LITTLE ROCK — William J. “Bill” Goff, a certified public accountant and veteran school finance manager, was hired Friday as the chief financial officer in the Pulaski County Special School District, replacing Anita Farver, who announced last week that she was resigning effective Sept. 30.
Goff, 59, of Benton is the assistant commissioner forfiscal and administrative services in the Arkansas Department of Education. In June, that agency - under the leadership of Commissioner Tom Kimbrell - took over the financially struggling Pulaski County Special district.
Goff’s last day of work for the state is Oct. 7 and he will start work Oct. 10 for the district, where he will receive an annual salary of $130,000, up from his current state salary of $110,000.
He has been an assistant commissioner since July 2008.
Previously, Goff was the Education Department’s director of the Arkansas Public School Network, a network used by the districts and the state for school district financial and statistical record-keeping.
Goff also is a former business manager for the Benton and Texarkana school districts and a field auditor for the state Legislative Audit Division.
In the Pulaski County Special district, the third largest in the state, Goff will oversee a budget of about $250 million and work with Superintendent Jerry Guess, as well as Kimbrell, to extract the district from the state’s fiscal-distress program.
The district was classified as distressed by the state Board of Education last spring as a result of repeated financial audit findings and the results of Legislative Audit Division investigations that revealed widespread financial mismanagement.
Kimbrell removed Superintendent Charles Hopson and dissolved the School Board.
Kimbrell, who now serves as the “school board” for the district, appointed Guess to head the district.
Goff was one of several people interviewed by Pulaski County Special district leaders for the job.
“It’s a big job, and Mr. Goff is the right person at the right time,” Guess said Friday.
“We are navigating through some tough financial times, and he brings the skills to the table to move us forward.”
Arkansas, Pages 12 on 09/24/2011