Inquisitive Haussin earned Greencastle School Board seat
The newest Greencastle School Board member says he is excited about his appointment but knows there will be a learning curve to his new position.
Gary Haussin was named to the school board by the Greencastle Township Advisory Board last week. The new appointee was first and foremost thankful for the township board's support.
"I'm glad they had the confidence in me," Haussin said. "I kind of overwhelmed them a little bit with questions."
He acknowledged, though, there is much to learn.
"I've never served on a school board. Hopefully I will learn the first few times," Haussin said. "I really told them it's not going to be one of those things that I'm going to be able to jump into feet first.
"I'm really excited to learn what's going on and I really think I can bring something to the table to help them out."
Gary and his wife Terri live in rural Greencastle Township. Their daughter Lindsay lives in Columbus and is a mother of four. Their son Brad graduated from Greencastle High School last month.
"I've always kind of wanted to serve on the school board but just never had the opportunity, and the opportunity arose," Haussin said. "My son is out of high school now, and I wouldn't have done anything like this when he was in school, anyway. This kind of gives me the opportunity to stay involved with the school."
Haussin said it is difficult to say what he hopes to accomplish on the board at this time, but believes his experiences as a manager at Rolls-Royce in Indianapolis will be an asset.
"I've been a manager at Rolls-Royce for a long time. I think that my management skills will bring something to the table for the board," he said. "I'm a pretty good negotiator. I negotiate with the union on occasion with any issues that have to do with our people, so I can bring some pretty good negotiating skills."
Managing the corporation's budget is another important area in which Haussin has some background.
"I also am the owner of my budget, and I think that's one of the things that our school system needs to watch very close," he said. "I think that's a challenge facing everybody in America."
Haussin is slated to be sworn in at the July meeting of the Greencastle School Board. The time and date have not been set.