Self Portrait
Peggy Aw, Grade 8
Lou Benevento serves as CEI-PEA’s Chief Financial Officer where he brings over 35 years of exemplary service to the New York City Public School system. He began his service with the New York City Board of Education as Budget Developer in January 1970 handling NYS Urban Education budgets for 2 Demonstration Districts with the Division of Business Administration. In 1974, he was assigned by the Deputy Chancellor to be part of a newly formed special Business Management Team to oversee fiscal affairs of failing districts. He was then appointed as Director of Bureau of Finance with major responsibility for school district and central banking functions, and standard operating procedures for financial operations. Lou later was appointed as Administrator of BOE Payables department, which handled all OTPS disbursement for the school system. He became Chief Administrator of Business Affairs of the Division of Business and Administration from 1982-199,5 overseeing a staff of 500 employees responsible for all financial systems, regulations and procedures, payrolls, accounting and business support services. After a short assignment as Director of Procurement under Chancellor Ray Cortines, Lou became the Executive Director of Financial Operations, which is a combination of the former Division of Business and Administration and Procurement department. Lou and his staff focused on making school purchasing and all other business operations more rational, speedy and efficient by introducing credit cards for schools, Internet-based purchasing systems, integrating school-level business functions and technologies, and helping schools and regional offices become more responsible for business functions.
Lou is a graduate of Pace University where he obtained both a BBA in Accounting/Finance and a MS in Educational Administration. He has served as President of the Association of School Business officials, Director of Public Schools Athletic League and Controller for the not-for-profit Fund for Public Schools, Inc.