BISD bids adieu to chief finance officer

Beaumont Independent School District Chief Financial Officer Robert Zingelmann announced Sept. 11 that he will be leaving the school district to accept a position as the new Region 4 Chief Financial Officer, serving an estimated 51 school districts and one million students. His last day at BISD is expected to be Sept. 24.

Zingelmann joined the BISD executive cabinet in 2009 as the district’s CFO, replacing retiring CFO Jane Kingsley. After his appointment to the position, Zingelmann was called to testify before a federal criminal jury in the case of the United States versus Calvin Walker, on trial for allegedly overcharging BISD using fake invoices seized from the BISD finance office.

“My work here at BISD has been the most challenging and yet rewarding work in my career,” Zingelmann said. “The position at Region 4 is a great opportunity, plus it is only a few miles away. You will still see a lot of me in Beaumont.”

BISD superintendent Dr. Timothy Chargois said he will miss having an employee like Zingelmann.

“He handles his work here in BISD in a way that provided us all great confidence in the district’s financial stability,” he said. “With state and federal recognition for the district’s financial operations, Robert and his team are due kudos for their work.”