District 30 welcomes new business administrator

After nearly 15 years in the private sector, Lisa Rutkoske is now working for the good of the public. She is Valley Stream District 30’s new assistant superintendent for business, taking over for Ed Cullen who left for Baldwin.

Rutkoske, now in her fifth week on the job, says she is excited about her new position and wants to work hard for the children and the community. While completing her administrative certificate at C.W. Post, Rutkoske said one of her professors highly recommended District 30, knowing there was an opening.

The 39-year-old Long Beach resident comes to Valley Stream after a career in the advertising industry. Most recently, she was the chief financial officer for Interbrand, a brand management company with clients such as McDonalds, Porsche and Xerox. She worked there for 14 years and even spent five years in London as the controller for Interbrand’s European region, moving back to New York in 2005.

With many family members working in the education field, Rutkoske said she was encouraged by them to come over to the other side. So Rutkoske went back to school and completed her degree to be a school business official. She got her first real look at the inner-workings of a school district while doing her administrative internship in the central offices of Plainview-Old Bethpage.

Rutkoske, an East Islip native, holds her bachelor’s degree in economics from Columbia University and her master’s degree in accounting from NYU.

As she begins to learn the District 30 community, Rutkoske said she has already visited all of the schools and tries to get to each building at least once a week. She said spending that time in the schools keeps her grounded and makes her remember who she is working for. “I could sit here and guess what’s going on,” she said during an interview at her office in the central administration building. “The beauty of it is I can go and see.”

To be successful in her job, Rutkoske said, she needs to be able to communicate effectively and work well with others. She noted that Superintendent Dr. Elaine Kanas stresses the importance of communication and transparency about the business of District 30.

While there are some similarities to her work in the private sector, such as the day-to-day management of finances, Rutkoske noted that there are also differences. The focus for a private company, she said, is often about finding ways to boost revenue. But a school district can’t do that, she explained, as it is essentially limited to its tax collections and state aid. Instead, schools must focus on managing costs.

Rutkoske will be getting right to work on planning the 2011-12 school budget. She said following a community budget forum on Jan. 12, she and fellow administrators will put together a draft spending plan for the board to review on Jan. 30. The biggest challenge, she said, will be working to meet the needs of everyone in the district, while making sure that all state and federal mandates are being met.

Despite the tough times that school districts are facing — reductions in state aid, pressure to keep taxes down and increasing mandates — Rutkoske said she not only is up for the challenge, she will embrace it. Simply put, she said she is ready to help the district figure out how to do more with less.

Kanas said Rutkoske’s background as a certified public accountant and chief financial officer made her stand out as a candidate for the job. Although Rutkoske has not worked in a school district before, Kanas said her recent administrative training had made her well-prepared. “She comes with a very strong finance and management background,” Kanas said.

When she’s not crunching numbers, Rutkoske said she enjoys spending time at the beach, which is why she picked Long Beach as her new home after moving back from London. In 2005, she climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and a decade ago she went white-water rafting through the Grand Canyon.

Rutkoske said she was fortunate to find an administrative job so soon after completing her degree. She looks forward to the next chapter in her career, one she hopes carries her through to retirement — many years away. “For me, it’s a great opportunity,” she said of coming to District 30. “This was definitely a big decision and a big step, and I see myself staying in the school environment.”