By SARAH CAMPBELL
Leader staff writer
The Pulaski County Special School District has hired a former employee of the state Education Department and the Division of Legislative Audit as its new chief financial officer, a position at the crosshairs of criticism from both entities.
William (Bill) Goff will officially take the reins from Anita Farver, the outgoing CFO, next Friday, Farver’s last day with the district. The decision came one week after she announced her resignation.
Since Farver was hired as chief financial officer in 2009, PCSSD has been called out for not putting all of its desegregation funds toward desegregation-related expenses. The Arkansas Legislative Audit office and the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee have chastised the district for financial mismanagement.
The audit team praised Farver’s work with the district on numerous occasions.
The state Education Department, which placed PCSSD in fiscal distress, took over the district in June, dissolving the school board and firing then-Superintendent Dr. Charles Hopson.
Goff will be responsible for overseeing a budget of approximately $250 million while helping move the district into fiscal solvency, said Superintendent Dr. Jerry Guess.
“It’s a big job and Mr. Goff is the right person at the right time,” Guess said. “We are navigating through some tough financial times and he brings the skills to the table to move us forward.”
Guess said Goff’s start date has not been determined; he is expected to give notice to the ADE and start at PCSSD shortly afterward.
Goff, a certified public accountant, has served as the assistant commissioner of fiscal and administrative services for the state Education Department since July 2008.
He was responsible for administering the budget, finance and facilities functions of the agency, as well as fiscal monitoring and support for the state’s school districts.
Before that, he was the director for the Arkansas Public School Computer Network for the Department. APSCN’s mission is to maintain a statewide communications network that provides all Arkansas public school systems and education service cooperatives with electronic access to administrative computer services and provide a system for electronically submitting data to the state.
Goff has also been the business manager for the Benton and Texarkana school districts and a field auditor for the state Division of Legislative Audit.
The reason for Farver’s resignation was not released, but Guess said in a statement, “Ms. Farver has served the district faithfully for several years and worked tirelessly to manage funds in times of fiscal distress. We appreciate her dedication and hard work and we wish her well in her future endeavors.”
Farver will use the off time to finish work on a doctorate degree. She has offered to help with transition to a new chief financial officer. She has been with the district for four years.
