Business chief takes on state leadership role

As District 13’s assistant superintendent for business, Meredith Brosnan manages a staff of five employees and a budget of more than $43 million.

But her obligations don’t stop where the elementary school district’s boundaries end. This year, Brosnan is president of the New York State Association of School Business Officials, representing school financial officers from more than 700 districts from Buffalo to Montauk.

Years ago, Brosnan got involved with NYSASBO’s Nassau County chapter, and was president in 2004-05. Then, she began to rise through the ranks of the state organization, serving on various committees including government relations.

Brosnan noted that being a school business official is a very complex job, and one that involves interaction with colleagues in other districts. “The job is vitally important to the educational program,” she said, “and to do it well you can’t be in a vacuum.”

Because the job involves managing large amounts of money, mistakes can be very costly. That’s why, Brosnan said, NYSASBO is so important. It gives business officials a chance to keep up on the latest mandates, rules and regulations. There is an annual summer business management seminar, which offers about 100 different workshops for business office staff. Fall and spring leadership conferences give representatives from each regional chapter a chance to meet and talk about the financial issues facing schools.

“The state organization has its ear closest to the ground,” Brosnan said.

NYSASBO also lobbies for local school districts. Brosnan said that whenever a new regulation goes into effect, representatives from the organization and from the state Education Department work together to implement the changes.

She said it’s important that state education officials know how new financial mandates will impact local school districts. Last year, for example, there was a lot of discussion between the two organizations about how to implement the tax cap. Brosnan said NYSASBO had great input on creating a formula that was fair to taxpayers while recognizing the financial pressures facing school districts.

“We try to be a source of knowledge and expertise for the people that are making decisions that affect school districts,” she said.

Brosnan said that while NYSASBO is open to anyone who works in a school business office, it is usually a district’s chief financial officer, like herself, who joins. Some of the state’s larger districts have two or three members in the organization.

She remembers exactly why she got involved with the NYSASBO. In the wake of the Roslyn School District financial scandal in 2004, in which high-ranking school officials stole millions of dollars, Brosnan recalled hearing some remarks from some state education officials comparing all school districts on Long Island to Roslyn.

Brosnan took exception to those comments, and said she realized Long Island needed a stronger voice.

She did say that some new financial oversight regulations that emerged in the wake of that scandal, while more costly to districts, do ensure that taxpayer money is better protected.

While Long Island as a whole is wealthier than other areas of the state, the expenses for school districts are much higher. She said NYSASBO was able to successfully lobby for regional cost factors to be included in state aid formulas. “It definitely favored us, but it should have because our costs are a lot higher,” she said. “We have to be sure we don’t get shortchanged.”

As president of the organization, Brosnan is responsible for coordinating and running the eight yearly meetings, planning conferences, writing articles for the state-wide publication, and working with the group’s executive director. When her presidency ends next year, she still will remain on the executive board as immediate past president.

She carries out all of these duties along with of her responsibilities in District 13. Brosnan is in her 16th year there. After starting out in the private sector, she decided to enter the education field because she felt it would be more rewarding. A part-time job in the North Shore School District business office quickly became full-time, before the opportunity in Valley Stream came calling.

Brosnan said she has stayed in the 2,100-student district for so long because she can’t imagine working anywhere else. She noted the dedication of the staff, support of the community and the professionalism of the Board of Education.

“It’s a terrific district,” she said. “This is a very special place. I do love my job and I’m very fortunate.”

Even though her role is financial, she is included in all administrative decisions, even curriculum. “It’s not as though I’m marginalized to just business issues,” she said, “and that’s very stimulating to be part of the whole picture.”

She is an adjunct professor at C.W. Post teaching an educational administration course, and also is president of the North Shore Kiwanis Club in Glen Head.