The Irvine Unified School District has selected an experienced and highly regarded finance chief to serve as its next assistant superintendent of business services. John Fogarty, who currently leads fiscal operations in the Brea Olinda Unified School District, was approved by the IUSD Board of Education on Thursday morning and is expected to begin work in Irvine on Nov. 28. He succeeds Lisa Howell, who recently accepted a similar position at a district closer to her Palm Springs-area home. “We could not be more pleased to land a school finance expert of the caliber of John Fogarty,” said Terry L. Walker, IUSD’s superintendent of schools. “At this critical point in our state’s history, with a persistent budget crisis that has already stripped billions of dollars from public schools, it is absolutely imperative that we have first-rate leadership and experience to help us weather this storm. John is one of the most respected school administrators in Orange County, and his financial expertise will be a tremendous asset to ensure that our district makes the most of its available resources while pursuing new revenue.” Fogarty, 45, brings more than 21 years of financial experience that includes accounting, budget preparation and analysis, as well as the development and implementation of internal controls. He began his career in finance as a cost accountant for the Los Angeles Health Care Department in 1990 before taking on the role of controller and fiscal analyst for Electronic Data Systems in 1995. Four years later, he was hired as manager of District Fiscal Services for the Orange County Department of Education. Fogarty went on to serve as coordinator of District Fiscal Services, administrator of Business Services and director of Business Services with the OCDE before becoming an assistant superintendent with the Brea Olinda Unified School District in February 2008. “While it’s difficult to say goodbye to so many longtime friends in Brea Olinda, I am very excited to meet with the many stakeholders of the Irvine Unified School District,” he said this week. “Irvine has a reputation for careful, long-range fiscal planning, and that’s a testament to the Board of Education, the staff and the community. I look forward to working with each of these groups to ensure we remain on solid financial footing, regardless of what occurs in Sacramento.” A resident of Anaheim Hills, Fogarty is married with two children, ages 16 and 19.
