Following a six-month search, Harvard at last has a new finance director, David Nalchajian, currently the town accountant for West Newbury. He begins work in Harvard Jan. 17.
Nalchajian was among three finalists interviewed by the Board of Selectmen and members of the School Committee at a Dec. 9 joint public meeting in Town Hall. The top choice of both Town Administrator Tim Bragan and former Finance Director Lorraine Leonard, who had participated in earlier candidate interviews, Nalchajian was also the choice of the selectmen and School Committee members, who voted unanimously to offer him the job. His starting salary, said Bragan, is $95,440 (a Grade 12 Step 1 position).
Although Nalchajian is a certified municipal accountant, he lacks a college degree and the certification needed to serve as the schools’ business manager. Harvard combines the two positions, and as a condition of his hiring, Nalchajian will have three years to earn the certification he needs to take on the additional responsibilities, an assignment he says he looks forward to assuming. According to his resume, Nalchajian brings some school experience to his new job, having served for three years as the assistant school business manager for the town of Wellesley.
“This is a phenomenal, unique opportunity for someone to fully develop and grow,” Nalchajian told the Press in a brief phone interview this week. “It’s one of the top-tier jobs available in my profession.”
During his public interview last week, Nalchajian said he had been surprised to find that Harvard’s town and school financial positions were combined. In other towns where he has worked, he said, “it’s always been us against them.”
“There will always be some pushback and give and take,” School Committee Chairwoman SusanMary Redinger told him during the interview. “Why it works and why we see it as an opportunity is because it provides accountability, transparency, and real collaboration … even if [we’re] the only town in the state of Massachusetts that does it.” For now, the schools will continue to employ a contract business manager to assist the district in preparing its budget and to oversee financial affairs. Nalchajian said he recently enrolled in an online degree program offered by the University of Maine to earn his undergraduate degree.
Commuting is nothing new
Nalchajian is married with two children and a resident of Groveland, a town adjacent to West Newbury. With much of his extended family living nearby, he said that he intends to remain there, in spite of the 45-minute commute down Route 495 to Harvard. “I’ve commuted to jobs my entire life,” he told the Press. The drive is a chance to listen to books on tape and catch up on the day’s news, he said. “It’s an opportunity to unwind.”
In explaining his choice of Nalchajian to replace Leonard, Bragan said in an interview with the Press that the new hire’s experience in staff development had been a plus. The Finance Department has a relatively new staff that lacks experience, he said, and Nalchajian’s experience in supervising and training staff would be valuable. In addition, he said, Nalchajian had the best combination working knowledge and experience acquired through his work for the towns of Wellesley, Westford, Holliston, and West Newbury.
The combination of knowledge and experience that former director Leonard brought to the job “is what made Lorraine, Lorraine,” Bragan said. “I’m not looking to recreate Lorraine. I’m looking to bring somebody in who will work well with the people in the office downstairs, and I’m looking for someone who I think will be with us for a long period of time.”
“I’m definitely a people person,” Nalchajian told the Press. “My approach to the job is to empower the people around me to be successful. And I always give 110 percent.”
