What motivated your organization to participate in the OASBO Finance Internship Program?
For the last few years, I've hosted a high school student from Wapakoneta City Schools as an intern through our WIN program. I opened my office to these students to help them discover if accounting and school finance would be for them. Many do not realize that a school district even has an accounting department, so just getting that knowledge out there was important. One student got wind of this and came over on his own one summer just to learn a little more about the treasurer's role. This past spring, this young gentleman's mother asked me if I was aware of any internship opportunities. I started hearing about the OASBO internship program and thought it would be perfect for him, especially since his mother said she could see him being someone who came back to his community to work after graduation from college. Thankfully, the Auglaize County Educational Service Center was willing to entertain my request and agreed to be the host ESC. I only have about seven years until retirement, so I felt this was the perfect opportunity to start looking for someone who might be interested in school finance and eventually replace me. I felt that even if the intern we had wasn't that person, then maybe he could spread the word about his experience to his fellow classmates, which could spark interest in someone else in the future.
What goals or outcomes were you hoping to achieve by participating?
My main goal for participating in the internship program was to educate a college student about school district finances. As I previously mentioned, many people don't even think about the possibility of using an accounting background in a school district. They only think of teachers, but not about how those teachers get paid, who takes care of paying the bills, or what it takes to keep the district running behind the scenes from a financial standpoint. I wanted to provide an opportunity for a college student to see this on a daily basis.
Internship Experience
How was interns’ work structured and divided in your experience?
Since the ESC was the "employer," Kristy Weaks, ESC Treasurer, helped organize it. She informed each of the school district treasurers in the county that our intern, Owen, would have to spend at least one week at each district. She then shared a Google Sheet that listed all of the topics covered during the 300-hour internship program with us. She asked that we each sign up to cover topics from that list with the intern while the intern spent time with us. Since I was the person requesting that the ESC participate, I was willing to take Owen for the majority of the summer so the other treasurers didn't feel burdened if they were not prepared to host someone for a period of time. I felt this model worked out well because Owen could see what it was like at both smaller and larger districts. It also gave him the opportunity to meet more people to expand his network.
What were the primary responsibilities or projects assigned to interns?
When Owen was at Wapak, he would assist with preparing and reviewing receipts, requisitions, and invoices with me through SCView. He also spent time with my accounts payable assistant, who allowed him to index invoices and follow them through to payment. He also assisted her in getting all asset information up to date. I was still tracking all fraud training dates in a spreadsheet, but recently had fields added to the payroll system, so he assisted with getting the file prepared so we could upload them into the payroll system for easier tracking. He also assisted with reconciling, preparing board reports, and reviewing payroll. One other project assigned to him was to streamline other spreadsheets, which he happily took on. He told me he "geeks out over spreadsheets" and gets giddy when he has opportunities to create them, especially those with lots of formulas. One of those spreadsheets was my forecast file. I have been wanting to streamline it since I don't use any outside assistance, but had not found the time. When Owen told me he liked spreadsheets, I told him what my vision was, and he ran with it. That kept him busy for several days.
What was the best part of the internship experience for your organization?
The best part of the internship experience for our organization was to see our office through the lens of someone from the outside. Owen would ask a lot of questions as he sat with us each day. One day, he asked my accounts payable assistant why she did something the way she did, and the response was, "because that's how I was taught." Something as simple as suggesting a shared Google Sheet for purchase order numbers made her day. She was taught by her predecessor to write them on paper, and that's what she had continued with as she learned her job over the last two years. She has since changed and is using the Google Sheet. There were several other situations like this as well.
Is there a memorable success story or example you can share that highlights the impact of the internship?
Owen's love for spreadsheets resulted in several streamlined processes to create board reports, forecast support data, and even substitute teacher and paraeducator payroll data for entry each pay period. Having these streamlined processes is saving me and my staff time, which we are truly appreciating.
This program gave us the opportunity to expose a young professional to the world of school finance and encourage him to participate in the pathway available to becoming a school treasurer.
Program Impact
What impact do you believe this program could have on the future of school finance in Ohio?
If we are able to show young professionals what the treasurer's office is like and can encourage them to look into this career path, then hopefully finding qualified individuals to fill the vacated positions due to retirements, etc. will become easier. Many people don't realize what it truly takes to be the chief financial officer for a public school district, and this is one way to show them.
Challenges and Lessons Learned
What challenges, if any, did your organization face during the internship?
Sometimes it was difficult to find work to keep him busy, but I felt having him go to other districts gave me a chance to get caught up and think about other items for him to work on.
What advice would you give to other ESCs or school districts considering participation in future years?
I would suggest being open to the idea of teaching someone what your office is all about. I felt that this process not only helped him, but it also helped my staff and me because we had to explain why we did what we did. We had to prepare ourselves to answer his questions or research the answer if we didn't know it, which only makes us better in our roles.
Looking Ahead
Would your organization participate in the Finance Internship Program again?
I would definitely participate in the Finance Internship Program again.