Levy Victory Exposes Another Findlay City Schools Bait-and-Switch

The ink was barely dry on Findlay City Schools' overwhelming levy victory when rumors began circulating throughout the district about its latest calculated maneuver: Assistant Superintendent Krista Crates-Miller, whose announced "retirement" helped sway skeptical voters, may return to the district as a retire-rehire employee.

This development represents another chapter in Findlay City Schools administration's troubling pattern of strategic misdirection — using carefully timed announcements to manipulate public opinion while concealing their true intentions until after securing what they want from the community.

The Strategic Retirement Announcement

In the months leading up to the May levy vote, many parents expressed deep concerns about the district's handling of the FFE investigation, particularly the role of administrators like Crates-Miller who were heavily involved in the controversial process. Documents obtained through public information requests show Crates-Miller was a central figure in communications surrounding the investigation that ultimately led to Kevin Manley's departure.

At town hall meetings, Superintendent Andy Hatton explicitly told community members that administrative positions would be reduced whether the levy passed or failed — with even deeper cuts necessary if voters rejected the funding request. This promise of administrative streamlining was presented alongside Crates-Miller's announced retirement as evidence of the district's commitment to operational efficiency and accountability.

For many voters, her announced retirement represented a promising change in district leadership — enough to tip their support toward the levy despite lingering concerns about administrative accountability. The timing was hardly coincidental; Findlay City Schools leadership understood that personnel changes could address voter skepticism without requiring actual accountability for past actions.

The Quiet Revelation

According to administrative sources within the district, widespread rumors are circulating among teachers and administrators that Crates-Miller will remain employed through Ohio's retire-rehire program. While the district has not officially confirmed these plans, the persistent rumors from multiple internal sources suggest this arrangement is being seriously considered or may already be decided. This allows public employees to collect their pension while returning to work, often at reduced salaries but maintaining their institutional influence and decision-making power.

Such a arrangement would transform what voters believed was a clean break from controversial leadership into merely a financial restructuring that keeps the same decision-makers in place while providing them additional retirement benefits. More problematically, it would directly contradict Hatton's town hall promises of administrative reductions, suggesting those commitments were merely campaign rhetoric designed to secure voter support.

A Pattern of Calculated Deception

This bait-and-switch follows a well-established pattern from Findlay City Schools administration:

The FFE Investigation Timeline: Administrators claimed immediate action on concerns while documents show they delayed reporting and coordinated responses for weeks.

Public Records Obstruction: The district spent months fighting public information requests, claiming complex processing needs, only to eventually release documents showing their own contradictory statements.

Financial Misrepresentation: Administrators claimed the FFE investigation cost $11,089 while legal invoices show at least $24,462 in December alone.

Document Destruction: Email communications were deleted from 215 staff accounts, with administrators falsely claiming immediate "quarantine" while records show the emails remained accessible for hours.

Now, the rumored retire-rehire arrangement adds another potential layer: using personnel announcements as electoral strategy rather than genuine administrative reform.

Findlay Voters' Dilemma

Many levy supporters explicitly cited leadership changes as justification for their yes votes despite concerns about the FFE investigation. They believed they were voting for both continued school funding and administrative accountability — a package deal that addressed their dual concerns.

Instead, they may receive funding approval while the controversial leadership remains largely intact, simply restructured through retirement benefits if the rumors prove accurate. The district gets its money; administrators potentially get their pensions plus continued employment; and voters get the realization they may have been manipulated once again.

Beyond the FFE Investigation

While the FFE investigation controversy initially exposed these administrative practices, the pattern extends far beyond a single incident. It reveals a leadership culture that views community engagement as a obstacle to be managed rather than a democratic process to be respected.

The retire-rehire rumors demonstrate this philosophy perfectly: give voters the appearance of change while maintaining the status quo, quietly announce "retirement" during the campaign season while potentially planning continued employment after the votes are counted.

The Real Cost of Lost Trust

Findlay City Schools administration consistently underestimates the long-term damage of these tactics. Each calculated misdirection erodes public trust, making future community support more difficult to secure. The district may have won this levy battle, but it's losing the broader war for credibility.

When administrators repeatedly choose manipulation over transparency, they create a community that approaches every district announcement with skepticism. Parents begin asking not "What are they telling us?" but "What aren't they telling us?" and "What's the real plan behind this announcement?"

Moving Forward

The circulating rumors about Crates-Miller's potential retire-rehire arrangement offer the school board an opportunity to address this situation transparently. Board members can:

• Publicly clarify whether retire-rehire arrangements are being considered for any retiring administrators

• Demand full transparency about all personnel decisions affecting controversial figures from the FFE investigation

• Require public disclosure of how personnel announcements factor into district communications strategy

• Establish policies preventing the use of misleading personnel announcements during levy campaigns

Alternatively, they can continue enabling an administrative culture that treats voters as obstacles rather than stakeholders.

The Choice Ahead

Findlay residents now face a familiar choice: accept another example of administrative misdirection as "business as usual" or demand the genuine transparency and accountability they thought they were voting for.

The levy may have passed, but the underlying issues that necessitated personnel changes remain unaddressed. Voters supported the district believing they were getting both funding and reform. If they receive only funding while controversial leadership continues under different titles, they'll remember this lesson at future elections.

Findlay City Schools administration may have secured their immediate financial needs, but they've further damaged the community trust that sustainable education funding ultimately requires. In education, as in democracy, there are no shortcuts around honesty — a lesson this district continues to learn the hard way.