GLOUSTER, Ohio — The Trimble Local Schools Board of Education officially accepted John Hurd’s resignation as superintendent at a special meeting Wednesday night, after a three-hour long executive session.
Hurd’s resignation is effective July 31. Hurd retired in 2024, but was rehired on a two-year contract.
In his resignation letter, which was posted on Facebook, Hurd said he was “proud of the accomplishments we’ve achieved together, particularly in the face of many challenges.”
But, he continued, “increasing overreaching involvement of the Board into the day-to-day operations of the schools has made it exceedingly difficult to carry out my responsibilities effectively.” He also criticized the board of education’s “continued inaction on critical recommendations – such as necessary staffing reductions.”
At a July 17 meeting held to accept the resignation, board member Gary Arnold rejected that characterization.
“All except one person that Mr. Hurd asked to be laid off was laid off, and that was the kindergarten teacher,” Arnold said at the meeting. In recent months, the district has eliminated 34 positions as it struggles to overcome a ballooning budget deficit that put it into fiscal emergency.
Hurd’s letter also accused an unnamed board member of influencing “the lack of progress in restructuring our food service department,” because of their involvement with the union.
Arnold told the Independent Hurd was referring to him.
“All he said was, ‘Maybe we need to look at a food service company to come in and buy our food,’ and that was it,” Arnold said at the meeting. He said Hurd didn’t make an official proposal to the board until June, when he brought only a bid sheet to send to companies, which the board didn’t approve because they disagreed with the bids he was asking for.
Lindy Douglas will serve as interim superintendent while the district searches for a replacement. The former Alexander Local Schools superintendent is now superintendent at the Athens-Meigs Educational Service Center. She also is interim superintendent at Federal Hocking Local Schools, following the resignation of Jason Spencer in late June.
“My job is to assist all school districts in Athens and Meigs County,” she said.
Douglas introduced some of her ideas to deal with the district’s fiscal emergency at the meeting.
“If that means people are wearing two or three hats in their jobs, that’s what we do,” she said. “It’s our commitment to take on more than what we normally ask for, but we want to do what’s best for our children, what’s best for this community.”
“As of tonight, we’re moving forward,” she added. “We are going to change some things financially, we’re going to tighten the (spending). Nothing gets spent unless it’s got my okay.”
Douglas said she and the board are looking at sharing some human resources with another district, like a special education teacher.
“We will maintain our athletic department,” Douglas promised.
Jeff Toner, a bus driver and the assistant mechanic, questioned the board’s failure to replace Chris Simons, the retired transportation supervisor. Instead, Trimble is using hourly mechanics from other districts.
Douglas, who also is acting as transportation supervisor, said financially feasible options to replace Simons can be discussed later.
Financial options
The board discussed options for increasing revenue, including property tax levies, income tax levies or an earned income tax that would exclude Social Security and other non-wage payments.
In a letter to the district’s Financial Planning and Supervision Commission, Athens County Auditor Jill Davidson said the district would need to levy 60.55 mills to eliminate the district’s projected deficit over three years.
The district currently has 67.1 mills of tax. However, because state law prevents levy revenue from rising with increased property values, the actual millage applied is reduced by up to 28%.
Davidson estimated that 60.55 mills would generate a little over $3 million for the district annually — more than double what the county collected for the district in 2024.
The board tabled a resolution that acknowledges the auditor’s estimate, the need to consider pursuing a levy to eliminate its deficit, and indicating its decision about placing a levy on the November 2025 general election ballot. If the board chooses to place a levy on the ballot, it must submit a resolution on the levy to the Athens County Board of Elections by 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 6.
The board reviewed the June 2025 financial reports, which were not reviewed at the last meeting because Treasurer Ashley Miller was still working on reconciling the accounts. The report showed the district making modest progress on its deficit.
The district’s cash balance as of June 30 was about $1.4 million, or about $957,000 above projections. However, the district must repay $600,000 to the state by the end of this month, which it received to cover payroll expenses.
The district has saved about $448,000 in expenses this year, mainly in salaries and fringe benefits. The savings on salaries may be attributed “to some grant expenses we were able to identify and charge to the proper grants,” according to the report.
Despite savings, the report stated, “structural reforms and sustained expenditure controls will be necessary to restore long-term solvency and exit fiscal emergency status.”
Parent Mark Brunton suggested that the board set up digital donation pages or websites to make it easier for community members to donate to the district. The board encouraged Brunton to contact them later to discuss his ideas.
Brunton told the Independent he believed Hurd had been mismanaging spending. Having Douglas in charge is “a good start on this path to getting us right again,” Brunton said.
“I’m hoping moving forward we can show people we’re resilient and this is a good place for education,” Brunton said.
Rexford Millhone, president of the Trimble Local Teachers Association, said he hopes the administration gets better at communication in the future.
“Everybody had a different idea of what their role was … and that doesn’t lead to many things being productive,” Millhone said.
Renae Hefty is a junior at Ohio University. Hefty is a summer 2025 intern at Athens County Independent, with support from the Nonprofit Newsroom Internship Program created by the Scripps Howard Fund and the Institute for Nonprofit News.
Dani Kington contributed reporting to this story.
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