School district hires new business manager to work remotely

After about 10 candidates applied for the position of business manager with Wrangell Public Schools, a hiring committee chose Tammy Stromberg, of Anchorage, to fill the job.

Citing the scarcity of qualified applicants, Schools Superintendent Bill Burr said Stromberg, a certified public accountant, will work full-time remotely. About half the applicants that applied would need to have worked remotely if hired.

"We ideally would have liked to have a business manager in the office full-time in Wrangell, but the scarcity of business managers in Alaska made us open to the idea of working with a remote business manager," Burr said. "This is no longer uncommon in Alaska, where at least 20% of smaller districts have a remote-working business manager."

Stromberg, 56, came to Alaska in 1989 as an auditor for what is now BDO in Anchorage. She's worked in accounting for the Greens Creek Mine on Admiralty Island, for various school districts, and opened her own firm where she focused on helping school districts, small businesses and communities with their problem areas.

"I like working with small communities, and I've always heard that Wrangell is the Mayberry of Alaska," Stromberg said Jan. 6. "It's always had a reputation of pulling together and working well to accomplish what it wants to. I find that interesting."

She was in town last week to start work and help with the transition from the interim business manager, Pam Roope. "Kudos to her; she's done a great job," Stromberg said.

Burr said she has experience with the business software the district currently uses, "which is a more outdated system than what many in Alaska have used, which allows her to get up to speed quicker in the business office."

Stromberg said the transition comes at an already busy time of year.

"January is a pretty busy month for the business office. We have W-2s and 1099s and grant reporting, there are budget revisions that are typically done in January," Stromberg said. "It's a busy month anyway, so it's just a good idea to be here and get a firm grip on things, and gain whatever knowledge I can from Pam as well."

The business manager oversees the business operations of the school district, such as payroll, accounts payable, grant reporting, fixed-asset inventory, financial reporting and other items. All of which require a strong background in accounting.

"Accountants are pretty hard to come by in Alaska these days, so people are making arrangements to do whatever they can to make things work," particularly with the COVID-19 Omicron variant, Stromberg said. "Most employers in Anchorage have their accounting staff working remotely, so it really was a transition from one remote work to another."

Stromberg's contract requires her to work in the district office four times a year for quarterly audits. Budget hearings and other items could require her to come to Wrangell more often. Her travel and lodging expenses to come to town will be paid by the district. Her salary is $104,124 per year.