OTHELLO — Amy Suarez is the new executive director of business for Othello School District.

Suarez replaces Janette Bumgarner, who resigned in August 2020.

Suarez is a veteran of the district’s finance department.

“I’ve worked for Othello School District for 12 years,” she said, all but one in the finance office.

“I started as the assistant fiscal coordinator, then the fiscal coordinator, then the lead fiscal coordinator,” she said.

“I always like to say I’ve been the right hand (to the business manager), so I know a lot of the ins and outs of it. Of course, there’s a lot to learn still, but I got to the point where I think I can do this,” she said.

The finance director is in charge of preparing the budget, keeping track of expenditures and revenues, tracking programs like grants the district has received, and doing periodic jobs such payroll.

Managing the district’s finances, she said, is not a one-person job.

“I have a great team. And we’ve gotten stronger,” Suarez said.

Most of the finance department has at least five years on the job.

While it’s a big job, Suarez said she’s looking forward to it.

“I’m very excited to have it. I’m very honored,” she said.

Working in finance has always held an attraction for her.

“I love numbers. I love accounting,” she said. “What I really enjoy is putting pieces together and seeing the pieces become part of the budget.”

Part of her previous job in the finance office was overseeing staff compensation and benefits, and making sure the information was there and was correct was interesting, she said.

“I like doing the puzzle pieces and putting things together,” she said.

And it’s satisfying to work at school – in fact, back in seventh grade, when she was an aide in the office, she thought working in the school office looked like a really good job.

“I’ve lived in Othello my whole life,” she said.

A 1988 graduate of Othello High School, she was in the district’s migrant program.

Her parents spent every spring working in Nebraska, and a few months each winter in Mexico.

That meant her classes were interrupted each year, and she had to take extra classes to make up.

“I just think that pushed me to work harder,” she said. “I never completed a school year, because we had to leave by the first of May, and then we would go Mexico for a couple months. I still graduated with a 3.7 GPA (grade point average).”

Her career includes seven years with the Farm and Home Administration (now part of U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development), working on low-income housing, and three years at Sterling Savings Bank. She owned her own business, a home day care, for 10 years.

Suarez said the district has offered her and the rest of the finance staff opportunities for continuing education, which is important in a field that’s constantly changing.

“I’ll never stop learning, basically,” she said. “I just take every opportunity I can to learn more about this. And my team, too.”

Suarez said she’s looking forward to the challenge.

“There’s still a lot to learn. But that doesn’t scare me,” she said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].