By Kim McDarison
The School District of Fort Atkinson Board of Education accepted earlier this month the resignation of the district’s Business Services Director Jason Demerath.
Addressing the board during its meeting held Thursday, March 16, Demerath said he had accepted a position as executive director of financial services with Wisconsin’s CESA-2. His last official day of working in the school district will be June 30.
A CESA, according to the organization’s website, is a Cooperative Educational Service Agency network, developed to make possible the sharing of resources, such as staff and equipment, along with helping member districts save money while extending educational opportunities. Each CESA serves member districts bounded within its region. In Wisconsin, there are 12 CESAs, all of which work, in conjunction with the Department of Public Instruction, to serve needs of schools and children in their respective regions.
Additionally, a CESA website, noted: “CESAs provide these services without mandates, without levying taxes, and with no state aid.”
Addressing the board earlier this month, Demerath, reading from a prepared statement, said: “After nearly 15 years of serving the Fort Atkinson community, it’s with mixed emotions that I come before you this evening asking for your approval of my resignation as director of business services for the school district, as I’ve accepted a position as the executive director of financial services with CESA 2.
“This new professional opportunity will allow me to blend my passion for the financial management of an organization with my passion for serving the school business official profession by working with the 74 member districts within the CESA 2 region.”
Demerath told board members that he valued his time serving the School District of Fort Atkinson, and appreciated the opportunity to work within the district and serve the students and community.
“I did want to ensure that there’s an understanding that my resignation is unrelated to the upcoming operational referendum,” Demerath said, noting that he would remain in his position as director of finance in Fort Atkinson for three months after the April election, which, he said, would help “ensure a smooth transition.
“With Fort Atkinson being a member district of CESA 2, I’ll still have relationships and connections with the district to serve you and assist my successor in the transition. It’s also my hope that the district and this position is set up well for the future. Through a successful capital referendum last November, our buildings will be in a place to meet community needs for the next several years. Should the April referendum be successful, the operational needs of the community will be met for the next four years, leaving the Fort Atkinson team and community in a place to look forward with a solid financial foundation to continue building upon,” he said.
Demerath asked the board to approve his resignation contingent upon CESA-2 board approval, noting that the board was set to meet March 21.
Demerath said he would plan to work closely with School District of Fort Atkinson Superintendent Rob Abbott to create a transition plan, and, he said, that he “may be around to assist with the audit and other fiscal-year-end tasks after June 30th. And obviously, being a CESA-2 member district, I’ll work with my successor in that capacity as well. With the audit in August and year-end being June 30th, I’ll probably work with CESA some days before and come back some days after June 30th to work through those details as well.”
Demerath closed his statement by thanking the board for offering him the opportunity to serve the district’s students.
Board member Chris Rogers asked Demerath from where he would work.
Demerath said that the offices of CESA-2 are in the Innovation Center in Whitewater.
“The CESA-2 operates on a hybrid model, so there are certain days that I’ll be able to work from home, but also be there in the office, and, given CESA-2 serves districts from the west side of Madison all the way over to Lake Michigan lakeshore, a lot of the staff travel within the region as well,” he said.
School board member Robynn Selle congratulated Demerath on his new position. She said she appreciated the long transition period outlined by Demerath, saying: “you’ve been here so long, I think that that’s really important you’re given that kind of good faith to the district to say ‘I’m going to make sure that I put someone in the best position,’ and you are going to be working with us.”
For general information about CESAs visit: https://www.cesa10.k12.wi.us/Portals/0/Documents/Interior/cesa-faq.pdf.
Information provided by CESA 2 is here: https://cesa2.com/index.html#/.
Jason Demerath
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