Juneau School District announces third chief finance officer in less than two years

The Juneau School District selected a new chief financial officer who will start in March. Nicole Herbert will be the district’s third chief financial officer in less than two years. 

Herbert currently serves as the director of accounting services for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. 

As CFO for the Juneau School District, she will be responsible for giving financial supervision to the school board and overseeing the district’s finance, payroll and food service departments. 

Herbert has multiple years of experience working for a public accounting firm. She holds a certified public accountant license and is on the board of directors of Alaska School Business Officials.

Under her leadership, the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District was awarded a Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Association of School Business Officials International.

Herbert will take over for Lisa Pearce, who announced her resignation in October — just a few months after she officially started work. She said she will retire and spend more time with her family and new grandchild.

Pearce was hired on a temporary basis last December after the district’s director of administrative services abruptly resigned. She discovered the district was facing multimillion-dollar deficits soon after taking on the job. Some of the issues were due to accounting errors by previous staff.  

Pearce helped the school board navigate its financial crisis and consolidation process last winter. She then took on the job full-time in July. She will help train her replacement.