utilize third party softwares such as EDGE printing solutions, Bonefish Systems fraud prevention software, Strategic Solutions’ SCView, and OnBase by Hyland.  

Ryan Pendleton is the Executive Director of the Shared Services Alliance where he coordinates financial and operations support for northeast Ohio school districts through the Educational Service Centers of Northeast Ohio, Medina, and Lorain Counties.

Ryan is very active in state and federal issues concerning education and the potential impact on the students of Ohio. He is a member of the Fair School Funding Work Group, co-chairing both the Base Cost and Analysis and Support Groups.  As an inaugural member of the Work Group, Ryan made significant contributions to creating and advocating for Ohio’s new state funding formula.  His efforts contributed to the Fair School Funding Formula being included in the 2022-2023 Biennium Budget.

Ryan is a Leadership Akron Class 32 graduate and dedicated to serving the community, in particular the students across Ohio. Prior to working at North Coast Shared Service Alliance, Ryan was the CFO/Treasurer of Akron Public and Barberton City Schools and worked previously as a financial advisor.  

Ryan earned a BA in Business Administration from Malone College and an MBA from Cleveland State University.