David Means may be a man of few words, but he is a font of information.
He’s also the man who has kept Juneau’s schools running for more than a decade.
“I am basically a quiet, introverted numbers guy,” he said during an interview in his district office.
After 13 years with the Juneau School District, Means will step down at the end of June as director of administrative services.
That title doesn’t begin to sum up everything Means does within the school district.
First and foremost, he manages the budget. For most people, that would be enough.
“He also takes care of all the facilities,” said Superintendent Mark Miller. “So any roof that leaks is under him. He also takes care of custodial. He’s also the guy for transportation. He also does food services.”
Add managing IT, community schools and RALLY, and you’ve basically got a sense of the scope of Means’ job.
“And so his 40-hour (a week job) is probably closer to 60, 65,” Miller said. “It’s a big job.”
And Means is good at it. Celebrated, even. For the last seven years, his budgets have earned the district an international professional organization’s meritorious budget award. The distinction recognizes excellence in budget presentation and development.
In 2011, Means was named the School Business Official of the Year by the Alaska Association of School Business Officials.
“If someone really wanted to know about Juneau School District, the only document they’d really need to read is that budget book, because it covers everything,” said Miller. “And most of it doesn’t have to do with dollars.”
That wasn’t always the case. Means said there was a time when the district’s budget was dense and didn’t clearly communicate to the public where their tax dollars were being spent.
So Means set about fixing it.
“I think that one of our functions here in administration is to be able to communicate our institution, what’s going on here, out to the public,” he said.
Still, budgeting is no easy task, and it has only gotten harder amid state budget cuts in recent years.
When Miller arrived in Juneau to take the helm four years ago, Means approached him about trying a different strategy to the annual process. They decided to implement zero-base budgeting, where you start at $0 and build up, rather than cutting from the overall budget.
Miller believes it made a big difference in the tenor of the district’s budgeting process.
“Instead of arguing very negatively that, ‘Don’t cut this,’ you try to argue positively, ‘Please add this back in,’” Miller said. “I know it’s a glass half-full, half-empty kind of discussion, but it really makes a difference in the tone of the discussions that occur.”
Means came to Juneau after 23 years with the Ketchikan School District. He had a background in finance, and his mother was a school teacher for many years in Eugene, Oregon, where he grew up.
If he had to give one piece of advice to his successor, district Finance Officer Sarah Jahn, it would be this:
“Don’t panic. From time to time there’s going to be some news that’s going to — ‘Oh my goodness, what am I going to do?’ Sometimes there are resources that you gotta think about. Well, can I talk to the superintendent? Can I talk to colleagues across the state? Maybe she calls me, occasionally, I don’t know.”
Jahn already experienced one of those scenarios recently when the school district had to scramble to find a new food service provider for the next school year.
“It’s been kind of crazy, but it’s a good kind of crazy because I’m learning new things,” she said. “It gets me excited about the job.”
Looking back on his time with the district, Means says he appreciates all of the colleagues and school board members he has worked with over the years. He considers himself lucky to have worked in a community like Juneau.
“The community support here is just great and tremendous and we’re very thankful for that community support and we see that support through the parents in action with the district, with schools, for the support from our assembly members,” Means said. “Our community values education quite a bit.”
As for retirement, Means is going to take some time to travel with his wife and get some work done around the house.
He’s also looking forward to spending time with his granddaughter and his many dogs.
