Few Candidates Apply For Schools Finance Chief

In this economy, applicants tend to swarm an open position.

Not so with the chief financial officer for the Hernando County School Board.

The school district received just 10 applications from candidates seeking to replace Debbie Bruggink, who has been roundly praised but resigned last month to take a job closer to family in Tennessee.

Surprised?

"I am," said Heather Martin, the district's human resources director. "I feel the job description could be even stronger. School finance experience is not even a requirement."

The job has been posted twice. The first posting didn't bring in a strong enough applicant pool, Martin said, so the advertisement ran again.

Of the 10 applications from the second run, Martin felt eight were strong enough to warrant an interview. One candidate withdrew prior to the interview. Another withdrew after the interview with concerns about the salary range of $66,572 to $75,650.

That left six candidates remaining as of Wednesday afternoon. The remaining four were slated to be interviewed Thursday. While some of the candidates looked particularly promising, Martin has asked the school board to consider at its Tuesday meeting whether to increase the pay range to attract a field of top-notch candidates.

With mounting budget woes, the district will need a competent person, board members have said. At least some of the members said this week they would consider increasing the pay range. "If salary didn't make a difference, we'd have a lot more applications in this county," board member Pat Fagan said.

If the board does vote to increase the range, the position would be advertised again with the new range, Martin said.

"There might be a dynamite candidate who blows us away (in interviews Thursday) and takes the salary," Martin said. "But just in case, we have a plan B."

Martin had a theory for the lack of candidates. The job of finance director for a decent-sized school district is challenging enough in flush economic times.

"This person is going to be responsible for presenting a lot of bad news to the board," Martin said.

Here's a rundown of the applicants:

• Jeff Davis of Chiefland is an assistant superintendent for the Polk County School Board. He has a master's degree in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

• David Gray of Brooksville was most recently an accountant and partner for First Light Services Group Inc. in Brooksville. He has a master's of business administration from the University of Tampa.

• Desiree Henagar of Bradenton was most recently assistant budget director for the Sarasota County School Board. She has a master's degree in accounting from the University of West Florida.

• Larry Hughes of West Melbourne is a self-employed management consultant and a former member of the Brevard County School Board. He has an MBA from the Florida Institute of Technology.

• Vidal Olivas of Miami was most recently controller for the Lycee Franco Americain CQ International School in Cooper City. He has a bachelor's degree in business administration.

• Harold Proverbs of LaBelle is supervisor of finance for the Hendry County School Board, though his last day is Feb. 13 because the position is being eliminated due to budget cuts, according to his application. He has an MBA from Nova Southeastern University.