Director of Budget and Finance
Florida Virtual School

There is a real-life story in every organization’s annual budget, a quantified profile of its mission and priorities.  There are people who clearly understand the organization’s mission and priorities, while keeping the bottom line in mind.  There are also experienced people like Bonnie Penner who understands the mission of educating students and how her dynamic, online school does it.

Ms. Penner brings an extensive and distinguished background to her position at Florida Virtual School.  For nine years, she served as a certified public accountant in the Auditor General’s Office for the State of Florida.  Among her responsibilities was auditing the annual budgets of several Florida school districts.  In that capacity, she became knowledgeable in the fiscal processes and financial philosophies of multi-million dollar educational enterprises.

With her expertise and ability to see the big picture, Ms. Penner then served as the director of finance for the Hamilton District School Board.  Following that, she served in the same capacity for the Columbia District School Board, where she significantly increased the size of her district’s contingency fund.  Her last position prior to coming to FLVS was that of chief financial officer, maintaining a positive financial condition for a district experiencing significant growth in demand for service.

Ms. Penner accepted her current position knowing that FLVS is also experiencing significant growth.  Implementation of an integrated financial system that supports total school operations, provides accurate information, and provides a tool for decision-making is one of her main objectives.   Ms. Penner chose to work in an innovative educational environment in which long-term viability is built on the quality of service and customer satisfaction.

Ms. Penner earned her Master of Accounting and her Bachelor of Science in Accounting degrees from the Fisher School of Accounting at the University of Florida.  When not monitoring the flow of funds, she can be found at the ball field watching her two sons play baseball.