NP finance director receives ‘High Performance Schools’ award from R.I. Dept. of Education

NORTH PROVIDENCE – He juggles the finances of an entire town and not one, but two school departments, and he’s currently working on the expenditures for the largest building project North Providence has ever seen, according to town officials.

Now, he has an award from the Rhode Island Department of Education hung up on that office wall acknowledging his work.

John McNamee, finance director for North Providence Schools, Little Compton and the Town of North Providence, was given the Rhode Island “High Performance Schools” award for his role in preparing the town’s submitted plans for school building projects.

His financial statements for the project will now be used as a model for the state.

Next Tuesday, Nov. 8, voters will decide on a proposal to build two new elementary schools and conduct repairs at the rest of the school facilities in town, and Supt. Melinda Smith said McNamee has been instrumental, doing all the budgetary work for the $75 million proposal. He’s been doing all the “background work,” Smith said, since he started working on the school construction and rehabilitation project about three years ago. He’s now the chairman of the building committee.

“He can do just about anything he puts his mind to,” Smith said, explaining that McNamee is the first one in the office every day.

He arrives at his office before 7:30 a.m., and usually leaves at 6 p.m., unless he’s presenting budgets at night meetings. Smith said she also spots his car at the office on Mineral Spring Avenue on Saturdays, and additionally, one day a week he works for Little Compton, managing the finances of one school.

It’s a shift for him, as he worked for 35 years in public accounting before taking on his role at the North Providence School Department – a job that he initially took to help the district out when the former finance director passed away unexpectedly in 2011.

McNamee had retired from public accounting, but agreed to step up to temporarily help the school district.

Chuckling, he told The Breeze, “I never left.”

“I’ve had to account for every hour of my day for 35 years, so I’m pretty good at managing time,” he said of his juggling ability, adding that he puts in a “fair number” of hours each week for his role.

McNamee called his first experience working with governmental accounting “enlightening.”

Previously, he worked at Sansiveri, Kimball & Company for 25 years, and the last 10 years he was with the business in which he was managing partner. Prior to that, he spent 10 years working for DeLoitte Haskins and Sells, an international firm.

Part of his current job is explaining complex budgetary processes to the School Committee and members of the School Department, and Smith said one of her favorite moments with McNamee was when he took a whole day to explain how the school budget worked, line by line, shortly after she arrived in 2013.

The superintendent said McNamee has been able to teach the School Department’s central office how the budget is compiled and has done an excellent job of guiding his co-workers through the process.

She described his demeanor as calm, and said, “he keeps things very light at the office,” despite the magnitude of projects before him.

His main focus right now is the school bond referendum, “Question 8” on the ballot for North Providence residents.

“He’s one person that could have gone anywhere, and he stayed with North Providence due to his dedication to this project,” she told The Breeze.

“He really wants to see this building project through,” Smith said.

McNamee said he spends about 10 to 15 hours each week working on the school construction proposal, where he’s mapped out how North Providence is likely to be impacted for the next 20 years financially.

McNamee called the School Department’s relationship with the town a healthy one, adding that many schools are “at odds” with the towns they work in.

“You don’t see that as much here,” McNamee said, explaining that the School Department has established credibility by being straightforward and transparent with financial statements.

He said, “I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly, it’s been a great experience. I think I’m making a significant contribution to the town.”