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When Melody Douglas started working for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District there wasn't a single computer to be found.

That was in March of 1978.

Now, 31 years later, computer software is part of what's letting her feel comfortable about leaving her position behind.

Douglas is set to officially resign her post as the district's chief financial officer on Nov. 30

"Loosing her is huge, she's played a role well beyond finance," said Steve Atwater, district superintendent.

The Ketchikan native and her husband moved to the peninsula from Anchorage shortly after the completion of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline.

"We knew we wanted to head to the Kenai because it was a much smaller community. Anchorage was pretty large for us, coming from Southeast," she said.

Douglas had formerly been doing work for a company involved in pipeline construction and had been courted to go into management with them, but said she was drawn to the pubic sector.

"I'm a public servant," she said. "I won't sit here and tell you that I couldn't have made a lot of money. I believe in what I'm doing, I'm passionate about what I'm doing and I'm not in it for the money."

She started at the district in a position that tracked assets, which in this case, meant things like tables and desks.

It was a step down for Douglas, having come from a position where she managed the largest payroll in the state, but over the years, her position evolved.

Donna Peterson, former superintendent for the district, first started working with Douglas in 1993 when Peterson was the principal at Nikiski North Star Elementary.

Later as the superintendent, Peterson said she realized: "At some point it became clear that Mel needed to be at senior management level and responsible for the finances of the district."

Both Peterson and Atwater said Douglas has often assumed the role of the face of the district, particularly around budget time and in contract negotiations.

While some school administrators will come and go, Douglas said her position is one that's usually held for a long time.

"Often times the business manager is part of the continuity in most school districts," she said.

Peterson said Douglas went beyond her desk and played a role in influencing school finance policy at the state and national level.

"She had tremendous national influence," she said. "We knew she had it at the state level, but we just didn't have it in our brains how much of a difference she was making."

Douglas' influence was made apparent to Peterson when she attended an Association of School Business Officials international conference with Douglas.

"I remember just as clear as day, because I was introduced at the conference as the superintendent from Mel's district," Douglas said, laughing.

On the wall of Douglas' office still hang her many awards from ASBO, including the organization's most prestigious Eagle Award she received in November of 2008.

Peterson said for a long time no one in the district knew of the national recognition she was receiving.

"She was gaining incredible national attention that we knew little about locally," Peterson said. "She was very humble about it."

Douglas' departure reflects her dedication to the district; it's been nearly two and a half years in the making.

She initially suggested her intentions to then superintendent Peterson, but she wanted to make sure the district was in good hands when she left.

"They don't grow business managers on trees," Douglas said.

She's been working with assistant superintendent Dave Jones, the finance department as well as helping to put in place new financial software, to set the district up for the transition.

The new finance software the district has rolled out takes care of a number of responsibilities including things like timecards and payroll.

The new system is efficient to the point that district administrators have chosen not to replace Douglas but instead spread her responsibilities out.

"I think we're in a serendipitous position of having the right people in the right place for the right amount of time and having this major project under way that is going to allow for this restructuring," Douglas said.

Douglas admitted she could have put in her two weeks in and gone on her way a long time ago, but in her position, that has the potential to affect what happens in the schools.

"The work that we do is in support of the classrooms," she said, "and if there's a breakdown at this level in operations, it could have an impact in morale."

While Douglas has seen the district through hard financial times in the past, she said the latest debate over local school funding that took place last spring concerns her.

Despite her coming absence, her passion on the issue is clear.

"The conversation is playing out in the public arena with limited knowledge of the facts," she said. "Publicly our communities are at a real difficult place. They have to decide what they want of their public services."

While she plans to stay on the Kenai, Douglas said she'll likely look for new challenges.

"I'm going to deal with some family issues and I'm going to be taking a look at what other opportunities are out there," she said. "I've been approached with projects at a national level and at a state level."

She said she's also interested in finance issues for schools in rural Alaska.

First though, she said she'd be taking some time for herself.

Dante Petri can be reached at dante.petri@peninsulaclarion.com.