MELANIE MAPLES LOVES PENNIES

At just about every Decatur school board meeting, there’s some friendly joke told about the district’s finances such as "If you try to get reimbursed for a penny,  you’d better have a receipt.", they usually come at the expense of Chief Financial Officer Melanie Maples. 

Maples, a self-described conservative when it comes to spending, has received the Robert L. Morton Award from the Alabama Association of School Business Officials. The award recognizes the top school CFO in the state and is presented annually in honor of the late Morton, who was assistant superintendent of administration and finance for the Alabama State Department of Education.

Superintendent Ed Nichols says that Maples is the best school chief financial officer in the state. He said what separates Maples from others is she gets involved and understands every aspect of the school district. Nichols said she also sits in on planning meetings when school officials talks about subjects such as dual enrollment, career tech and digital conversion. “She has a grasp of instruction through her years of work, and that helps the district in so many ways,” he said.

Maples became interested in numbers and accounting when she was in a bookkeeping class at Elkmont High School. After graduating from Western Kentucky University, she worked in the private sector and Athens City Schools for six years before coming to Decatur in 2001.

To read the complete article, click on the following link, DECATUR DAILY  or get a Decatur newspaper from April 20.