A potential employee transfer that would see Michael Reneke move from Alachua County Public Schools’ budget director to Chief Financial Officer (CFO) has drawn concern from a School Board of Alachua County (SBAC) member and some citizens who say he is not qualified to manage the district’s $604 million budget.

During the SBAC’s Tuesday meeting, the board will consider approving a Personnel Recommendations list by interim Superintendent Kamela Patton. The list includes appointments and transfers for administrative personnel, as well as appointments, transfers, leaves, return from leave and separations for instructional and non-instructional personnel.  

The list is the second item under the meeting’s consent agenda. 

Reneke’s transfer from budget director to CFO falls under Administrative Personnel and would take effect on Wednesday, Dec. 17, if approved by the board. 

In an interview with Mainstreet, SBAC Member Janine Plavac said the district has been searching for a CFO since Assistant Superintendent of Finance Gabrielle Jaremczuk’s resignation in July.  

Jaremczuk was among three of ACPS’ top budget and finance officials who resigned from May to July, with former Director of Budget Deborah Parrish and former Director of Finance Brandon Esposito being the others.  

In the interview, Plavac said Reneke has “no right” to be in the CFO position, saying he doesn’t meet the qualifications for the role. 

Qualifications for the SBAC CFO position include a “Masters 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.  

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

In a letter distributed to local media outlets, Plavac, who was appointed to the SBAC by Gov. Ron DeSantis in April, said after doing some research on the top 27 school districts in the state, every person in the CFO position “has some financial, accounting or business background, or a CPA if they do not have a master’s degree in business,” with the exception of maybe two people. 

“But everyone currently serving as a CFO with a comparable budget has a finance background,” she said. 

In the letter, Plavac said Reneke, who has been employed with ACPS since Sept. 10, also does not meet the skills for his current position. 

Qualifications for the SBAC budget director position include a bachelor’s degree from an “approved accredited educational institution with specialization in business or public administration related degree,” with a master’s degree preferred, according to the job description.  

The qualifications for the role also list a minimum of five years of experience in the “administration of budget, insurance, and/or finance/paywall.” 

According to Plavac, Reneke’s educational background consists of a Bachelor of Arts in English and philosophy, with no financial education or experience in educational finances listed on his resume. 

Reneke did not respond to a request for comment for this story, but Mainstreet obtained a copy of his resume by way of a public records request.  

According to Reneke’s resume, he earned his bachelor’s degree in English and philosophy from the University of West Florida. 

In the letter, Plavac noted that Reneke has worked for “different” nonprofit organizations in Florida. One of those organizations included Partnership for Strong Families (PSF) Inc. in Gainesville, where he held several positions with the nonprofit from July 2005 to August 2023. 

Among the roles Reneke worked in with PSF was the CFO, where he “Managed a department that included Finance and Eligibility, Information and Technology, Quality Assurance and Contracts, and Facilities,” according to his resume. 

Reneke also served as PSF’s senior vice president of administration and quality management. In this role, he directed “all Quality Assurance activities” and “all Contract Unit services, managed multiple budgets and funding streams, tracked and forecasted expenditures for all contracts and oversaw all contract monitoring,” according to his resume. 

In the interview with Mainstreet, Plavac expressed concern about Reneke being able to manage a budget as large as the district’s if he became CFO. 

“This is really important,” she said. “This is a guy who is in charge of our entire budget.” 

Out of the various organizations Reneke has worked for, Plavac said the letter that the largest budget he has managed was $155 million. In September, the SBAC approved a final budget of $604 million for fiscal year 2025-26.  

“We are obligated to be good stewards with our money,” Plavac said. “This is taxpayer money.” 

In the letter, Plavac said the district paid a registration fee of $1,250 on Dec. 2 for Reneke to begin a two-year “business cohort through the Institute of Florida School Finance.” She noted that this is designed to “train and meet the professional development needs of an individual that wants to work in finances in the school system.” 

“Presumably, you go to school to learn something you don’t know how to do,” Plavac said in the letter. “Why would we pay someone to the CFO job before he knows how to do it?” 

Mainstreet obtained emails this week from two citizens who had sent public records requests seeking additional information about Reneke’s possible transfer. This included information about qualifications and whether he would get a salary increase in the new position.  

Jackie Johnson, spokesperson for ACPS, did not respond to multiple inquiries from Mainstreet for this story. 

Plavac said in the letter that she would also like the board members to have more information, including whether there were other candidates who qualified for the CFO role, if they were interviewed and the result of those interviews.  

Mainstreet reached out to SBAC Members Thomas Vu, Tina Certain, Leanetta McNealy and Sarah Rockwell for comment on Reneke’s potential transfer.  

Rockwell was the only board member to respond to Mainstreet’s inquiry and offered the following statement via email.  

“Per state statute, personnel decisions are the purview of the superintendent,” she said. “Board members may only object to an appointment for good cause, which is narrowly defined by statute. There is no good cause reason for me to object to Mr. Reneke’s appointment, and I intend to abide by statute. Any further questions should be directed to Jackie Johnson.” 

Plavac encouraged community members to attend Tuesday’s meeting, saying Reneke’s possible transfer will become an action item. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. and will be held in the District Office Boardroom (620 E. University Ave.).  

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.