Board Appoints Audit Committee
9 Residents With Financial Expertise to Review Audit, Projections

SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio – The Shaker Heights Board of Education has appointed a Finance and Audit Committee of nine residents with expertise in business, economics, and accounting.

The committee, appointed at a special meeting of the Board on October 23, is charged with reviewing the annual audit conducted by the Auditor of State, with reviewing the District’s progress toward implementation of any recommendations of the Auditor, and with making recommendations as to the fiscal necessity and timing of the next operating levy.

In past years, the District has appointed a Citizens’ Finance Review Committee to examine its financial position and make levy recommendations. The new committee’s broader charge is, in part, the result of a suggestion by the Auditor of State.

Board of Education President Nancy R. Moore said the establishment of the committee would provide additional financial oversight and assurance to taxpayers.

“In the last year, there has been a betrayal of the public trust by leadership of numerous publicly held companies,” she said, referring to corporate financial scandals. “The Shaker Heights Board of Education is accountable to the taxpayers of the School District. We want to provide the community with the assurance that our financial house is in order and that our accounting of District finances meets the highest level of expectations of the Auditor of State.

“I am very excited about starting this new chapter in Shaker Board history and I would like to thank all the members of the Board for supporting this effort and also the citizens who have so generously agreed to share their talents and time helping us with this new endeavor,” President Moore added

Following are brief biographical sketches of the members of the Finance and Audit Committee.

Marilyn Eisele is the chief financial officer of Five Star Technologies, a company that creates and produces advanced materials. Ms. Eisele received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bowling Green State University and worked for 15 years for Coopers & Lybrand, now known as PriceWaterhouseCoopers. During the past eight years, she has served as chief financial officer for both private and public companies. A Shaker resident since 1994, she is the mother of three Shaker students.

Kirby Freeman is in business banking with Huntington Bank. A graduate of Howard University with a bachelor’s degree in print journalism, he holds an MBA in finance from New York University. He worked as a reporter for Reuters News Agency before moving into the business world. Mr. Freeman worked for four years at Standard & Poor’s, where he gained experience in rating school districts and had an opportunity to become familiar with school finance in Ohio. Mr. Freeman represents Huntington on the loan review committee of the Cleveland Citywide Development Corporation. He has one child at Mercer Elementary School and two preschoolers.

Edward Hemmelgarn is the chief investment officer of Shaker Investments, a portfolio management firm based in Shaker Heights. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University and worked at both Ernst & Young and Ameritrust prior to founding Shaker Investments in 1991. The father of a Shaker graduate and a current High School student, he is a trustee of the Shaker Schools Foundation and served previously as chair of the Citizens’ Finance Review Committee.

Anthony Lockhart recently retired from First Energy Corporation, where he worked as sales director. He holds a degree in industrial technology from Miami University, as well as a master’s in industrial economics from Case Western Reserve University and a law degree from Cleveland State University. A former member of both the Citizens’ Finance Review Committee and the Shaker Heights Board of Education, Mr. Lockhart is a trustee of the Shaker Schools Foundation and Summa Hospital and past board chair of the Cuyahoga Plan, a fair housing organization. He is the father of two Shaker graduates.

James Rebitzer, Committee Chair, is Carlton Professor of Economics and chair of the economics department at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University, with expertise in organizational economics, the economics of the labor markets, and the economics of negotiation and conflict resolution. Prior to coming to Cleveland, he served as a faculty member at MIT’s Sloan School of Management and at the University of Texas-Austin. Dr. Rebitzer holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana, and a doctorate from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He is the father of two Shaker students.

Karen Schuele is an associate professor in the department of accountancy in the Bolar School of Business at John Carroll University. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Case Western Reserve University, a master’s from the University of Texas-Austin, and a doctorate from Kent State University. Prior to joining the John Carroll faculty, she worked for two years at Price Waterhouse, now PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Dr. Schuele is on the executive board of the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants. A Shaker resident since 1984, she is the mother of three Shaker students.

Steve Strnisha is deputy director of Cleveland Tomorrow, a group of corporate leaders who are committed to improving the long-term economic vitality of the region. A former finance director for the City of Cleveland, he earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Virginia and a master’s in public administration from Syracuse University. Mr. Strnisha worked at Society Bank and as an analyst for Moody’s, where he covered public entities. He is a citizen member of the City of Shaker Heights Finance Committee and an outgoing member of the City of Cleveland’s audit committee. He is the father of two current Shaker students and a preschooler.

Two Board of Education members are also serving on the Finance & Audit Committee. They are F. Drexel Feeling, an attorney with the Cleveland-based law firm Jones Day, and Board Vice President Steven S. Kaufman, a partner with the Cleveland law firm Thompson Hine.

Site Map  |   January 12, 2004