Congratulations to Pauline Follansbee, our new Interim Assistant Superintendent of Business Services!
Ms. Follansbee, who previously served as the Director of Fiscal Services, is a 10-year veteran of the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD). Ms. Follansbee skillfully manages the complex BUSD budget and has played a key role in planning, directing and managing multiple complex projects and implementing financial policy.
Her new role as Interim Assistant Superintendent, approved by the School Board on Aug. 23, includes overseeing Fiscal Services, Nutrition Services, Transportation, Technology, Risk Management, Purchasing and Payroll. Ms. Follansbee is taking over many of the responsibilities of Javetta Cleveland, who stepped down as Deputy Superintendent of Business and Operations last month to take a job at a school district closer to her family in Sacramento.
Ms. Follansbee left her native Jamaica when she moved to the United States to pursue higher education. She held a variety of roles in the private sector, serving as executive director of an Oakland arts organization before working at the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) where she fulfilled key roles, first as contract administrator for facilities, and then as Controller.