FCMAT’s Michael Fine Reflects on Legacy as Retirement Nears

Some of California’s toughest education decisions have landed on Michael Fine’s desk. School districts on the brink of insolvency, legislative reforms affecting local educational agencies across the state, and fiscal crises unfolding under intense public scrutiny, to name just a few.

As CEO of the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT), Fine earned a statewide reputation as a calm, steady leader who could explain complex financial situations and address difficult realities without hesitation.

Now, after more than 30 years in public education, Fine is preparing to retire. He leaves behind a legacy built on honesty and a simple core value: doing what is best for children.

An Unexpected Start

When the company he worked for announced a move to Arizona, leaving Riverside was out of the question for Fine, whose young family and elderly mother kept him rooted in his hometown. He returned to school to expand his qualifications for the public sector, a pivot guided by a personal connection to education.

“I was really driven to work for a school district because my wife was a school teacher,” Fine explained. “She’d come home complaining about things all the time, and I just thought, ‘Well, I can solve that.’ So that was really the drive to make the change from corporate finance management to public finance, and specifically to schools.”

In November 1992, Fine joined Newport-Mesa Unified School District amid a major financial scandal. The district had fired its chief financial officer for diverting money from the employee health fund to his own shoe repair business, then the largest school embezzlement scandal in California history. Fine became a budget analyst and internal auditor, helping restructure the budget and develop long-range financial projections.

Fine advanced through the ranks, serving as Director of Fiscal Services and Chief Financial Officer before concluding his tenure with the district in 2002 as Assistant Superintendent of Business.

During his time at Newport-Mesa, Fine helped secure passage of a $110 million facilities improvement bond measure and launch a major school improvement program. He also backed competitive pay increases for educators.

In a Los Angeles Times article, the late Newport-Mesa Superintendent Robert Barbot said Fine’s most significant legacy was restoring credibility to the district’s tarnished financial reputation.

Building a Legacy Across California

In 2002, Fine joined Riverside Unified School District as Deputy Superintendent of Business Services and Governmental Relations. He strengthened financial reporting and fiscal practices, helping position the district to weather the Great Recession.

Fine had deep personal ties to the district. He attended Riverside Unified schools, his wife taught there for 40 years and both of their children were students.

“This made it simple to be focused on students and teachers,” he said.

His student-centered approach shaped district investments in farm-fresh salad bars, scratch cooking, K-12 virtual learning and one-to-one technology. Riverside Unified also developed its first Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), using a stakeholder-engagement process led by high school students and informed by extensive community input. Fine also built strong relationships with the district’s two bargaining units, grounded in candor and transparency.

In 2011, Patti Herrera, President of the education consulting organization School Services of California (SSC), met Fine while she was serving as Chief Governmental Relations Officer at the Riverside County Superintendent of Schools. She admitted she was skeptical when her predecessor called Fine the best chief business officer (CBO) in the state, noting his reserved, deadpan expression. But she quickly recognized his passion for public education and care for the people around him.

Herrera later brought Fine to Sacramento to testify in support of reforming California’s cumbersome system for reimbursing districts for state-mandated activities. Fine’s testimony helped pave the way for California’s Mandate Block Grant, giving districts more immediate and predictable funding.

“I really do think it’s because of Mike that we were able to convince the legislature to change the process,” Herrera said. “This was a massive policy shift.”

Kern County Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Mendiburu, left, recognizes FCMAT CEO Michael Fine during KCSOS’ All-Staff Meeting in August.

Mike Fine: “Truth-Teller”

Fine joined FCMAT as chief administrative officer in 2015 and was named chief executive officer on July 1, 2017.

Established following the passage of Assembly Bill 1200 in 1991, FCMAT provides fiscal oversight, management assistance and professional development to school districts, county offices of education and community colleges across California. The state selected the Kern County Superintendent of Schools (KCSOS) to administer FCMAT in 1992, a role that continues today.

FCMAT’s work ranges from helping local educational agencies identify and address fiscal challenges to conducting extraordinary audits involving suspected fraud or misappropriation. Its staff, along with employees of its partner division, California School Information Services (CSIS), are KCSOS employees.

Fine’s relationships with Sacramento policymakers, built over years working in public education, would prove valuable in leading that statewide work.

“We had already established a friendship built upon trust,” Fine explained. “Those already established relationships made a difference in our ability to do FCMAT’s work.”

As CEO, Fine is often called upon when school districts face severe financial distress, putting him in the difficult position of delivering findings that can have significant implications for school boards and the communities they serve.

He gained a reputation as a “truth-teller,” willing to deliver difficult findings regardless of how uncomfortable they might be. He stood before school boards when the data revealed fraud, mismanaged funds or emerging financial instability, while also recognizing local educational agencies for sound financial management.

Whether breaking down audit reports for journalists, speaking on policy panels or presenting at the scene of a fiscal crisis, Fine has served as the direct, uncompromising messenger of FCMAT’s findings.

“When he finally got the opportunity through his role at FCMAT to share his philosophy and his foundational value system about school business and why it exists, he used every opportunity to remind people in the school business why they exist,” Herrera said. “That’s what I hope people really remember him by. Always at the center of every decision that Mike makes is, ‘what’s the right thing to do for the kids?’”

Under Fine’s leadership, FCMAT did more than identify impending financial crises. Fine expanded its CBO Mentor Program to help prepare the next generation of school business leaders.

He also led FCMAT to publish groundbreaking work, including Childhood Sexual Assault: Fiscal Implications for California Public Agencies, which Fine considered one of his proudest accomplishments because of its influence on legislation and state policy conversations.

Underlying those efforts was a philosophy Fine carried throughout his leadership. His approach to successful school management came down to teamwork, open communication and remembering who the work truly served.

“You’ve got to be a people-person ultimately,” Fine expressed. “You’ve got to avoid silos. If you’re going to talk about the goal of the organization and the mission of the organization—it’s all of our goals.”

His commitment to student well-being is also personal. Growing up, Fine struggled with undiagnosed dyslexia until an attentive educator stepped in to change his trajectory.

“I can read today and function today because of my third-grade teacher,” Fine said. “Had she not spoken up, had she not gotten me the help I needed, I would continue to be very much a struggling learner. She set me on the right path, and my parents followed through. I got what I needed, and I’m successful today in part because of that.”

Herrera views Fine as a lifelong learner whose work ethic was forged through that experience.

“Anybody will tell you that Mike is one of the smartest people that they know,” she said. “He has an encyclopedia for a brain, and I really do believe that comes from him overcoming the challenges of being dyslexic.”

Whether delivering difficult financial findings or identifying systemic issues, Fine’s direct approach as a “truth-teller” was rooted in protecting the stability schools provide for students.

“School is the one thing in children’s lives that we need to ensure has some consistency to it,” Fine said. “They are the most important resource in every community, bar none.”

As he steps into retirement, Fine looks forward to spending more time with his wife and embracing their new role as first-time grandparents. He also plans to continue supporting future school leaders through teaching and mentoring.

Looking back on a career that took him from corporate finance to statewide educational leadership, Fine said he is grateful for the opportunity to serve.

“It’s been absolutely an honor to be in this role,” he said. “To give back to an area in our communities that I’m passionate about and care deeply about.”