Fair School Funding Plan - Budget Webinar

Katie Johnson is the Executive Director of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials. Katie is the seventh Executive Director and the first woman to lead the organization since its inception in 1936.

Katie was the Deputy Executive Director for OASBO prior to being named Executive Director. In that role, she served as legislative lead and in-house legal counsel for the association, keeping staff and members abreast of legal and regulatory compliance issues in school business. In addition, she has served as the chief learning officer, developing curriculum to support OASBO’s strategic plan and the Ohio school business profession.

Katie also serves on boards and committees focused on public finance, including serving as a member on the Finance and Appropriations Committee for Columbus City School District, as Treasurer of the Confluence Community Authority, and as past President of the Ohio Chapter of Women in Public Finance.

Katie holds a bachelor's degree in Business Finance from the University of Colorado, a master’s degree in Education from The Ohio State University, and a law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

Jim Rowan is the Executive Director of the Ohio Association of School Business Officials. He has spent the past five years as OASBO’s Executive Director providing support and services to school business officials throughout Ohio. A long-time OASBO member, Jim served as the association's President during the 2002-03 membership year, and as ASBO International President in 2007.

Dr. Kevin Miller was a public educator for 36 years. He was an English teacher and principal at Wayne Trace Jr./Sr. High School before becoming Superintendent of Hicksville Village Schools in Defiance County. While at Hicksville, Dr. Miller worked with the community on the design and construction of a new Pre-K through 12 school building. During his tenure there, Hicksville Schools were rated “Excellent with Distinction” by the Ohio Department of Education and received national recognition from the Southern Regional Education board as a “High Schools That Work” Pacesetter School.   

Dr. Miller served as superintendent of Ottawa Hills Schools from 2010 to 2019. Ottawa Hills Schools are considered among the very best in Ohio and the nation. In 2015, Ottawa Hills became the first district in Ohio to earn all A’s on its district and building Local Report Cards issued by the Ohio Department of Education. The district repeated that feat in 2016, ’17, ’18, and ‘19—the only school district in Ohio to do so. Ottawa Hills has received statewide and national recognition by Forbes, US News and World Report, Newsweek, the Washington Post, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

On August 1, 2019, Dr. Miller became the Director of Governmental Relations for the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA). In that position, he lobbies on behalf of public school districts across Ohio and serves as a liaison between the Statehouse and Ohio’s superintendents.   

Dr. Miller lives in New Albany with his wife, Carla, and their four sons: Yale, Collin, Breckin, and Sterling.     

Dr. David Axner joined the BASA staff on January 1, 2015 and became the executive director in 2021. Prior to BASA, Dr. Axner began his administrative career in Sandusky City Schools and then accepted a job in the Chagrin Falls Exempted Village School District where he served that district as high school principal and superintendent for a total of 17 years. From Chagrin Falls, Dr. Axner was hired at Dublin City Schools and was the Dublin City School Superintendent from 2007 – 2013. After 35 years in education and retirement, he worked for one year with the Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators (OASSA) and then joined the BASA staff. 

Dr. Axner is a graduate of The University of Akron and defended his dissertation successfully at Akron on Instructional leadership. As a superintendent, Dr. Axner was active in BASA chairing a number of committees, serving on the Executive Board and represented BASA for two terms on the Educators Standards Board. He and his wife Chris have six children and seven grandchildren.

Will Schwartz serves as deputy director of legislative services for the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA) where he advocates on behalf of Ohio's public school district boards of education at the state and federal level. Prior to joining OSBA, Will spent eight years drafting legislation and conducting education research on behalf of representatives and senators of the Ohio General Assembly.

Nicole Piscitani is the lobbyist at the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA). Prior to her role at OSBA Nicole spent 5 years working in Washington, D.C. as a government relations coordinator for the Options Clearing Corporation and 6 years working as a government relations manager for the Columbus Chamber of Commerce. Nicole started her career as a Legislative Service Commission fellow after graduating from the University of Toledo with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and communication.

Thomas L. Hosler has been a school superintendent for over 20 years, serving as Superintendent of Perrysburg School District for 13 years. Since his start at Perrysburg Schools, he has led the growing district through the passage of four operating levies, two permanent improvement levies, and a bond issue to construct an intermediate school, which opened in Fall 2017.

In 2016, Mr. Hosler helped found the Coalition of Advocates for Pre-K through 16 Education of Northwest Ohio (CAPE-NWO) with a mission to provide a collective voice focused on positive direction, promoting quality education for all students in Northwest Ohio. He serves as a member of the Buckeye Association of School Administrators Executive Committee and is also the Chair for the Alliance for High Quality Education, representing more than 60 high-performing districts in Ohio.

In 2018, Mr. Hosler was awarded the Ohio Superintendent Outstanding Performance Award by the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, securing with it a $10,000 grant for the Perrysburg School District. He was also awarded the Exemplary Leadership Award by the Buckeye Association of School Administrators in 2016 and in 2020.

Prior to his appointment in Perrysburg, he served as the superintendent of Huron Schools in New Boston, Michigan for over seven years. Prior to working as a school superintendent, Mr. Hosler served as a high school principal at Addison High School in Michigan, and Associate Principal at St. John’s Jesuit High School

He earned his Bachelor of Education and Master of Education/Educational Administration from The University of Toledo, and his Education Specialist Degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. He is a former marathon runner and now avid cyclist. Mr. Hosler and his wife, Robin, have been married for over 28 years and they have four children.

Ryan Pendleton is the Treasurer/CFO of Akron Public Schools where he oversees a budget of more than $500 million in public funds.  Ryan is dedicated to serving the community, in particular the students of Akron Public Schools.  He is very active in state and federal issues concerning education and the potential impact on the students of Ohio.  Ryan is a Leadership Akron Class 32 graduate and serves as the Legislative Chair and Northeast Region Director for OASBO (Ohio Association of School Business Officials).  Prior to working at Akron Public Schools, Ryan was the Treasurer/CFO of Barberton City Schools for nine years and worked previously as a financial advisor. 

Dr. Hanlon is the Superintendent of the Chardon Local Schools, appointed to the district’s top post in June 2013 and is in his twenty-second year as a school superintendent. He is responsible for all day-to-day operations of the school district serving approximately 2,800 students and manages the district’s estimated $39MM annual operating budget.

Before his appointment in Chardon, he served as Superintendent of the Painesville City Schools for fifteen years, where he was responsible for all day-to-day operations of the school district, as well as long-range planning to enhance student achievement in a diverse student population served in its schools.

Dr. Hanlon received his Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Cleveland State University in 1996, a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction in 1987 from Cleveland State University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education cum laude in 1983 from Cleveland State University.

His interests include distance running, ice hockey, all forms of outdoor activities, and cooking.

Jared is the Treasurer/CFO of the Jackson City SD. He is a Past President/Chair of the Southern Valley OASBO Chapter/Committee, Vice-Chair of the OASBO Legislative Committee, OASBO Foundation Board Member and Co-Chair of the Distribution subcommittee for the Cupp/Patterson Fair School Funding Workgroup. Jared is also an ASBO Certified Administrator of School Finance and Operations.

Jenni Logan is the Treasurer/CFO of Sycamore Community City Schools. Prior to this, she was the treasurer/CFO at District Lakota Local School District January 2011 to August 2022.  Before that she was a Director in the Public Finance Department of Robert W. Baird & Co.  Ms. Logan has over 20 years of experience serving school districts in Ohio, which include an ESC, JVSD, CSD, LSD and an EVSD.  She has been involved with several state committees for OASBO and served the organization as its state president in 2005-06.    

Carrie Herringshaw is the Treasurer/CFO at Penta Career Center.  Carrie has been very active in OASBO and has participated on many committees and committees. Carrie has served as a mentor and as an officer of NWOASBO as well as the former Career Technical Treasurers chapter of OASBO.  Carrie most recently served an OASBO representative to the EMIS Advisory Council at the Ohio Department of Education and as a member of the Cupp-Patterson/Fair Funding School Plan Work Group.  Carrie's awards include Outstanding Treasurer/CFO of the Year.

Cajon Keeton is the Treasurer for the Benton-Carroll-Salem School District in Northwest Ohio. Prior to becoming a Treasurer, Cajon spent 5 years in the classroom as a business and technology teacher. He has a passion for school finance, as well as teaching and learning. 

Mr. Keeton holds a B.A. in Education (Bowling Green State University) and a M.A. in Educational Administration (Tiffin University).

Kevin has served as the Treasurer/CFO of the Geneva Area City School District in Ashtabula County for 28 years.  Since November 2017, he has served as co-chair of the Transportation Subgroup on the Cupp/Patterson Fair School Funding Plan Workgroup and delivered testimony on proposed transportation formula changes before the House Finance Subcommittee on Primary and Secondary Education, the House Finance Committee, and the Senate Primary and Secondary Education Committee.  He, along with Pete Japikse and Dalton Summers, presented a webinar on the transportation recommendation as well as bit presentations at several regional meetings.

Kevin played an important role in getting legislation passed allowing retroactive tax abatement and extending the county treasurer’s delinquent collection period to ten years in a limited case involving an Olympic and Paralympic training site in his district.  He successfully guided the district through a $78 million OSFC construction project, including playing a key role in recovering $1.3 million through mediated settlement for construction remediation.  Kevin has delivered testimony on several House bills and written numerous letters to House and Senate Education and Finance committee members.  He is a member of the Western Reserve Chapter of OASBO.  He received the Northeast Region Distinguished Service Award in 2019 and the Chuck Gossett Award for Legislative Advocacy in 2022.

Mike Sobul is a Senior Analytics Advisor with Frontline Education (formerly Forecast5 Analytics), a national company with over 2,000 clients that provides public sector business intelligence software, consulting, and support services to school districts, higher education institutions and local governments. 

Prior to joining Forecast5, Mike was the CFO/Treasurer of the Granville schools from November 2011 through May 2019 and a consultant with Public Finance Resources from April 2012 until its merger with Forecast5 in May of 2019. 

Mike served as the Section Chief for Forecasting and Special Projects at the Tax Analysis Division of the Ohio Department of Taxation.  He was with the Department of Taxation from December 1986 until his retirement in July 2011.

Prior to joining the Department of Taxation, Mike served for two and one-half years as research associate at the Urban Center at Cleveland State University and two years as a budget analyst for the city of Cleveland. 

Over the past 30 years, Mike has contributed to school funding reform efforts in the Voinovich, Taft, and Strickland administrations.  He also has worked closely with the Cupp-Patterson workgroup since its inception in November 2017.

Mike received his B.A. from Wittenberg University and his Masters of Public Policy from the University of Michigan.  

Bob Cupp grew up working on his family’s farm in rural Allen County. A graduate of Columbus Grove Local schools, he earned his political science and law degrees from Ohio Northern University.

Speaker Bob Cupp is serving his fourth term in the Ohio House of Representatives. He has served as an elected official in all three branches of government and at both the local and state levels: as an Allen County commissioner, a four-term state senator, a court-of-appeals judge, and a justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio. He also served as a city prosecutor and as Chief Legal Counsel to former Ohio Auditor of State, Dave Yost.

In the Senate, Bob served two terms as the President Pro Tempore, the Senate’s 2nd highest leader.  For his legislative accomplishments, he received numerous “Legislator of the Year” awards from various organizations, was named a recipient of the “Watchdog of the Treasury Award” five times and was awarded the prestigious “Guardian of Small Business Award” from NFIB/Ohio. In 2017, Representative Cupp received the Dick Maxwell School Finance Award from the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA).

In addition to his public service, Bob engaged in the private practice of law in Lima for more than 25 years and has taught courses in leadership studies, judicial process, and state education policy at Ohio Northern University.

He is the recipient of the State 4-H Alumni Award; past president of the 13-county Black Swamp Area Boy Scout Council; a member of Lima Trinity United Methodist Church, and the Allen County Farm Bureau.

Bob’s wife, Libby, is a retired educator, who focused her efforts on career and economic education.  She is a past state Vocational Education Teacher of the Year award recipient.  They jointly received the Founder’s Award from the Ohio Center for Law-related Education. Bob and Libby have two grown sons, both of whom are Eagle Scouts; and three grandchildren.

Former State Representative John Patterson served in the Ohio House of Representatives.  He represented the 99^th House District, which includes portions of Ashtabula and Geauga Counties.

A lifelong resident of the District, Representative Patterson retired in June, 2012 from teaching U.S. History at Jefferson Area High School for 29 years.  During his time at Jefferson, Representative Patterson served as the Model United Nations advisor.  In addition to winning numerous regional conferences, his teams also placed high at national conferences such as Harvard and the University of Chicago.  In 1995, his team competed at the Hague International UN Conference held at Den Hague, Netherlands.

Representative Patterson and his wife, Nancy, have been married 35 years and are the parents of Joshua and Jeremiah.  He is a member of the Jefferson United Methodist Church, sings in the Chancel Choir, and is a member of Seekers, the men's Sunday School class.