Editor’s note: This story was updated with additional information.
The School Board of Alachua County (SBAC), in a split vote on Tuesday night, approved a Personnel Recommendations list by interim Superintendent Kamela Patton that will see current Alachua County Public Schools’ (ACPS) budget director Michael Reneke transition to Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective Wednesday. 

Reneke’s transfer from budget director to CFO fell under the Administrative Personnel section of the list. The list also included appointments, transfers, leaves, return from leave and separations for instructional and non-instructional personnel. 

The list was originally a consent agenda item; however, it was moved to an action item during the meeting, per request by Board Member Janine Plavac. 

Plavac had concerns about Reneke’s potential move to CFO coming into the meeting, telling Mainstreet in a prior interview that he doesn’t meet the qualifications for the job.  

When it came time to address the list as an action item, Board Chair Thomas Vu turned the floor over to Deborah Terry, the district’s assistant superintendent for human resources.  

“I’m going to recommend the superintendent recommends that the board accept the personnel list as is,” she said.  

Board Member Tina Certain then made a motion to move with the staff recommendation, which was seconded by Board Member Sarah Rockwell.  

Vu asked if there was any discussion. Plavac said she would like to hear Patton explain the reasoning for appointing Reneke — who has been with the district since September — to the CFO role.  

Before Patton offered an explanation, Vu asked Board Attorney David Delaney to explain what the Florida Statute says about who has the authority to make hiring decisions. 

“Essentially, it breaks down that the superintendent is responsible for the performance of the district,” he said. “Therefore, the superintendent gets to pick the team members to work on and produce that performance. And then she ultimately has the responsibility, as judged by the board, on the performance of the team that she puts together.” 

Patton then went into detail about Reneke’s work experience and qualifications. 

“Mr. Reneke has the knowledge, skills and expertise to do this job, with his 26 years of experience in fund-based accounting,” she said, adding he has served as a vice president of administration, senior vice president of finance administration and worked for 12 years as a CFO.  

“He was able to assume responsibilities from the day he got into Alachua County Public Schools,” Patton said of Reneke. “He’s shown leadership direction. He’s seen the oversight of that financial department since he’s been here. He demonstrates initiative to identifying potential problems for improvement and takes action.”  

Plavac referenced Florida Statute 1012.22, which states that a district school board “may reject for good cause any employee nominated” by the superintendent. 

“While the statute itself does not explicitly define the term, Florida courts and the attorney general’s opinions have clarified its meaning to establish legal precedent,” she said. “Good cause for denying an appointment generally refers to a nominee’s lack of fitness for the role, characterized or categorized into two main areas: professional disqualifications, and under that, it includes failure to meet minimum educational qualification, comma, lack of required professional experience or an inability to perform the necessary work.” 

The educational qualifications for the ACPS’ CFO position are a “Master’s degree from an approved accredited educational institution with specialization in public or business administration, finance, or other acceptable field; or Bachelor’s degree in accounting or other related field and Certified Public Accountant (CPA) credentials,” according to the job description.  

Reneke’s resume, which Mainstreet obtained via a public records request, shows that he has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and philosophy from the University of West Florida. 

The CFO position also requires a “minimum of 10 years progressively responsible administrative and supervisory experience,” according to the job description.  

Patton asked Delaney whether he felt Reneke fit into how the district’s CFO job classification is written. 

“The job description, as it is written, has two pathways to qualify for the position,” he said. “It could be by education and having [a] particular set of degrees that were outlined. You can also qualify for this position with 10 years of experience. It’s my opinion, after reviewing the job description with the superintendent, that the candidate qualifies under the experience pathway for this position.” 

Vice Chair Leanetta McNealy raised concerns about the training that Reneke would need to go through to be able to “function” in the CFO position.  

In a letter that was distributed to local media outlets, Plavac said ACPS paid a registration fee of $1,250 on Dec. 2 for Reneke to start a two-year “business cohort through the Institute of Florida School Finance.” 

Patton offered some clarity on the course during the meeting.  

“It was started because many, many of the 67 [school] districts [in Florida] have had lots of trouble filling CFO positions,” she said. “When they [new hire] get into the CFO positions, often they’re from the outside, so they’re not in tune with our FEFP (Florida Education Finance Program) and everything else. “There are many CFOs that are sitting in the seats right now of the 67 districts in those two-year courses.” 

Rockwell said she didn’t find the training to be “the least bit alarming.” 

“It is a typical and expected thing that somebody would do as a responsible CFO to stay abreast of any changes and updates,” she said.  

Rockwell also said she didn’t believe Patton would recommend a CFO appointment who would undo the work that has been done to overcome a projected $20 million deficit.  

After some further discussion, the board ultimately voted 3-2 to approve the employee personnel list, with Plavac and McNealy dissenting. Rockwell, Vu and Certain voted in favor.  

Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News. This position is supported by local donations through the Community Catalyst for Local Journalism Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.