As adolescents, we are always told to follow our dreams. However, the pursuit of advancement and higher opportunities does not stop when one becomes an adult. It is a never-ending staircase of opportunity, and Mr. Ahaus is now taking his next step.
On Tuesday, September 8th, 2025, the school board of Franklin Community Schools listened to Dr. Clendening as he formally recommended Mr. Ahaus to become Chief Financial Officer. Ahaus would be replacing the current CFO, Mrs. Tina Jobe, as she approaches retirement. The role of Principal will be temporarily filled by Mr. Ryan Wagner until an official replacement is decided.
Despite moving on to a new journey in the school district, Mr. Ahaus wishes to take some time and reflect on every step that got him to this point. He sat down with me for an interview this previous week.
Mr. Ahaus has had a career centered in the Franklin Community School Corporation. He states that he has “been in teaching for 25 years, taught for 9 years before moving to the middle school as assistant principal and then principal, and this has been [his] 9th year as FCHS principal.” During this time, Ahaus has taken on many positions, such as teaching math and coaching cross country. But just as he encourages students to do, he followed his career connections to this next journey as CFO.
The Chief Financial Officer of the school district is in charge of building the budget for the school district, fundraising, and managing salaries. Ahaus expresses that there is “actually a large community aspect of the finance department, so figuring out how the school finances work to help better the community, teachers, students, and families” will be a primary focus of his new position. He will also be managing large financial advancements for the school district, such as more opportunity developments through community connections, as well as necessary adjustments in the school environment, such as the ongoing roof construction on the high school. In terms of managing finances, this entails configuring the time, cost, and resources needed for these aforementioned developments.
A crucial part of the CFO position is knowing what students and teachers need to flourish in the school environment. Ahaus believes he will be well-suited to help provide those needs due to his experience in the classroom as well as working directly with staff and students.
“I would like to think that my experience in education for that amount of time would help give some perspective on the ways that our schools have been running, ways that they need to run, and areas with community partners that could maybe financially help us in a way that could provide for our kids.”
However, by spending more time in other district schools and learning those needs, he hopes to find ways to advance our educational outreach across the district. A crucial part of Mr. Ahaus’s approach to the CFO position is his connections to the principals of the other FCSC schools, as he plans to utilize those connections to “speed up the process of getting in place.”
When I asked Ahaus about what he will miss most about being principal, he responded with a fond laugh and smile. He then explained that as you advance your career, you become excited about what is to come.
“However, there is always that piece of what are you gonna miss about that last step. You know, I felt a very similar feeling when I left the classroom, when I left coaching, and I’m finding a very similar feeling here. And it’s the people. The students here, the teachers here, all the time you spend going through the exciting moments and the challenging moments, help you develop relationships with people that are just special. And I’m glad I’m just going down the street, you know, I’m not going anywhere else, I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
“But, the time you get to spend seeing the kids getting out of cars and off the buses each morning and saying hello, working with teachers to get done the things they want accomplished, or seeing the great things kids accomplish, as well as those adversities you go through, and rallying as a group to overcome them. I’ll just be doing it in a different way, but I’ll miss all the people in this building.”
As Mr. Ahaus steps away from his position on October 31, 2025, he wishes to leave a final piece of advice to his students:
“You just have to do the best job at what you’re doing right now. You never know when opportunities are going to become available or what your next step is. So even if someone is working to reach levels they never thought were possible, it’s because at each level, you just try to do the best job you can do at what you’re doing right now. Because people recognize what you’re doing right now, then maybe as that next opportunity comes up, that could be what is next for you.”
From everyone at Grizzly Cub Network,
Thank you, Mr. Ahaus.
