Reed to join financial consultants next year

Suellen Reed, Indiana's superintendent of public instruction, will tap into the network of school administrators she knows to help launch a school financial advising business after she leaves her post in January.

Reed announced Wednesday she will become vice president of the Indiana division of Ross, Sinclaire & Associates, which is well established in Ohio, Kentucky, South Carolina and other states but has not yet advised schools on bond projects here.

The company will directly challenge several others that provide those services to Indiana school districts, such as H.J. Umbaugh and Associates and Hilliard Lyons.

Reed said she passed up offers from school districts, universities and other companies because she wanted the challenge and liked the business philosophy of Ross, Sinclaire & Associates.

"There were lots of other opportunities, and this was the best fit for me now," she said. "I think the schools will appreciate the help we can give them."

Chief Executive Officer Murray Sinclaire Jr. said Reed's contacts within school districts around the state are appealing as his company begins offering financial advice to them.

"One of her duties will be to introduce us around the state to her vast network of contacts," he said. "She will be a relationship manager and a point of contact and an ideas person."

Based in Cincinnati, Ross, Sinclaire & Associates is a brokerage company that does bond work and offers financial advice to governments, including school districts. Reed would be one of two vice presidents reporting to a managing director who oversees the Indiana division of the company.

During her 16 years in public office, Reed oversaw the transition to the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress-Plus and the creation of accountability measures under state and federal laws. A Republican, she also helped create the Education Roundtable, a group of state leaders that tries to resolve education issues.

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Reed to join financial consultants next year