Representatives from Bethel Township (Clark County), New Carlisle, and the Tecumseh Local School Board met Monday evening, January 26 for a Joint Government Meeting, with State Representative Kyle Koehler in attendance as well.

Such meetings are a venue for members of local governmental entities to gather and share current issues within their respective departments.  School Board members from Tecumseh said the district was going through “a very difficult situation” concerning the pending termination of their Superintendent.  A Bethel Township resident asked the Board what measures were being put into place to ensure that this sort of situation does not happen again.

School Board member Peter Scarff said after audits and the current investigation, the district has elected to alter the method in which cash is handled, saying cash transactions are always the biggest point of weakness among all businesses.  Interim Superintendent Paula Crew said the district will now require two people to sign off on cash transactions so that cash thefts will be much more difficult to complete.  Treasurer Deborah Schock said the district’s checks and balances were what initially caught Martin.  Schock said it only took two months from when she requested receipts for the missing iPads until she notified the proper authorities of the theft.  School Board member Gary Cochran said the Board was unable to discuss many details of the situation as it is still an ongoing criminal investigation, but stressed that if the public knew the details, they would also know that the Board was involved in no wrongdoing within the situation.

Representatives from the City of New Carlisle discussed their decision to place another half-percent income tax levy on the May 5 ballot, saying the money is “very much needed,” and that the estimated $500,000, five-year levy would generate funds for police protection only.  Council recently made the decision to cut the city’s police force from four to two deputies, effective in mid-February.

State Representative Kyle Koehler sympathized with the Tecumseh district and the City of New Carlisle, saying “everyone is going through something right now.”  Concerning the Tecumseh situation, Koehler remarked that the “children were always watching” the adults in their lives and constantly learning from their actions.  He said he hoped local students would take a lesson from their former Superintendent’s actions.

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