Michele Mills Closes the Books After 35 Years as School District Treasurer
Mills says she has loved the job of treasurer because it isn’t just a traditional desk job with repeated tasks every day; it calls upon different skills to solve problems.
Beachwood School District Treasurer Michelle Mills is retiring July 31 after 35 years with the district.
Mills has found her job to be very meaningful.
“The best thing I love about my job is that we are supporting education, and at the end of the day I’m really here to support all of you kids,” Mills said.
Mills is currently the longest-serving Beachwood administrator and has accomplished a great deal during her tenure.
“All of her decisions [have been] made with the best interests of students and of our public school in mind– not just about the numbers alone,” Superintendent Dr. Bob Hardis said.
Mills has established herself as a careful steward of taxpayer money, and she consistently asks district leaders to justify spending decisions.
“Right down to treating every expense, whether it’s millions of dollars on a huge building project or a couple of pennies for a paper going through the printer, she constantly makes us justify how we’re spending the taxpayers’ money, and I think that’s a good exercise to hold us to,” Hardis said.
“She treats Beachwood like her personal family budget,” he added. “She doesn’t let anything wasteful go through.”
Mills is especially proud of Beachwood’s AAA credit rating from Moody’s. The district is one of only three school districts in the state to have earned this top rating, and it has maintained this rating since 2008.
Mills explained the factors that contribute to Beachwood’s top credit rating.
“We keep higher fund balances, we have very clean audits and we have a community that really supports [education] and passes levies,” she said.
Mills also said that Moody’s has adjusted their rating criteria in recent years. Since Ohio does not fund school districts as much as other states, the district can not rely on that funding, and the credit rating is impacted. Nevertheless, the district has supportive taxpayers and manages their money well.
Throughout her career, Mills has worked behind the scenes to keep Beachwood an attractive school district for families in the area. According to Hardis, she has helped secure the district’s financial stability.
“[For example,] we have [never had to drop] a sport because we couldn’t fund it anymore,” he said.
“She has always made sure that she looks not just a year ahead, not just five years ahead, but 10 to 20 years ahead and makes sure we are running the district in a way that can be supported sustainably in the long term by our finances,” he said.
According to Hardis, this consistent funding is a huge reason why parents want their children to attend Beachwood Schools, because they can rely on their child being exposed to curricular and extracurricular options.
Mills says she loves the job of treasurer because it isn’t just a traditional desk job with repeated tasks every day; it calls upon different skills to solve problems.
“What I really love about my job is I don’t just sit in my office,” she said. “I get to [do] something new and different every day, and I’m always busy, but that’s what I love … it keeps me really interested.”
“We do everything from receiving funds to paying bills and being responsible for grants and building projects and borrowing money, as with the bond issue that is going to be on the ballot,” she said. “I have to go out and borrow funds for that.”
“I’m responsible for all the audits, all of the financial reporting,” she added. “I report to the Board, I take the minutes for the Board… So every day is different.”
However, there are challenges to her job as well, which include having to say ‘no.’
As the person in charge of the school district’s budget, Mills says it is essential that she is able to say ‘no’ sometimes for the greater good of the community.
Mills feels that over the years she has earned respect, and that when she says ‘no,’ her colleagues know that it is for a good reason.
“People don’t like to hear ‘no’, so sometimes I’m unpopular, so that can be hard,” she said. “But I think as I grew into my job, people [came to] respect me and know I say it for a reason.”
Mills also emphasized the importance of finding ways of meeting people’s needs.
“I’m always trying to solve problems, so if I can’t help you here I can help you there,” she said.
“As a finance person, what we do is outside the normal day-to-day of everyone else in the district,” she said. “Most everybody I work with is an educator, so [at times I have felt] a little out of step, but I love it because I [have learned] a lot about education, and I’m appreciative to [have helped] fund the needs of our students.”
Mills has loved her job; however, she is also looking forward to retirement. After a demanding career, she is hoping to slow down and spend time reading, traveling, hiking and volunteering.
“I want to go back to the passions I’ve had that I don’t have a lot of time to do,” she said.
“Short term I don’t have any plans,” she said. “I would like for the first time in many, many years –roughly 50 years–I would like to not have to be somewhere every moment of my life..to dream about the next chapter of my life.”
“My husband is also retired,” she added.
Mills feels that the new district treasurer must possess not only great finance skills but also people skills in order to work effectively with other district leaders. She feels this has been vital to her success, and it will be for the new school treasurer as well.
“They have to be able to get along and work on a team and realize that they’re here to serve students, [but also] they have to have a financial background to make sure that we are compliant and that they don’t get into trouble legally,” she said.
“You [also] have to have heart,” she added. “Some of my colleagues [other school treasurers] sit in their offices and never come out; some of my colleagues, if a kid doesn’t pay a fine, will make sure they can’t go on a trip. That is not what we’re about. We’re about students, and we find ways to problem solve and make sure that our students get the best experience they can have, so [the new treasurer] has to have a good heart.”
