Josh Jensen, deputy superintendent for the Nampa School District, resigned from his position effective Tuesday, School Board Chairman Scott Kido confirmed.

"I think he resigned to avoid further distractions from our efforts to move forward from financial problems," Kido told the Statesman Tuesday.

Kido said Statesman the district will not fill Jensen’s position, a move that will help with continuing efforts to bridge a $4.3 million budget shortfall.

Jensen had been the public face of the district’s budget woes since August, when longtime Superintendent Gary Larsen resigned shortly after the news broke. Jensen’s job had focused on overseeing district finances before it was expanded several years ago to include other aspects of district operation, and Jensen said in October he felt responsible because budgeting remained one of the areas under his supervision.

He said revenues and expenses were dramatically miscalculated, with millions of dollars mistakenly duplicated in two consecutive annual budgets.

Last week the school board hired an interim superintendent, Thomas Michaelsen, to guide the district through its financial woes until a permanent replacement can be found for Larsen. A new budget officer, Michelle Yankovich came on board in October, and a budget committee has been meeting weekly to come up with recommendations on places to cut costs and expand revenues.