Juneau School District’s chief financial officer is resigning just a few months after she officially began the role.
On Friday, the district announced CFO Lisa Pearce would be leaving to spend more time with her family and new grandchild.
Juneau School Board President Deedie Sorensen said the announcement didn’t come as a surprise.
“We knew that it wouldn’t be a really long-term thing for her, but she committed to getting us through a certain period of time,” Sorensen said. “So, her resignation is not unexpected.”
Pearce was temporarily hired last December to fill in after the district’s director of administrative services abruptly resigned. She accepted the full-time role back in May and officially started it in July.
Pearce played a critical role in navigating the district through its financial crisis and consolidation process last winter. She was the one who originally discovered the district was facing multimillion-dollar deficits, some of which was due to accounting errors.
With her help, the district was able to resolve those deficits — but it didn’t come easy. Doing so meant closing some schools, consolidating grades and reducing staff.
Sorensen said she is more concerned about the uncertainty of state education funding than finding a new CFO ahead of the upcoming budget-making process.
“Is the light at the end of the tunnel daylight, or is it an oncoming train? We just never know,” she said.
In an email, the district’s Chief of Staff Kristin Bartlett said the district is “grateful for Ms. Pearce’s tireless work over the last year.”
The job is already listed on the district website and will be open for a couple of weeks. The district hopes to fill the position as soon as possible.
In the meantime, Pearce will continue to work while the district searches for the new CFO and will help train her replacement.