Jim Terry — Chief of Finance and Business Services

James Terry, Ph.D., CPA RTSBA started his professional career in education over 30 years ago. He was hired out of the MBA program at the University of Texas and began his career at the North East ISD in San Antonio. He rose through the ranks to become the top financial and accounting executive of the district.

After leaving the district, he became an investment banker with M.E. Allison. After a few years, he decided return to the education finance field as Chief Financial Officer in Dallas ISD. While in Dallas, he helped implement a new pay system based on the performance and effectiveness of teachers and school administrators. Following his tenure at Dallas ISD, James became a Managing Director for the Dallas Office of Seibert, Shank and Cisneros, a Wall Street investment banking firm. During COVID, James taught college and wrote a book about the Dallas ISD Miracle: Miles to Equity. He then became CFO for Third Future Schools, then moved to the Texas Education Agency as Associate Commissioner of School Finance; Chief Financial Officer.

James holds a BA, MA, and Ph. D. degree in psychology. After going back to college, he earned his CPA license and did a post-doctoral program in Finance and Accounting at the University of Florida business school.