The Gloucester County School Board voted unanimously on Oct. 28 to allow district leadership to advertise two alternative job descriptions — a chief financial officer (CFO) and a director of finance — to broaden the candidate pool for the system’s finance vacancy.

Superintendent Doctor Vladeau told the board the dual posting is a recruitment flexibility measure rather than creation of a new, additional position. He said the district faces a tight market for finance leaders (staff noted roughly a dozen to nearly twenty open CFO vacancies among Virginia school divisions) and wants to be able to consider both a candidate who meets a director-level pay band and a candidate who meets a higher CFO description.

Board discussion clarified the difference in expectations: the CFO description includes more executive-level responsibilities such as strategic financial planning, policy involvement and intergovernmental relationships; a director of finance would be aligned with other director-level positions and focus more on operational finance duties. Staff said about 80% of tasks overlap between the two descriptions and both job descriptions already exist in the district’s pay plan. If hired, the district will fill only one role; pay will be set consistent with the level of the appointment.

Board members asked about minimum qualifications and pay differences; staff said the director-level posting would be comparable to existing director pay bands, while a CFO hire would be paid at the higher executive band. The board, without opposition, moved to publish both descriptions and directed staff to proceed with the recruitment process.