Clarke Central High School Bookkeeper Alejandra Contreras-Gomez sits at her desk in Room 542 on Oct. 22. CCHS Associate Principal Dr. Summer Smith, who has worked with Contreras-Gomez, has seen the skills that contribute to her effectiveness. “She’s methodical and detail-oriented. I can trust that when something crosses her desk, it’s been reviewed carefully. That accuracy makes a huge difference in keeping our operations running,” Smith said. Photo by David Wang
CCHS Bookkeeper Alejandra Contreras-Gomez started working on Oct. 20 and has since been in charge of all transactions at CCHS.
Clarke Central High School’s new bookkeeper Alejandra Conteras-Gomez started at CCHS on Oct. 26, bringing eight years of bookkeeping experience from Cleveland Road Elementary School since 2017 and an organized, detail-oriented approach to her role.
The transition from middle to high school has meant adjusting to a larger workflow. With 1,932 students at CCHS, more programs and more frequent purchase requests, Contreras-Gomez now manages a higher volume of budgets, orders and vendor communications than in her previous role.
“Cleveland Road was a really small school (with only 255 students). We didn’t handle as many purchases as I’ve seen here, but I understand. It’s a bigger school (with) more students and more needs,” Contreras-Gomez said. “I wanted a change, and I was curious what it would be like working at the high school level. It’s totally different, but I like it.”
Since every payment, vendor and approval process operates on its own timeline with multiple reviews from school administrators to Clarke County School District district office. For Contreras-Gomez, staying organized is important to keeping track of all deadlines and requests that come across her desk.
“Meeting deadlines is everything in this job. If you don’t stay on top of them, the whole process slows down, and that affects teachers and students, because everything we do supports the school’s needs. I personally use to-do lists and I have the (Google) Calendar. Calendar is my second friend,” Contreras-Gomez said.
CCHS Associate Principal Dr. Summer Smith, who approves every purchase order that goes through CCHS, looks forward to seeing Contreras-Gomez’s growth in her new role within the CCHS community.
“She came from a smaller school, and she’s really jumped in with both feet,” Smith said. “She’s figured out how to scale up what she was already doing and has helped fill a hole for us. We’re glad she’s here and that she’s learned to adapt her experience to the high school level.”
Contreras-Gomez hopes to continue growing alongside the school she now helps keep running behind the scenes.
“My goal for the future is just to keep learning this job at the high school level. It’s different from elementary school, and this (bookkeeping) position is like the heart of the school.,” Contreras-Gomez said. “I want to get better every day so I can support the students, the teachers and the whole school the best I can.”
