By Rick Palsgrove
Southeast Editor
The Groveport Madison Board of Education narrowed its search for a new treasurer from 15 applicants to two candidates.
“The board interviewed five candidates for the position of treasurer,” said Mary Guiher, Groveport Madison public relations officer. “Although all the candidates were strong, the board decided to move ahead with two candidates who participated in a final round of interviews on March 31. Both candidates have an impressive backgrounds and would serve the district well.”
According to Guiher, the finalists for the treasurer’s position are:
•John Walsh, who is the current treasurer at Northwest Local in McDermott, Ohio. He has more than 13 years experience as treasurer and served four years as an assistant treasurer.
•Anita Dalluge is currently the assistant treasurer with Hilliard City Schools. She has six years of experience as an assistant treasurer and seven years of experience in public finance.
“While all five interviewees were excellent and would have made a quality treasurer for Groveport Madison, these two stood out among the rest in terms of their experience, demeanor, and drive to succeed at the position,” said Board President Nathan Slonaker.
Slonaker said that, prior to interviewing the candidates, the district’s consultants conducted interviews with office staff, administrators, community leaders, and board members to help the board develop the proper profile of the candidate.
“We used that profile to select the original candidates to be interviewed,” said Slonaker. “All candidates we interviewed fit the profile and would be excellent treasurers for our district. Our challenge is we can only hire one of these quality professionals.”
The board could announce the district’s new treasurer at its April 8 meeting.
The new treasurer would replace Tony Swartz, who in a Dec. 17 letter to the board, stated he resigned “for retirement purposes” earlier this year after serving as the district’s treasurer since 2008.
Cinthia Ritter, a school business consultant with K-12 Business Consulting who is a certified licensed Ohio public school treasurer and registered school financial business officer, is currently serving as the interim treasurer for the district.
