The Juneau School District is hiring a familiar face to serve as its new chief financial officer.
On Friday, the district announced Lisa Pearce would take over the role in July. She is a school finance consultant who previously worked as the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District’s chief financial officer.
Pearce played a critical role in the Juneau district finances this year. She was temporarily hired in December to take over after the district’s Director of Administrative Services Cassee Olin abruptly resigned.
Within a short period, Pearce discovered the district was facing multimillion-dollar deficits for this year and next. Some of that was due in part to accounting errors.
With her help, the district was able to resolve those deficits — but not without difficulty. The district took out a loan of more than $4 million from the city to address this year’s budget deficit, and next year’s budget relies on school closures and a reduction in staff.
In a statement, Superintendent Frank Hauser applauded Pearce’s “skill set, commitment to transparency and forward-thinking approach.”
Pearce’s role replaces the district’s former director of administrative services position, so it won’t add more staff to the district. She will be in charge of preparing the district’s budget, fiscal plans and projections each year.
