Ithaca City School District | Assistant School Business Executive

ITHACA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

400 Lake Street • Ithaca, New York • 14850

NOTICE OF VACANCY

Position Title: Assistant School Business Executive

Brief Description: The Assistant School Business Executive supports the overall administration of all business functions of the Ithaca City School District by planning, developing, implementing, and managing account-keeping functions in coordination with the School Business Executive. Primary responsibilities include the development and preparation of the school district budget and direct oversight of all account-keeping activities. The Assistant School Business Executive also provides financial guidance and advice to the members of the administration and Board of Education as assigned or delegated by the School Business Executive. The work is performed in accordance with school district policies and procedures under general supervision but allows for the frequent exercise of independent judgment. Direct supervision is exercised over the administrative support staff of the Business Office. Indirect supervision is exercised over the work of the clerical staff throughout the Ithaca City School District. Performs related work as required.

Essential Functions:

Budgeting and Budget Management

• Collects and inputs all budget requests, expenditures, and revenue sources to prepare and develop the annual district budget.
• Prepares the data to build the tentative budget for the School Board, community groups, and internal stakeholders as directed by the School Business Executive; explains financial budget allocations to department heads.
• Evaluates the current and planned activities of the district and recommends to the School Business Executive particular budget cuts or supplementary budget amounts which should be considered.
• Prepares and transmits financial reports to appropriate federal, state, and local authorities as required by the Board or District Executive Team Members.

Accounting

• Establishes accounting records and procedures to conform to district policy, state and federal requirements, and installs procedures for encumbrance, expense accounting, and distribution of revenues into proper fund accounts; supports the collection of revenues by establishing procedures for the district tax collector, treasurer, and assigned personnel.
• Makes fund transfers between accounts as appropriate to cover expenditures.
• Maintains grant accounts in order to make required reports to funding agencies.
• Manages the maintenance and control of property classification and inventory systems for fixed assets and supplies.

Financial Planning

• Prepares long and short-term financial plans for use by administrators and the Board of Education.
• Develops monthly cash flow statement to aid in determining cash available for investment and/or borrowing needs.
• Supports the development of the best available investment instruments and obtains quotes on interest rates considering investment amount, time of investment, and prevailing interest rates.
• Supports the development of plans for long-term borrowings through the use of capital notes and/or serial bonds, including the preparation of repayment schedules and development of data for bond sale prospectus.
• Arranges for the sale of bonds in cooperation with bond consultants.
• Provides fiscal, statistical, and business management information in support of state and federal grant applications for district projects.

Business Management

• Serves as the designated liaison with the Auditor, Treasurer, BOCES Chief Business Officer, and other financial authorities, including State and Federal financial officials.
• Manages all financial aspects of capital improvement projects.
• Provides financial and other data for negotiating teams, fact-finders, mediators, arbitrators, or representatives of employee organizations.
• Supports the development of district insurance and risk management programs.
• Periodically audits insurance coverage against inventories, appraisals, liabilities, and replacement costs.
• Supports the monitoring of insurance requirements to assure timely review, renewal, revision, or cancellation.
• Supports district compliance with Freedom of Information Law requests.

Purchasing

• Works with the purchasing agent to establish a calendar of purchasing activities to assure timely ordering and delivery of goods and services.
• Assists in writing specifications based on requests for supplies, services, and equipment.
• Determines needs for formal bidding, purchases through state contracts, sources exempt from bidding law, and those obtainable by direct purchase.
• Supports bid advertising in accordance with law and may open and analyze bids to determine low bidder conformance to specifications.

Supervision

• Directly supervises staff of the Business Office as assigned by the School Business Executive and indirectly supervises district-wide clerics.

Location(s): Business Office

Anticipated Start Date: January 27, 2025

Posting Dates: 1/7/25- until filled

Number of Vacancies: 1

FTE: 1

Required Qualifications:

• The Ithaca City School District is committed to eliminating race, class, and disability as predictors of academic performance, co-curricular participation, and discipline. Qualified candidates will demonstrate a basic awareness of these commitments and a strong willingness to support these efforts.
• Must possess SDBL, SDL or qualify via Civil Service requirements.

Civil Service Requirements:

• Possession of a Master's degree in Business or Public Administration and two (2) years of full-time paid (or its part-time paid equivalent) professional business administration experience, which must have included accounting and budgeting duties, at least two years of which shall have been in a supervisory capacity.

OR

• Possession of a Bachelor's degree in accounting, business administration or a closely related field with a similar course curriculum and four (4) years of full-time paid (or its part-time paid equivalent) professional business administration experience, which must include accounting and budgeting duties, at least two years of which shall have been in a supervisory capacity.

Note: College degrees must have been awarded by a college or university accredited by a regional, national, or specialized agency recognized as an accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of Education and/or U.S. Secretary of Education. If an applicant’s degree was awarded by an educational institution outside the United States and its territories, the applicant must provide independent verification of equivalency. A list of acceptable companies who provide this service can be found at Applicants are responsible for payment of the required evaluation fee.

Desired Characteristics:

• Thorough knowledge of business administration procedures; thorough knowledge of accounting methods and budgetary procedures; thorough knowledge of the techniques of monitoring expenditure of funds; thorough knowledge of debt and investment management.
• Thorough knowledge of purchasing and inventory practices; good knowledge of the principles of cost analysis; strong supervisory skills; strong interpersonal skills; skill in organizing and consolidating narrative and tabular information into a clear, logical, fiscal plan.
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
• Ability to identify and anticipate financial problems and needs.
• Ability to identify and set priorities.
• Ability to verbally explain and defend budgets.
• Ability to interpret financial reports.
• Good judgment; integrity; thoroughness; physical condition commensurate with the duties of the position.

All applications, nominations and inquiries are invited. Job descriptions are aspirational, and no candidate meets every criterion. We strongly encourage applications from individuals with varied identities and backgrounds.

Salary Range: Commensurate with experience

External Applicants: Apply online at ithacacityschools.recruitfront.com

Internal Applicants: Apply online at ithacacityschools.schoolfront.com

Instructions for Internal Applicants:

When applying through SchoolFront you can log in with your ICSD email credentials using the following single-sign on link here. Once logged in please go to recruiting > Available Internal Postings.

The Ithaca City School District does not unlawfully discriminate in employment on the basis of age, race, color, religion, creed, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, military status, veteran status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, marital status, familial status, domestic violence victim status, or other federal/state protected status.