BOARD NAMES WHITEHALL CFO DISTRICT'S NEXT TREASURER

[Edward Favre]

The Lakewood Board of Education on Dec. 22 approved Whitehall City Schools Treasurer Timothy J. Penton as the next Treasurer of the Lakewood City School District. Penton will replace Richard Berdine, who earlier this year announced his resignation effective Dec. 31, 2012. Penton will begin a transition period as assistant treasurer on Oct. 1, 2012, working alongside Berdine and then assume the Treasurer position on Jan. 1, 2013.
Penton, who has overseen Franklin County’s Whitehall City Schools budget for the past 12 years, comes to Lakewood with impressive credentials over a 29-year career in education and 15 years in school finance. He is a 12-time recipient of the Government Finance Officers Association’s Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting and received the State of Ohio Office of the Auditor’s Award with Distinction for excellence in financial reporting 12 times as well.

Penton also has successfully overseen the spending of an $80 million Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) capital improvement project currently under way in Whitehall that includes the replacement of the district’s five school buildings.

“The Board and Administration are very excited that Timothy J. Penton will be joining our district leadership team,” Board President Matthew John Markling said. “Treasurer Penton’s qualifications are impeccable. All Board members, as well as Superintendent Jeffery W. Patterson and his Cabinet, are excited about the opportunity to work with Treasurer Penton in collaboration with our outstanding teachers, staff, administrators, parents, students, and community members to ensure that the Lakewood City Schools remains a premier public school system.”



Penton is eager to begin his work for the district: “I look forward to making Lakewood my home and serving the Lakewood City Schools as its Treasurer/CFO,” Penton said.
“I very much look forward to working with Superintendent Jeff Patterson and the entire Lakewood City Schools administrative leadership team as we navigate the challenging times ahead for public education. I am committed to the Board’s goal of achieving academic excellence for all children of Lakewood Schools and I take my role as Treasuer/CFO very seriously in providing sound financial management to realize that goal.”
Prior to joining Whitehall Schools, Penton held positions in finance and operations with Madison-Plains Local Schools, Keystone Local Schools, and Amherst Exempted Village Schools. He earned his BSBA degree from Ohio State University and an MBA degree from Capital University. Penton is an active member of the Ohio School Boards Association, the Ohio Association of School Business Officials (OASBO), and the Government Finance Officers Association and is the past president of the Franklin County Treasurer’s Association and the Central Chapter of OASBO. In 2008, Penton was awarded the Central Region OASBO “Distinguished Service Award”.

The selection of Penton came after a thorough process by the Board that included initial interviews with five candidates and second interviews with three finalists. Working alongside the current Board during the process were Board members-elect Tom Einhouse and Emma Petrie-Barcelona.

"After having been fully engaged in the process of selecting a new Treasurer for the Lakewood City Schools I, along with Board member-elect, Barcelona and the standing Board, am very pleased with selection of Timothy Penton as our next Treasurer,” Einhouse said. “Through a very thorough and well executed process we have made a selection that I believe will bring continued strength and effectiveness to the Treasurer position for our community’s schools."

Added longtime Board member Betsy Shaughnessy: “We have had the privilege of working with a great treasurer and look forward to keeping the tradition of fiscal excellence with Treasurer Timothy J. Penton.”