Iowa school business officials who oversee school funding have a ‘heart’ for public education

Everything Kris Wood — who oversees a $56 million annual budget at North Polk Community School District — does is “for the kids.”

School business officials like Wood manage Iowa’s schools finances, creating budgets that support student learning programs and ensuring teachers and staff are paid, all while ensuring compliance with state and federal regulations.

As enrollment into Iowa schools fluctuates, school business officials also are planning for the long-term sustainability of a school district.

Enrollment drives schools’ budgets. Iowa schools are funded by per pupil state aid — the amount of money allocated to school districts that’s used to pay staff salaries and benefits and fund educational programs.

But the complexities of the job can mean a high rate of turnover. Kerry Peyton, the school business official for North Linn and Central City school districts, said about a dozen school business officials retired this year.

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“That’s 200-some years of experience leaving the profession,” she said.

Most school business officials have experience working in corporate America in insurance, banking or accounting, said Mary Beth Fast, executive director of the Iowa Association of School Business Officials, which provides professional development to school business officials in the state.

IASBO is the only accrediting agency for school business officials. The certification program is two years.

Fast said after the COVID-19 pandemic, many school business officials retired. She would see a dozen or more new school business officials enrolled in her quarterly class. That turnover has slowed down over the last year, she said. Today, her classes hover around six to eight people.

One of the reasons people might be “scared away” from a job as a school business official is because of how much the role is impacted by politics, said Sarah Enfield, chief financial officer in the Waukee Community School District and president-elect on the IASBO board.

“There’s so much legislation that changes what we do or threatens to change it. We’re constantly evaluating how it’s going to shake out,” she said. “But at the end of the day, we analyze it, understand it and make adjustments.”

Many Iowa school districts share business officials

Enfield previously worked for John Deere. Now, she oversees the budget for a school district that serves more than 14,000 students.

School business officials have “a heart” for public service and education, Enfield said.

“They probably would be making more money in the private sector,” she said. “It’s a complicated, very demanding job.”

“I wake up every morning ready to take on all the different challenges. At the end of the day, it’s really exciting to watch a football game or marching band and know I was able to ensure we had the right resources for staff and students,” Enfield said.

Iowa requires every school district to employ a qualified and authorized school business official to oversee its financial operations.

Eighty-five percent of Iowa’s school districts serve 1,000 or fewer students. While larger school districts may have two or more staff in the business office, most schools have a single person.

Peyton is one of about 130 Iowa school business officials that are shared across two school districts. There were a total of 348 school business officials in Iowa during the 2024-25 school year, according to the Iowa Department of Education.

“Education is really important to me … Small school districts shrink and disappear sometimes. It’s not something I want to happen here. It’s a piece of my heart here,” Peyton said.

She began her career in property management before becoming a stay-at-home mom. In the back of her mind, she always thought if the school business official role opened up in North Linn, she would apply.

Today, she oversees combined budgets of more than $15 million annually. She also is the school board secretary, human resources director, and oversees payroll and benefits, accounts payable, accounts receivable and sometimes information technology.

“Whatever needs done,” Peyton said.

When school districts began receiving federal emergency relief funding during the pandemic, Peyton saw it as an opportunity to invest in one-time purchases the districts otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford.

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“That’s the kind of money a district our size never sees,” Peyton said. “We made sure we were thoughtful in how we used that.”

In the North Linn district, the funding was used to purchase smart boards for every classroom. “It was a big improvement,” she said.

Peyton said although she’s the only school business official in her two districts, Iowa school business officials across the state are “really collaborative.”

Iowa school districts are required to finalize their budgets for the next fiscal year by April 30. Lawmakers have a self-imposed deadline to pass school funding for the next year within 30 days of the governor’s budget being released. This year, that deadline passed in February and lawmakers didn’t approve education spending until April.

“We’re given weeks to make decisions when we should have months,” Peyton said. “We’re tasked with getting good information to school boards, so they can make decisions, but the state waits until the last minute.”

Network of business officials provides support, friendship

Dan Rold, business manager of Riverside and Griswold school districts, came across the job of school business official about a decade ago. His family was looking to move back home to small-town Iowa from Omaha, Nebraska, and he was struggling to find a finance job.

“I’m using my business and finance talents to help kids rather than stockbrokers on the other side of the country. There’s a little bit more satisfaction in helping public schools rather than rich people get richer,” Rold said.

Rold oversees a combined annual budgets of about $20 million.

Mentoring in the school business official industry is “vitally important,” he said.

“I remember my first day in the office. I had no clue what I was doing. I thought, ‘What the heck have I gotten myself into?’ That’s probably more common than not,” Rold said.

“You get into the job and realize everything you’re responsible for. It’s overwhelming for a lot of people,” Rold said.

“It takes a solid two to five years before you really feel comfortable. One thing I’ve noticed is if school business officials can make it through that first year, the likelihood of them continuing increases dramatically,” Rold said.

Wood, who began working as a school business official more than a decade ago, was in banking before she started working for schools.

“One of the biggest challenges is people don’t know the role exists,” Wood said.

She was introduced to the job by a friend who worked for Green Hills Area Education Agency. A school district unexpectedly lost its school business official, and they needed help.

Wood supported the district temporarily before returning to banking, but the experience stuck with her. She eventually pursued school business full time.

While working as the school business official at the Hamburg Community School District, Wood said her office was between two elementary classrooms.

“I would have kids in and out of my office at recess and lunch. We would play math games or it would be a quiet place for them to sit. There’s no greater joy than seeing those students succeed,” she said.

The training Wood received from IASBO is “over the top.”

“I can honestly say I’ve never encountered a profession with a training program and network as strong as IASBO,” she said.

“You have no idea when you first get into this the immense amount of things that come across your desk. A lot of times those things you only see once a year,” Wood said.

“There are so many state guidelines and once the legislative session starts, you start seeing all the changes you have to roll with,” Wood said.

Wood since has mentored other school business officials new to the role.

“It was 210 percent rewarding,” she said. “I was fortunate enough to have a fantastic mentor introduce me to others in the profession, and those people have become lifelong friends. The most important thing to remember is we’re not going through this alone.”

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