OFFICE OF BUSINESS Services

The Office of Business Services directs the financial operation of the BCIU and provides business administration consulting services to school districts and nonprofit organizations. In addition, the office provides accounting, budgeting, audit, payroll, and support services to all BCIU departments. The office offers these services and others, including printing, duplicating, microfilming, and document imaging, to an expanding list of clients and partners.

Carl Blessing serves as director of Business Services and chief financial officer for the Berks County Intermediate Unit. He started at the BCIU in June 1984 in account analysis and was named acting accounting coordinator in May 1986. After serving as a fiscal manager from February 1987 until 1990, Carl was then named coordinator of accounting in August 1990. Carl served as program administrator for Business/Accounting Services from July 1996 until March 1998, when he was named division administrator for Business Services. Carl was then appointed chief financial officer in September 2006.

Carl holds a B.S. degree in accounting from DeSales University and an MBA from Alvernia University. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO), the local Mid-East PASBO, and the national Association of School Business Officials (ASBO).

Cynthia A. LePage-Sauppee serves the BCIU as assistant director for Finance. She began her career at the BCIU in April 1984 as a fiscal clerk; she became a fiscal manager in 1985. Cynthia was named project manager in 1998 and project administrator in 2000. She was promoted to program administrator in 2005 and division administrator in 2006. She assumed her current position when the agency's organizational chart was restructured in 2009.

Cynthia holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Alvernia College. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO) and the Mid-East chapter of PASBO.

Chris Celmer serves as assistant director for Operations. He joined the BCIU in 2003 as supervisor of the Transportation department. In 2011, he assumed additional managerial responsibilities, namely, for the purchasing, safety, cafeteria, and facilities maintenance operations.

Chris earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Alvernia University in 2001 and a master’s degree in education from Wilkes University in 2007. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO) and serves on the board of directors of the Pupil Transportation Association of Pennsylvania.