TedX Boston - YouTube Video

Imari K. Paris Jeffries serves as the Executive Director of Embrace/King Boston, an organization committed to economic and racial justice by honoring the King Family through the Embrace Memorial in Boston Common and the Embrace Center in Roxbury. He has served in executive roles at Parenting Journey, Jumpstart, Boston Rising, Massachusetts Service Alliance, and Friends of The Children.

Imari currently serves on the Governor’s Black Advisory Commission, Mass Budget and Policy Center, Mass Humanities, and the City of Boston’s Black Men and Boys Commission. He has served on the boards of the United South End Settlement Houses Provider's Council, Massachusetts Board of Registration of Social Workers, Appalachian Mountain Club, Save the Harbor, Save the Bay, the Elizabeth Peabody House, the Massachusetts Mentoring Partnership, the Edward Brooke Charter School, and Third Sector New England.

A three-time graduate of UMass Boston, Imari earned his BA in 1997, MEd in 1999, and his MA in 2003 and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. through the institution's Higher Education Program. In addition, Imari is a military veteran and served from 1991-1996 during the first Gulf War.

Sponsored by

Imari Paris Jeffries, Executive Director

Connecting the Dots: Special Education Grids and Circuit Breaker Reimbursement

Participants will learn to interpret special education tuition rate grids and identify the components that drive placement costs. They will calculate Circuit Breaker reimbursement using DESE formulas, including threshold determination and eligible cost identification, and connect placement decisions and tuition grids to their financial impact on district budgets and reimbursement projections. The session also covers applying Circuit Breaker knowledge to improve budget forecasting, variance analysis, and financial planning, as well as communicating special education costs and reimbursement information clearly to administrators, school committees, and municipal stakeholders.

Tricia Cormier, Finance and Operations Manager

Cynthia D. Mahr, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations

Michelle Clark, Director of Finance and Operations

***2-hour session***

We will review the balance sheet checklist and the undesignated fund balance analysis including the encumbrance process. These are the two most common hold-ups in the E&D process. We hope to better explain what is expected and what we are looking for within these two forms in order to simplify and expedite your certification. After our presentation we will have a question and answer period for all things E&D no matter if they are related to our presentation. This session is geared toward all Regional School Business personnel regardless of years of experience and all others are welcome.

Bobbi Jo Colburn, Field Representative, Worcester Bureau of Accounts

Jared Curtis, Field Representative

Thomas J. Guilfoyle, Field Representative

Andrew S. Nelson, Bureau of Accounts Supervisor

Susan Bottan, Director of Finance and Operations

Business Administrators and Human Resources Directors play a central role in shaping labor strategy, maintaining compliance, and preserving productive labor-management relationships. This session is designed specifically for administrators in Massachusetts public schools who are directly involved in negotiations, contract administration, and employee relations.

Kelly T. Gonzalez, Attorney

Kara Lees, Director of Finance

Providing timelines of when items are due. Examples: Applications, Direct Cert, FSMC Timeline - renewal and new contract. DOD Fresh, USDA Foods. Highlighting the communication plan and having BMs understand the opportunities to hear from DESE throughout the year.

Ashley Lopes, Nutrition Financial Management Coordinator

Keith Taverna, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations

Effective Budget Reporting for School Leaders

This session provides school leaders with practical strategies for creating clear, accurate, and actionable budget reports. Participants will learn how to interpret financial data, highlight key trends, and present information in a way that supports informed decision-making. The session emphasizes translating complex fiscal information into narratives that are understandable to administrators, school committees, and other stakeholders. Attendees will gain tools and best practices to enhance transparency, accountability, and strategic planning within their districts.

Sara Consalvo, Chief Financial & Operations Officer

Keith Taverna, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations

Daniel Gale, Director of Finance and Operations

Managing employee leave in public schools requires careful coordination of contractual obligations, state and federal laws, and operational needs. This session is designed for Massachusetts administrators responsible for overseeing leave administration, reducing absenteeism, and ensuring consistent application of policies across the district.

Kelly T. Gonzalez, Attorney

Kirsteen Patterson, Director of Finance and Operations

Managing resources to build financial gain. ie how do food cost, labor cost, UDSA foods and procurement impact the program. 

Ashley Lopes, Nutrition Financial Management Coordinator

Amanda Chisholm, Nutrition Programs Review Specialist

Denise Courtney, Nutrition Education and School Wellness Training Coordinator

Julianna (Julie) Valcour, School Nutrition Programs Coordinator

Shannon Walsh,

Lucinda Ward, Food Distribution Coordinator

Kristina Webber, Assistant Director

With over 30 years of experience in the public sector, IG Shapiro is passionate about making government work better tomorrow than it did today. Applying his knowledge and expertise in public administration, he reorganized the OIG into three bureaus to realize his vision of a proactive and engaged OIG that serves as a resource for public employees and those doing business with public entities. He also expanded the OIG’s investigations and audits to hold those with nefarious intent to account. He is focused on leading an office that conducts deliberate, impactful work across its full statutory mandate. He has a balanced approach to fraud prevention that includes expanded training by the OIG Academy, municipal outreach, and unwavering accountability for those who act against the public interest.

IG Shapiro is results oriented. In his third year as IG, he has already made a difference for the Commonwealth and those whom the office serves. He has worked with the Legislature and the Healey Administration to better resource the OIG with significant budget increases to modernize the office and right size the staff.

IG Shapiro proactively created a Healthcare Division, a Veterans’ Services Oversight Division, refocused and rebranded the OIG’s training division into the OIG Academy, and added a new mission to follow up on prior audits, reviews, and letters and monitor the post-review performance of agencies, municipalities, suppliers, vendors, and nonprofit entities. 

As a collaborative and results-oriented leader, IG Shapiro has introduced the concept that the OIG team should optimally leverage an array of tools to curb improper conduct. A successful investigation does not necessarily require a criminal case referral. Some matters are best resolved civilly, while others provide a basis for best practice policy changes or legislative changes. This broadened approach of the OIG deploying a range of tools to fulfill its mission to prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse of public resources has already paid dividends. A full range of matters has been resolved using the full complement of tools available – from public letters to best practice bulletins, criminal referrals, proposed legislative changes, and a monthly risk mitigation email designed exclusively for municipal leaders  – during IG Shapiro’s tenure.

Sponsored by

Jeffrey S. Shapiro, Inspector General

Learn how to read and understand your financial statements through their purposes, components, and uses.

Tony Roselli, CPA, CGMA, Partner

Kara Lees, Director of Finance

Growing a Resilient Business Office: Building Capacity Beyond a Single Role

Participants will strengthen their capacity as organizational leaders by learning to identify and mitigate operational risks created by single-person dependencies within the school business office. Through guided analysis and practical examples, participants will assess current staffing structures, workflows, and decision-making processes to determine where institutional knowledge or critical functions are concentrated in a single role.

Matthew J. Gillis, Director of Finance

Cynthia D. Mahr, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations

Mary Ellen Normen, Retired

Daniel Gale, Director of Finance and Operations

Increasing Diversity in Teacher Positions Through A "Grow Your Own" Teacher Pipeline

Faced with a nationwide teacher shortage and a growing demographic gap between staff and students, Worcester Public Schools (WPS) shifted from a reactive hiring model to a proactive, community-rooted strategy. This session explores the inaugural year of the WPS "Grow Your Own" (GYO) program, a collaborative partnership with local colleges that allows high school students to earn college credits and clear career pathways into the teaching profession. We will dive into the logistical "how-to" of Year 1—covering curriculum alignment, funding models, and student recruitment—to provide a blueprint for districts looking to cultivate their own future educators from within their current classrooms.

Brian Allen, Superintendent

David Coelho, Director of Finance

The available professional development opportunities for staff, incorporating Framingham State Chef program, using local food/gardens, applying for summer if available, incorporating snack. 

Ashley Lopes, Nutrition Financial Management Coordinator

Amanda Chisholm, Nutrition Programs Review Specialist

Denise Courtney, Nutrition Education and School Wellness Training Coordinator

Julianna (Julie) Valcour, School Nutrition Programs Coordinator

Shannon Walsh,

Kristina Webber, Assistant Director

Chris Mathieu, Director of Finance and Operations

Student Activity Accounts: External Audits and Internal Reviews

Student activity accounts provide an additional support within your district. Learn best practices for managing student activity accounts and how they support the 3-year external audit cycle and the two off-year internal reviews.

Tony Roselli, CPA, CGMA, Partner

Jay Sullivan, Associate Commissioner, School Finance and District Support Center; MASBO Treasurer

Susan Bottan, Director of Finance and Operations

Cracking the Code: Regional School Finance and Transportation

Running a regional school district comes with its own unique set of financial and logistical puzzles. This session will break down the laws, regulations, and best practices surrounding regional budgets, assessments, stabilization funds, transportation, and Excess & Deficiency (E&D) to help you stay compliant, efficient, and strategic. 

Michelle Griffin, Regional Governance Coordinator

Christine Lynch, Management Consultant, Office of Regional Governance

Michelle Clark, Director of Finance and Operations

Investigate with Confidence: Best Practices for Employee and Title IX Investigations

Employee complaints and misconduct allegations require prompt, fair, and legally sound investigations. This session will guide school leaders through the practical steps of conducting workplace investigations, including planning the investigation, interviewing witnesses, evaluating evidence, and documenting findings. Participants will also learn when allegations trigger Title IX obligations and how those processes differ from standard HR investigations. Real-world examples and best practices will help districts reduce risk while ensuring a fair and thorough process.

Dr. Thomas Campbell, Director of Human Resources

Kirsteen Patterson, Director of Finance and Operations

Understanding what allowable or unallowable cost to the Food and Nutrition are.

Ashley Lopes, Nutrition Financial Management Coordinator

Amanda Chisholm, Nutrition Programs Review Specialist

Denise Courtney, Nutrition Education and School Wellness Training Coordinator

Julianna (Julie) Valcour, School Nutrition Programs Coordinator

Shannon Walsh,

Lucinda Ward, Food Distribution Coordinator

Kristina Webber, Assistant Director

Nicholas Bernier, Director of Business Services

Unsure which roundtable you belong to? Click HERE and locate the town that your district office resides and match the town's highlighted color to the roundtable name. USBAR districts may attend either their town's geographical roundtable or USBAR, or split their time between both.

• Assabet Valley - Monomoy
• Berkshire and West - Nauset 1
• Cape Cod - Nobska
• Central - Nauset 2
• Lighthouse Nauset 4
• Metrowest - Chatham
• North Shore - Nauset 5
• USBAR - Race Point