Fort Frye appoints: A new treasurer is hired for the district | News, sports, jobs

(Photo by Gwen Sour) From left, board members Karri Schilling and Johnna Zalmanek discuss the agenda ahead of the Fort Frye Local Schools District Board of Education meeting.

BEVERLY – Fort Frye Local School District held a board of education meeting Monday.

The board announced that Kaitlin Huck has been appointed as school treasurer and will assume the role full-time on January 2.

Huck has been the school treasurer at New Lebanon Local Schools in the Dayton area since 2019, and when she transfers to Fort Frye, she will have a three-year contract.

Before working as a school treasurer, she served as an assistant auditor for the Ohio State Auditor for six years. Huck is no stranger to Washington County. She graduated from Fort Frye High School in 2009 and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Marietta College in 2013. She is excited to return to her roots in the Mid-Ohio Valley.

“While I really enjoyed my time at New Lebanon Local Schools, I am very excited to return home to Cadet Country. As a proud alumna of Fort Frye Local Schools, I look forward to serving this district and this community,” she said.

(Photo provided) Kaitlin Huck is the new school treasurer for the Fort Frye Local Schools District.

Fort Frye Board Chairman Lloyd Booth is eager to bring Huck into the position.

“Kaitlin will be a great asset to the district, and we are fortunate to be able to find a quality candidate with solid experience and excellent references midway through the school year,” he said.

Other members echoed similar sentiments.

“She has a great track record in her current district, and I look forward to working with her to refine our budget even further,” said board chairman Karri Schilling.

As the current New Lebanon School Treasurer, Huck said she has experience in all school operations, including budget balancing, federal and state grant program processes, union negotiations, personnel management and equipment purchasing. Huck is also very active at the regional and state levels in professional organizations that support and advocate for public schools, such as the Ohio Association of School Business Officials.

Fort Frye Superintendent Stephanie Starcher describes Huck as detail-oriented, progressive and hardworking.

“I think Kaitlin and I will work well together and share the same passion for students and education,” Starcher said.

During the meeting, the board also approved the resignation of Dan Liedtke as a health and physical education teacher. The board also approved the hiring of Tiffany O’Brien for an as-needed paraprofessional assistant at the Ewing School. They approved a volunteer position for Caleb Riggs to help with the wrestling team.

The board also recognized the success of students, faculty and staff. These awards are recognized by the Ohio School Board Association. Donna Hibbs was recognized and won the Outstanding Faculty Award and Laine Spindler won the Outstanding Female Student Award. Others were nominated in the southeastern region. Emily Gasaway was nominated for Outstanding Classified Staff Member and Braxton Ross was nominated for Outstanding Male Student.

There was also approval to increase the tender budget contract with VSWC Architects, who are working on the Lowell Elementary School Summer 2025 Project, from $1 million to $1.5 million, based on a company estimate. The construction project for Lowell will take place in the summer of 2025. As part of this project, Fort Frye plans to partner with 3D Construction on a contract amount of $1,703,455.