The turmoil twirling about School District headquarters in recent weeks was not going to be a temptation.
True to his taciturn personality and his moral code, Ali Delawalla, Chief Financial Officer of the District, a rock of reliability in a swirling sea of fiscal uncertainty, is leaving as he entered and conducted himself for five years.
As a dapper, close-mouthed executive, he is professional to a fault. He represented stability, reliability and tranquility, values commonly in short supply.
While inside District offices winds of present and future personnel – and perhaps policy – changes are blowing like a baby leaf in a hurricane, Mr. Delawalla, eyes trained only on the figures he is paid to interpret, never allows his gaze to stray.
Almost Over
One week from this afternoon, he bids a 99 percent goodbye to his working home of the past five years and moves on to the Cerritos Community College District, where he will be reunited with David El Fattal, his former Culver City colleague. Director of Finance will be Mr. Delawalla’s title, the same he held here before being promoted to Assistant Superintendent for Business two years ago.
(He will briefly return to Culver City on Tuesday, March 13, to deliver an interim budget report to the School Board. Control of the School District’s books will go to Sean Kearney, hired two months ago to aid Mr. Delawalla, who has been portrayed as overworked.)
Disdaining comment on the atmospheric change in the District since the November School Board election, Mr. Delawalla said that he is moving across town for a better opportunity.
Unless a full-scale war is being conducted at Cerritos , the environment will be drastically more serene. To observe Mr. Delawalla, no one would suspect that a single, weightless strand had changed here since he arrived from Santa Monica.
His Presentiment
Admirably disciplined, possessor of a marvelous sense of humor, always in check, he was soon recognized as a powerhouse of knowledge and transparent interpretation as his responsibilities steadily expanded.
Unlike other CFOs, Mr. Delawalla’s name seldom appeared in newspapers. Except at School Board meetings where he played a crucial role, he determined that his position should be well off stage, out of view.
Even after he leaves town next Wednesday, he will remain in contact with the District and Mr. Kearney, who is working in a school district for the first time. In collaboration, Mr. Delawalla will be preparing the second interim budget.
“Working with the Board, we were able to do wonderful things,” he said, “including being able to bring in $22 million in unrestricted funds the next 25 years in addition to the base revenue. It is a great achievement. Thanks to the voters also for approving a parcel tax and also to employees for taking furlough days.
“I have been fortunate to have such a wonderful community.”
