Mount Vernon City Schools

Excellence In Education

Board Members

Mrs. Jody Goetzman

Board President

Jody is currently serving her seventeenth year as a Pre-K Teacher and Director at Faith Lutheran Christian Preschool located in Mount Vernon. Prior to her service at Faith Lutheran, Jody was an Account Executive for five years with Flynn Sabatino & Day Advertising Agency and spent a total of 20 years working for Wendy’s International, Inc., where she resigned from her Midwest Regional Marketing position. Mrs. Goetzman is a graduate of Mount Vernon High School and Mount Vernon Nazarene University.

Jody was first elected to the Mount Vernon Board of Education in 2007 and was most recently re-elected in November 2023 for a term that will expire in December of 2027. She also has served on the Business Advisory Committee and is currently serving on the Personnel and Buildings and Grounds committees. Jody represents the MVCSD on the Knox County Career Center Board of Education.

She is a member of the New Life Church of the Nazarene and serves her church by teaching Tiny Tots, and is a part of the Welcoming ministry.

Jody and her husband Rick, both MVHS graduates, are the parents of 5 grown children. Ryan, a High School teacher & Coach, Austin (Chelsea) a Senior Accountant, Bradley (Molly) a buyer with Honda, Katelyn (Tyler) a PTA & MVHS Cheer coach and Kacie who is currently studying nursing; all are MVHS graduates as well.

Jody considers it an honor and a privilege to serve the students and residents of the Mount Vernon Community.

Mr. Tim Workman

Board Vice President

Tim is the owner of a local insurance agency and has been associated with State Farm Insurance since 1990. He has served in other various leadership roles over that time. Tim graduated from Mt. Vernon High School and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and Business Management from Franklin University.

Tim was elected in 2019 to the Board of Education and looks forward to giving back to his community. He also is a member of the Knox County Chamber of Commerce, a voting member of the Knox Community Hospital, and has served on a number of other boards in prior years. He is also a parishioner of St. Vincent de Paul Church.

Tim and his wife, Patty, have been married since 1989 and have two adult children and three grandchildren.

Dr. Margie Bennett

Margie is Professor Emerita from Mount Vernon Nazarene University, retired in June of 2011 after serving for 33 years. At the Mount Vernon Nazarene University, she was Professor of Mathematics and Director of Institutional Research.

Margie earned her B.A. in Mathematics from Olivet Nazarene University in 1969. She completed her M.Ed. in Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois in 1971 and her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, also from the University of Illinois in 1976.

Dr. Bennett’s affiliations include the following:

National - The Higher Learning Commission (HLC): Institutional Actions Council (IAC); (HLC) Peer Reviewer and Team Chair; Recognition Award for 30 years of service in December, 2020.

State - Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA): OSBA Board of Trustees and Executive Committee; Past President, Central Region; Legislative Platform Committee; Student Leadership Team; past member of the Nominating Committee and Capital Conference Planning Committee; named Master Board Member, 2014; recipient of several OSBA Awards of Achievement and the OSBA STAR Award for Service 2021.

Local:
Ambassador and former Board Member, Knox County Chamber of Commerce
Vice President, Knox County Career Center
Member, Delta Kappa Gamma, Alpha Pi Chapter and the Finance Committee
Former Chair, Academic Judges, Knox County Distinguished Young Women
Member, Knox Alliance for Racial Equity (KARE)
Member, Choir and Ladies Bible Study, Lakeholm Church of the Nazarene
Member, Mount Vernon Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)
Participant, Mental Health First Aid Training for Youth Ages 12-18 in Knox County, 2016
Participant, Area Development Foundation (ADF) Economic Development 101 Day, 2019

Margie was first elected to the Mount Vernon Board of Education in 1987 and was most recently re-elected in November 2023 for a term expiring in December 2027.

Margie was married on October 16, 1965, to Dr. Fordyce R. Bennett, Professor Emeritus and former Chair of the English Department at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Their children and grandchildren are Kari Haxhinasto (Sokol) of Brookfield, Connecticut, with Grace (17), Ansel (13), and Micah (11); and Kristi Gruver (Aaron) of Zionsville, Indiana, with Rebecca (10) and Matthew (8).

Margie feels honored to serve the children and young people of the Mount Vernon community. She counts it a privilege to serve along with four outstanding and dedicated board members.

Ms. Mary Rugola-Dye

Mary Rugola-Dye is a lifelong resident of Mount Vernon, Ohio. Mary is a 35-year veteran retired teacher of our great public schools and is serving her 3rd term on the Mount Vernon City School Board.

She taught general music at the Loudonville-Perrysville School System for two years and then finished her career with her "dream job" of teaching music to hundreds of elementary children in Mount Vernon.

Mary has a Bachelor of Music Education from The Ohio State University and a Master of Education from Marygrove College in Michigan. She is a 1970 graduate of Mount Vernon High School.

Mary is the former Music and Choir Director at St. Vincent de Paul Church. She also serves on the executive board of the Knox County Democratic Party and is a member of Ex. CO of Ohio Democratic Party. Mary has performed in numerous local theater productions with MTVarts and is a member of the Kenyon Community Choir.

Mary is dedicated to promoting the success and necessity of a free and equally funded public school system. Mary believes that education equals knowledge and knowledge can lead to a more equitable and peaceful society.

Mary has one son and two grandchildren.

Mr. Jeff Ward

Jeff has served in leadership positions in the education/non-profit sector for nearly 35 years. Currently, he serves as Chief Financial Officer for the Ohio History Connection (formerly the Ohio Historical Society).

Previously, he served as:

Deputy Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer for the National Middle School Association (now known as the Association for Middle-Level Education).

Chief Financial Officer for Quest International, an international, non-profit organization that worked in partnership with Lions Clubs International on education programs for child/youth development.

Jeff also served on Safeguarding America’s Youth, a national committee formed to provide safety grants to schools across the United States in response to the tragedy at Columbine High School. Prior to his service in the education/non-profit sector, Jeff was an accountant for Cooper Industries in Mount Vernon.

Jeff is a graduate of MVNU and has his Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Auburn University. He and his wife, Sandy – a current teacher at Mount Vernon Middle School – have two adult children.