BPS Chief Financial Officer receives national recognition

BOSTON - John McDonough, the Chief Financial Officer of the Boston Public Schools was selected last week to receive the 6th Annual Bill Wise Award from the Council of Great City Schools (CGCS) for his dedication to public education.

Mr. McDonough, who lives in Jamaica Plain, has been the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the district since 1996 and has over 29 years of total service in the BPS. As CFO, he is responsible for managing the $712 million budget and oversees payroll, budget, accounting, accounts payable, contracting, and purchasing. The finance team Mr. McDonough leads is also charged with providing information, reporting, and technical assistance to support school-based and district-wide fiscal decision-making.

"John is a tremendous asset to the Boston Public Schools," Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant said. "His commitment to urban public education and wealth of knowledge and experience have been invaluable during good financial times and a steadying force during the recent tough fiscal years."

Mr. McDonough has been successful in aligning resources to the district's educational goals and creating a culture of fiscal discipline and accountability in the BPS. In each of the past ten fiscal years under John's stewardship, the BPS has ended the year on budget. This includes the difficult financial times of the past few years, and the past two years where the BPS has begun to restore some resources for schools and other instructional initiatives.

Mr. McDonough graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Political Science and M.B.A. from Boston College. In addition to the Bill Wise Award, he also received the Henry L. Shattuck Award in 2000 from the Boston Municipal Research Bureau for his public service.

The CGCS award is named after Dr. Bill Wise who had a long and distinguished career at the senior business official and superintendent of the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. It is presented annually to honor "outstanding school business officials who have distinguished themselves through services to urban education."

The award was presented last week in Hollywood, Florida at the annual Chief Financial Officers meeting of the Council of Great City Schools.

The Council of the Great City Schools is a national organization composed of 66 large city school districts. The mission of CGCS is to promote the cause of urban schools and to advocate for inner-city students through legislation, research and media relations. The organization also provides a network for school districts to exchange information and to collectively address new challenges as they emerge in order to deliver the best possible education for urban youth. For more information on the council visit their website www.cgcs.org.