January Hot Topics 2021-2022

Aaron Rausch is the Chief of Budget and School Funding at the Department of Education & Workforce (previously Ohio Department of Education), where he manages an agency budget of more than $17 billion and administers the state’s school funding program. In 2019, Aaron received the Dick Maxwell School Finance Award from the Buckeye Association of School Administrators. Prior to joining ODE in 2014, Aaron worked for the Ohio Office of Budget and Management as a budget analyst in the education section. Aaron started his career in state government as a performance auditor, focusing on school district performance audits at the Ohio Auditor of State's Office. Active in his community, Aaron serves as an advisory board member on the Columbus and Central Ohio Children’s Chorus Foundation, sings with the Choral Union at Capital University, and rides in Pelotonia every year. 

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 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.  

The Apollo Career Center Board of Education announced the appointment of Maria Rellinger as Treasurer/CFO of the Apollo district August 2017. Rellinger has served as the Treasurer/CFO of Paulding Exempted Village Schools since 2009.

Prior to her tenure with the Paulding district, Rellinger was the treasurer for Continental Local School District, and also served as an auditor for the Auditor of State of Ohio. Her professional affiliations are extensive including Ohio Association of School Business Officials, Board of Directors; Southwestern Ohio Educational Purchasing Council, Board of Directors; and Superior Credit Union Board of Directors.

She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Ohio Northern University, and an MBA from the University of Findlay.

Rellinger was raised in Delphos, Ohio and currently resides in Kalida, Ohio with her husband Bruce and two children.  

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.  

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.

Karen Auble is in her fifth year with the Ohio Department of Education’s Office of Federal Programs, where she currently serves as Assistant Director, proving management and support for COVID relief funding. Prior to becoming Assistant Director, she was a Program Specialist and State Coordinator for Title I, Part D. Karen’s experience includes two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Botswana, Southern Africa, working with the Ministry of Local Government to improve coordination and capacity of local organizations in addressing HIV/AIDS. Karen holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and Bachelor of Arts from The College of Wooster. 

Rachel Hand is the management analyst for the Ohio Department of Education, Office of Federal Programs. She works closely on several key projects within the office including ED STEPS, COVID relief funding requirements and annual reporting for Education Stabilization Funds. Rachel has worked for the state of Ohio for the past three years with most of her experience focused on low-income programs such as Medicaid, SNAP and TANF. Rachel holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the John Glenn College of Public Affairs from The Ohio State University and a Bachelor of Science from Michigan State University. 

Marnie is the Assistant Chief Deputy Auditor for the Auditor of State’s Office, where she has proudly served the Office for more than 26 years and brings more than 21 years of large project management leadership experience.  In her role at the AOS, Marnie oversees the Center for Audit Excellence, Local Government Services, Medicaid Contract Audits, and the Data & Information Technology Audit groups and assists in researching, consulting, interpreting, and implementing professional standards across the office.  Marnie’s specialties include project management and implementation and interpretation of professional standards.  Most recently, Marnie has directed special projects developing strategies for integrating data and analytics into various phases of the audit process and for audit implementation of Pandemic federal funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and other associated Congressional Acts.  In a similar role, Marnie led the Auditor of State’s implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. 

Marnie has Bachelors of Arts Degrees in Accounting and Business Administration, with a concentration in Management, from Mount Vernon Nazarene University.  She serves on the AICPA’s Single Audit Roundtable and the National State Auditors Association (NSAA) Single Audit Committee –two forums of key single audit stakeholders such as the AICPA, GAO, OMB, Federal Inspector Generals, and State Auditors, Comptrollers, and Treasurers.  Marnie also serves on the NSAA Audit Standards and Reporting and IT Conference Committees.