Seattle Public Schools in Seattle, Washington announced in November that Donald Kennedy was named the new Chief Financial and Operations Officer for this district of 46,000 students.

In this newly configured position, Kennedy has leadership responsibilities for the business functions of Finance, Information Technology, Capital Projects, Facility Services, Student Enrollment, Planning, Procurement, School Support Services, and other district operations.

Kennedy, who is the son of Mrs. Viola Kennedy of Winnsboro, came to the school district with more than seventeen years of leadership experience in the areas of governmental and corporate finance and operations management.

Most recently he was the Chief Financial and Administrative Officer for the Charleston County School District in South Carolina. In Charleston, he was credited with improving the school district's financial condition and modernizing business systems and processes. He was also credited with restoring public confidence in the district's financial operations and in getting the district's senior leaders to work more collaboratively across academic and non-academic lines.

“Don's proven record of leadership and team building will be a great asset to Seattle Public Schools,” said Seattle Schools Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson.

“His experience in both the public and private sectors in the areas of perfonnance management, finances, and operations made him a clear choice for this critical role.”

Kennedy has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Newberry College and holds a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certificate from the state of Alabama.

?He was also a 2005-2007 participate in the Public Education Leadership Project with the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Business School.