California Association of School Business Of f icials
Summer 2 018
A civic education
Balancing rights, responsibilities in the age of student activism
The new networking Leverage the latest resources to find your tribe, forge connections
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The California Association of School Business Officials is the premier resource for professional development in all aspects of school business. Founded in 1928, CASBO serves more than 23,000 members by providing certifications and training, promoting business best practices and creating opportunities for professional collaboration. CASBO members represent every facet of school business management and operations. The association offers public school leaders an entire career’s worth of growth opportunities.
As the recognized authority in California school business, CASBO is a member-driven association that promotes ethical values; develops exceptional leaders; advocates for, and supports the needs of members; and sets the standard for excellence through top-quality professional development and mentorship, meaningful collaboration and communication, and unparalleled innovation.
For the past 15 years, CASBO has been dedicated to the organizational planning discipline as a method for guiding the association into a successful future. This year, the association embarked on its sixth such plan, CASBO by Design 2.0. This living, breathing document guides the association in its long-term planning process, which is grassroots in nature, invigorating in procedure and motivating in outcome.
CASBO has long been committed to organizational planning because the approach has consistently helped the association envision its future and determine the clear steps to get there. The road map that strategic planning provides has allowed CASBO to remain focused on its unique mission, goals and objectives and to respond effectively to a continually changing environment.
For more information on CASBO by Design, visit casbo.org > About > CASBO by Design.
publisher editor in chief communications manager features editor contributors
design/layout advertising art
casbo officers president president-elect vice president immediate past president advertising sales manager
Molly McGee Hewitt Tatia Davenport
Joyce Tribbey
Julie Phillips Randles
Jennifer Fink
Nicole Krueger
Sue Poremba
Jennifer Snelling
Sharon Adlis Tracy Brown
Christina Aguilar Downey Unified School District
Molly Schlange University Preparatory School
Jamie Dial Hanford Elementry School District
Nina Boyd Orange County Department of Education
CiCi Trino
Association Outsource Services, Inc. P.O. Box 39 | 8067 Traditions Court Fair Oaks, CA 95628 916.961.9999
This issue of our magazine, as usual, covers topics that hopefully inform, challenge and educate our membership on a variety of topics. We’re proud to publish an amazing magazine. The content, expertise and excellence of our writers, and timeliness of the topics, are first class
On occasion, our members take exception with an article or information we present. They may disagree with the author or they have a different opinion. We think that’s perfect! We welcome and value an association where a variety of opinions and thoughts are explored. We feel it’s healthy for our profession and our association. Just like our readers, many of us are creatures of habit. We like things the way we like them and may become upset over issues or activities that challenge our comfort. We may enjoy change when we initiate it, but when the change is not by choice, we might feel uncomfortable. But if we’re the authors and creators of change – we embrace it!
Our profession is rapidly and continually changing. If we resist or begrudge the change, we’ll lose. We must recognize that with advances in technology, new methods of communication, new ideas and a new generation of leaders, how we conduct our future business will not be how we did business in the past. We must become adept at asking ourselves questions like: Why are we doing something in a particular way? Is there a better way to do it? Are we using best practices in our operations? Are we using a data-driven methodology for problem-solving?
Discomfort can be a powerful motivator. It can help us explore new options and ideas, and it can help us get out of a rut! When I worked in a local education agency, our classified staff was forced to vacate a building. There was an excellent reason – safety! Despite the reason, the groans and complaints could be heard for miles. When we entered a new and improved facility, the assumption was that we’d have the exact same floor plan and model as before. Had we done that, we would have detracted from the facility and not used the space adequately. Also, the former building and layout were created over 40 years earlier and didn’t account for changes and innovation. Again, more discomfort. It took strong leadership to embrace the change, see the future and not relive the past.
As CASBO moves forward, with the leadership of our officers and board of directors using our CASBO by Design 2.0 strategic plan as our guide, we’ll continually ask ourselves the questions mentioned above. We want to honor the long-term traditions and culture of CASBO, but we must also recognize the changes and new opportunities before us. We can’t look past the fact that our profession is evolving. We have more generations working side by side and more diversity in our student and workforce populations. The requirements and job descriptions for positions have changed, and we must ensure that we recognize the new faces and expertise entering the profession.
A mentor of mine continually reminded me that how we do business is as important as the business we do. How we welcome new ideas, new people, new leadership helps define how we do business. The ways we embrace these changes and strive to overcome obstacles and discomfort is another element of how we do business.
It’s my pleasure to serve as CEO & executive director of CASBO. I sincerely value the diversity and expertise of our members and leadership. When I get out of my comfort zone and encounter change, I remind myself of the calling and our mission. z z z
Molly McGee Hewitt CEO & Executive Director
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As I write this column for our magazine, I’m still “walking on sunshine” from the casbo 2018 Annual Conference & California School Business Expo! It was a fantastic conference and an amazing way to honor the commitment of our members, the leadership of casbo Immediate Past President Nina Boyd and the efforts of the casbo professional staff. Accepting the presidency of casbo is both a privilege and a responsibility that I accept with humility and great joy!
As a theme for my term as president, I have chosen “Cultivating Connections: Collaborate, Communicate and Create.” I’m especially drawn to this theme because of what it represents for casbo . We have the opportunity to cultivate and empower not only the current generation of school business officials, but the next two or three generations as well. Our association, working together with all the business disciplines represented by our professional councils and with our state and section leadership teams, can make this happen!
In a video at the conference, I shared this proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others.” This statement truly reflects the dynamic of casbo . Together, with our colleagues and our partners, we can serve our members and the profession of school business with dignity and grace.
During my 30 -year career, casbo has played a powerful role in my personal success. Through the cultivation of my connections at the state, section and professional council levels, I’ve had access to professional development that has enabled me to grow and improve. My casbo connections have
been my best resource when I look for solutions to district issues and challenges. Knowing who to call and where to get accurate information is a must for every professional. Both personally and professionally, the connections I have made have enhanced my ability to serve my districts and our profession. I want everyone in our industry to have that same opportunity.
To successfully cultivate these connections, we must collaborate, communicate and create. By putting our teams and our profession ahead of personal gain, we’ll enhance our collaboration. By learning to ask the right questions, we’ll improve our communication skills. We can enhance our image and promote our districts by asking key questions such as: “Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind? Is it clear?” These four simple questions can help us stay on track with clarity. And finally, we must create. By taking action to create new ways to serve our students, our districts, our employees and our communities, we can make a possibility become a reality.
We live in challenging times with unique opportunities and obstacles. The world of 2018 is different than the eras before us. The need to cultivate connections and work together has never been more important for our profession and our society. Together, we can discover and rediscover solutions and create new answers. Involvement in casbo can be a way to help you harness these resources.
If you’re not involved in casbo , I challenge you to ask yourself, “Why not?” There are opportunities at your local section level, in our professional councils
The need to cultivate connections and work together has never been more important for our profession and our society.
and at the state level for you to volunteer, experience leadership and positively affect the profession! I welcome your participation and involvement as we move forward. z z z
Christina Aguilar President
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By Nicole Krueger
by
IF YOU EVER SIT NEXT TO JEANNETTE SANCHEZ ON A PLANE, you’ll know her by the questions she asks. She wants to know everything about everything.
“I always have more questions,” she says. “People sometimes get mad because I end up delaying them by asking a lot of questions.”
Her thirst for learning has led her all over the U.S. and Europe, from Spain to Montenegro, absorbing as much knowledge as she can along the way.
“When I travel, I love these places,” she shares. “They’re so different, and the people are so different. I love to learn about their history and their rich culture. I’m really hungry for knowledge.”
That hunger has also propelled her up the ranks at work, from her first school business job as a clerk in accounts payable to her current role as a financial manager for the Riverside County Office of Education, a CASBO organizational subscriber, where she provides fiscal support for program directors who help
prepare young children for school. For someone so passionate about learning, supporting early education has been a natural fit.
“I may not have a direct impact on children’s lives, but the work I do as a financial manager enables children from low-income families to receive early education and prepare to enter public schools,” she explains.“By providing that, hopefully our kids, the future of our country, will finish high school and go to college.”
Sanchez grew up in the Philippines, where she worked for the Department of Labor for eight years before migrating to the U.S. in 1993. She was taking odd jobs through staffing agencies when she landed the accounts payable clerk position at San Bernardino Community College District, also a CASBO organizational subscriber. New to school business, she attended every workshop and training session she could find.
She hasn’t stopped since.
“I don’t tell myself ‘that’s not my work’ or ‘that’s way above me.’ I don’t put limits on
myself,” she says. “I get excited if I learn something new to improve myself.”
Since joining CASBO in 2004, she’s been paying it forward by inspiring other school business professionals to become leaders. As the immediate past chair of the Financial Services Professional Council and Director I on the Eastern Section Board of Directors, Sanchez plans professional development events, supports fellow members and even led her professional council to win the 201718 Professional Council of the Year award.
“My involvement in CASBO leadership has helped me step out of my comfort zone and take on some challenges,” she says. “As an immigrant brought up in so many Asian traditions, it has enabled me to improve my confidence and solidify my leadership skills.”
She’s not stopping there, however.
“The learning never ends. I feel like I still don’t have enough.” z z z
By Nicole Krueger
by
ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR, BRENT STICKLER TAKES OFF HIS EXECUTIVE HAT and hops in a delivery truck to visit the schools that order supplies from his company. To them, he’s just another driver.
“I like that,” he says.
He also helps out in the warehouse during the summer, sometimes operating the forklift on Saturdays or mentoring the local high school students who show up to get a taste of the working world. If they work hard and express a desire to go to college, he rewards them with a $500 scholarship.
“That’s what it’s all about, helping kids get an education so they can carve out the best future and life they can,” says Brent.
A third-generation school supplier and founder of Southwest School & Office Supply, a CASBO Premier Partner, Stickler has been doing his part to support education for the past 42 years. After helping with his dad’s school supply company growing up, Stickler was all set to join the family business full
time when it folded. Just 23 and not long out of college, he cast around for something to do.
“The only thing I had of value that I liked was the relationships I had made with school customers,” he says. “I decided to continue that on a small scale. I didn’t have a lot of dollars in my pocket. Our company had just gone out of business, and I had to do whatever it took to get going.”
Together with his wife, Sande Stickler, he built his own fledgling company from a oneman show into the largest independently owned school supplier west of the Mississippi, with offices in Tracy and Jurupa Valley and more than 30 trucks on the road on any given day. Unlike other school suppliers, most of whom also sell office products to commercial businesses, he’s made his living almost exclusively with schools.
“We’re a different breed of cat,” he says. “I have always liked dealing with school customers, and I never had a desire to go outside the box. I like it inside the box.”
He credits CASBO with helping his company build name recognition among school business professionals. A longtime CASBO supporter, he serves as the associate member state chair for the Eastern Section Board of Directors and as a member on the CASBO Associate Member Committee.
“CASBO is all about helping people do what they do and making them more educated and knowledgeable so they can make those tough decisions with information,” he maintains.
“School business … is run by wonderful people who put in a hard day’s work for the betterment of their district or school. Districts are very lucky to have these hardworking individuals who are helping to move the needle to provide the best education for the kids.” z z z
By Jennifer Fink
Is networking in the digital age different than it was in the age of landlines and Rolodexes?
Yes. And no.
Professional networking is still all about building connections and sharing information. It still requires time, commitment and human contact. And it’s still profoundly beneficial to your career and personal life.
What’s different is that professionals today have more tools than ever before to help them find their tribe and forge connections. Consider the case of Richard De Nava, of the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools (css ), a casbo organizational subscriber. When he began his career in school business many years ago, his boss made two recommendations: 1. Join casbo . 2. Start attending purchasing directors meetings.
De Nava had skills, but as a then 27 -year-old transitioning from the military to the world of education, he lacked insight born of experience. His boss knew that a solid professional network could help him address and overcome challenges, as he’d have the opportunity to benefit from others’ wisdom.
Embracing an understanding of networking as mutually beneficial –rather than selfish –can go a long way toward helping individuals move past some common barriers to networking.
So De Nava joined casbo and went to section meetings. Two months into his job, he attended his first casbo Annual Conference.
“I might have known maybe 10 people in the industry,” at that point, De Nava says. “And they weren’t all going up to Sacramento for the conference.”
De Nava challenged himself to talk to at least one or two new people at every conference session and event. He attended as many workshops and evening gatherings as possible, and by the end of the conference, he’d knitted together the beginnings of a strong professional network.
“I walked away feeling a lot more confident in my abilities and in myself and learned that people are truly interested in sharing their feedback, advice and practical experience with you,” says De Nava who today serves as San Bernardino css ’s assistant superintendent of business services.
Today, school business officials don’t need to expend nearly as much time, effort and money to create connections. Conferences and other in-person networking events remain invaluable, but they’re no longer the only game in town. Professionals can connect on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. They can Google the names of conference presenters well in advance of the event and often introduce themselves virtually to begin a digital conversation well before the conference begins. By “following” professional groups such as casbo on social media, school business professionals can quickly identify and communicate with the movers and shakers within the industry. No matter where you live, it’s now easier than ever to become an active participant.
The more things change …
Networking is the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups or institutions. Such an exchange of info increases efficiency: you learn from the mistakes and experiences of others, rather than from trial and error. Yet many people still hold tightly to some mistaken beliefs about networking.
“People understand networking as a tool to help them build their own careers, but it’s much more than that,” says Karen Bridbord, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist and executive coach in the New York metropolitan area. “Effective networking is really about giving. It’s not about greed; it’s about generosity.”
Embracing an understanding of networking as mutually beneficial –rather than selfish – can go a long way toward helping individuals move past some common barriers to networking. For instance, Bridbord says that many adults “underestimate the value that they bring” and are therefore hesitant to attend social functions or get involved in professional organizations. But even the most junior people in an organization or industry have something to share: their perspective, experiences and connections.
“The reality is that any senior person knows they need a team to make it rain, and you, as a junior person, may know people they would not normally have access to,” Bridbord explains.
Further, the all-too-common fear of asking virtual strangers for career assistance evaporates when you realize that other professionals frequent networking events and spaces in hopes of creating connections, too. (“Networking isn’t like knocking on someone’s door and saying,
‘Can I please come in?’ [and interrupting them] when they’re busy with something else. People are [at a networking event] for [that specific] reason,” Bridbord says.)
The best practices of networking haven’t changed, even if the venues and tools have. It’s still a good idea to use open-ended questions to break the ice. Listening remains an important – and under-used – networking skill, no matter which tech tool you use to facilitate communication.
“People naturally like people who listen to them,” Bridbord notes. “It’s important to actually listen well, because questions aren’t the way to establish a relationship.” Instead, effective networkers ask, listen, follow up and remember. Some professionals use tech tools to continue relationship building; others don’t.
The old trick of jotting something down that’s interesting about a new contact on the back of the business card they’ve just handed you remains an effective memory jog. It’s so effective, Bridbord advises professionals who have abandoned business cards to adapt the practice for the digital age: when entering a colleague’s phone number or email address into your phone, include a note recapping your conversation.
“That’s going to be key in follow up and in sustaining that relationship,” she says.
In fact, tech tools are particularly helpful in building relationships after networking events. “Truly effective networkers put together systems to help them follow up with people,” Bridbord says. Some establish and
Activity-based networking events allow professionals to easily extend the conversation beyond office and industry concerns.
Stodgy and stiff networking events are (mostly) a thing of the past.
maintain spreadsheets of their professional contacts and deliberately schedule check-in time on their calendars. Some professionals use LinkedIn to regularly communicate; others prefer to send email.
Kristin Armatis, a business advisory consultant with the San Diego County Office of Education, a casbo organizational subscriber, often uses email to strengthen her connection to individuals in her network.
“We get news clips from our communications office, and whenever I see one of my districts in the news clips, I click. I’ll even pop out an email that says, ‘Good job,’ or ‘How do we become a part
of this?’” the casbo San Diego/Imperial Section past president says.
That’s a great example of a loweffort, high-reward networking strategy. “The act of sharing something with somebody else is actually quite touching for people,” Bridbord says. “You can bet that person will take note and reciprocate somehow, some way. Not because they feel like they have to reciprocate, but because as human beings, we all want to be known and seen.”
fun
Stodgy and stiff networking events are (mostly) a thing of the past. Increasingly,
school business officials and others are recognizing that fun, informal events are an important – and effective – way to build professional relationships.
After noticing that the best team building often occurred during the informal get-togethers that followed official meetings, casbo ’s Central Section started hosting social events, including a ziplining outing and a harbor cruise. Such events allow members to get to know other professionals in a more personal and relaxed setting.
“When you spend several hours together, that’s when you develop those relationships and bonds,” says casbo Vice President Jamie Dial, fiscal services specialist for Hanford Elementary School District, a casbo organizational subscriber. “It’s not, ‘I know your name and what district you run’ – it’s ‘I know you’ve got two kids and what their ages are and is your son still in baseball?’”
Activity-based networking events allow professionals to easily extend the conversation beyond office and industry concerns. “It’s not just about work,” Dial notes. “It’s about finding common ground. Then you’re truly building the bond of friendship, and barriers come down.”
Once two humans know each other on a personal level, it becomes easier to share professional concerns. “You’re more transparent and willing to reach out and say, ‘Hey, I’m struggling with this particular issue at work,’” Dial says.
A family barbeque hosted by Kristin Armatis helped casbo San Diego/ Imperial Section members finally get to know one another. “We all live in the same county and work fairly close to one another, but we didn’t really know each other,” Armatis says. To bridge the gap, she invited section leaders to bring their
LinkedIn.com
At first glance, LinkedIn might appear to be nothing more than an online collection of résumés. But look closer: LinkedIn gives you the ability to participate in groups related to your professional interests. You can also share articles, advertise job openings and look for career opportunities.
Meetup.com
Available online and as an app for Apple and Android devices, Meetup allows individuals to easily meet others with a shared interest. You can find local people who are into camping, singing, photography, whatever –and meet publicly, safely, to indulge your interest. Professional meetup groups are available too.
Followup.cc
This browser extension/email plug-in allows you to schedule followups with professional contacts. A personal CRM (contact relationship management) program is also available.
“Once you have an understanding of who somebody is, it’s a lot easier to pick up the phone and call them.”
families to her home. The event was such a success the group is already discussing when to hold the next one. Members had fun, but more importantly, they got to know one another on a deeper level.
“Once you have an understanding of who somebody is, it’s a lot easier to pick up the phone and call them” if you have a question or need advice, Armatis says. Further, people who know one another can communicate more effectively, leading to more efficient professional collaborations.
Other networking alternatives
Professional organizations such as casbo are tried-and-true ways to connect with others within your industry, but they’re not the only option. Richard De Nava meets other county business officers monthly and regularly participates in email listservs, such as the ones offered by the Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team (fcmat ) (fcmat.org/mailinglists/) that maintains community listservs for county office chief business officials ( cbo s), district
office cbo s, and purchasing and facilities personnel.
“If somebody poses a question on the listserv, you might not get an answer from every one of the 58 county office of education cbo s, but you’re probably going to get a response from 50 percent of the group within 24 hours,” he says, noting that listservs allow time-crunched professionals to ask and respond to queries at their convenience.
Jamie Dial helped casbo Central Section members develop a private Facebook group after their ziplining adventure. Although the group was initially established to facilitate photo sharing, it’s evolved into a way for like-minded pro-
fessionals to continue conversations and extend connections. “We’ve seen many of our members develop actual friendships. We have members who now go camping together,” Dial says.
Kristian Armatis uses digital tools to maintain the professional connections she developed while completing the fcmat cbo Mentor Training Program.
“The relationships I built over the course of that program are invaluable,” she says. During the program, group members, who live throughout California, regularly collaborated by phone, email and online videoconferencing. Now, they use the same tools to communicate professional concerns.
Increasing Enrollment
Declining Enrollment
Attendance Boundary Changes
School Overcrowding
Grade Configuration Changes
Special Program Placement
School Consolidation
Class Size Reduction
Feeder School Changes
Open Enrollment / School Choice
Better Insight into your Community
Fiscal and Staffing Planning
New Housing Development
Community groups, university alumni organizations and churches also offer ample networking opportunities.
“The more people I meet and the more exposure I have to different areas, the more it enhances my career,” Dial says. z z z
Jennifer Fink is a freelance writer based in Mayville, Wisconsin.
By Julie Phillips Randles
Patrick “Blake” Leeper was born with both legs missing below the knee. A congenital birth defect is not the usual way to start your sprint to the top – even the doctors told his mother this child would never walk.
Her response: “We decided that we were going to treat him as if he did have limbs. No exceptions.” Thanks to his father’s coaching, Leeper took his turn at bat with all his Little League peers. By the time he was a student at Dobyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport, Tennessee, he was dribbling past defenders and making layups on the varsity basketball team.
He flirted with quitting sports a time or two to concentrate on his studies – pre-med majors tend to hit the books more than the ball – but two events collided during his time at the University of Tennessee: Oscar Pistorius’ amazing speed was featured on espn , and Leeper had a chance to try out a pair of carbon fiber prosthetics. Leeper jumped onto Myspace to reach out to members of the United States’ 2008 Paralympics team for more information.
Leeper won his first race without even knowing how to start on the blocks.
He racked up accolades at the speed of lightning, so when it finally came down to a hard choice between medicine and sports, Leeper took off for California to pursue his place in Paralympic history. He was successful in his first Paralympic
Games in London in 2012 , bringing home the hardware, a silver and a bronze. Even his childhood idol, baseball player Bo Jackson, was inviting the young man to call him Uncle Bo.
But Leeper had a secret. He was losing control of his fast-track life, drinking as a regular part of his daily routine.
He partied with teammates by night and used his new-found cash to keep the liquor cabinet stocked. By June 2015 , his lifestyle spilled over into his sport, and he tested positive for benzoylecgonine, a metabolic by-product of cocaine.
And just like that, he was banned from u.s. competition for one year and
international competition for two, which cost him a chance at competing for Olympic glory in Rio. And that was the least of his losses.
“It got to the point where if something good happened in my life, I would drink,” Leeper said. “If something bad happened, I would drink. If I was bored, guess what? I would drink. I kind of lost my identity through all of this,” he told a reporter at usa Today. “I hit a point to where I call it my rock bottom. I had to make a decision where this was going to make me, or it was going to break me.”
He chose “make.” He embraced Alcoholics Anonymous and hired a new trainer. In his first race back in the spotlight at the u.s. Track & Field Championships, he broke Pistorius’ world record in the 400 m.
Today, Leeper calls the suspension “one of the greatest things that ever happened in my life.” We sat down with him to explore those advantages.
Who or what do you turn to as your support system?
I have a full team of individuals who serve as my support system. I have two coaches, Willie Gault and Johann Stefansson; two managers; and a sport physiologist I work with on a daily basis. I also have a handful of training partners and my family back home in Tennessee.
They all play a huge part of making me who I am. I can always depend on them for advice and to hold me accountable for all the tasks I have at hand. They keep me focused and push me in the right areas so I can produce the perfect product, which is to be the fastest man in the world. I couldn’t do it without my support system.
What can education leaders do to better serve today’s students with special needs?
The main thing to remember is that just because the students have a disability,
they shouldn’t be treated any differently. Challenge the students regardless of their situation. Due to their special needs, you might have to approach the situation a little differently, but at the end of the day you should do your best to challenge the students so they can be the best they can be.
Don’t give them a pass just because of their disability.
Did you ever face school bullying as a result of your disability, and if so, how did you handle it?
Yes, I faced bullying all the time growing up. I was laughed at, picked on, picked last in a lot of situations because of my disability. However, over the years, I learned to embrace it!
One thing that helped me is that I didn’t take myself too seriously. I would respond to the comments with jokes about myself. When you start becoming uncomfortable and squirming, bullies feed off it. But if you can actually laugh at the situation, shake it off and keep your day going, they lose the power and have no significance. When you let them control your day and worry about what they are saying to you or going to say to you next, you’re giving them all the power.
What advice do you have for school leaders as they help kids in their districts who face the same problem?
Open discussion is always very powerful. Identifying the issues and situations gives you and the student a chance to realize that in the big picture, things aren’t so bad and that the little issues or speed bumps they’re experiencing will just be a small part of their lives.
When you spoke at the CASBO conference in April, you relayed a story about falling down in t-ball and getting tagged out because your prosthetic fell off. As a young kid, it seems you accepted falling down in sports (or any other fumble that happened due to your physical limitation) as part of the game, rather than going down the road of wanting others to make allowances for you. How did you learn that, and how do you think school business leaders could adapt what you learned to their own teambuilding efforts in the workplace?
The most valuable lesson that I learned from some of my failures due to my physical disability is that life isn’t fair and it owes you nothing. That’s a hard lesson to learn at a young age, but it was a valuable one.
Because I was born without legs, I had to learn how to fight at a very early age. We’re all going to face challenge, trials and tribulations – and failures. But the most important thing of all we must remember, especially school business leaders, is that we are not defined by our failures because we all are going to fail at some point and at something. Our success is determined in how we react when we do fail.
How are you going to keep pushing through the bad times when things are not going your way or how you planned?
Sometimes you can’t control life and all the curve balls that it throws at you, but the two things that you will always have control over are your attitude and your effort. You must remind yourself that when life knocks you do down, you still have control over the attitude, the perspective you have about the situation and the effort you put into battling back. Life isn’t about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving
forward – how hard you can take a hit and never quit.
Many in the audience remarked that you seem to be a genuinely happy person, always smiling, always grateful. To what do you mostly attribute that state of mind? What suggestions would you provide to our readers so they can achieve the same positive mental state as they go about not only their professional but their personal lives?
My message to them is to focus more on your abilities and not your disabilities. One of my favorite quotes is, “Life is 10 % what happens to you and 90 % how you react to it.”
My 10 percent is the fact that I was born without my legs. Every day I wake up I will be missing my legs. Every night when I go to bed, I’m going to be missing my legs. But that’s only 10 percent of my life and who I am.
I still have 90 percent of my life to wake up to each and every day. I can’t let the 10 percent control 100 percent of my life!
What practical advice can you share for staying motivated on those days when school leaders are finding it hard to continue to push forward?
My advice is don’t get discouraged because of the adversities. Be thankful that you are in a certain situation because going through tough times teaches you how to fight, and you learn so much when life gets hard.
People ask me all the time if I ever wish I had legs. My response every time is “no!” I’m actually thankful that I was born without legs! I’m thankful that I had to go through this because it made me such a strong individual, and the characteristics and mindset that I had to develop to overcome
challenges prepared me for future life endeavors.
It prepared me in a way that when I did fall or trip in life, I was ready to overcome the next challenge. Instead of asking, “Why me – why am I going through this?” we’re better off saying, “Why not me? I’m strong enough for this. I’m meant for this.” Because everything we go through in life happens for a reason. It’s our job not to question the reason but to instead find the purpose and lesson in it and learn and grow from it!
What’s next for you?
What’s next is to keep competing and to make the Olympic team and become the fastest man in the world! I’m training hard to qualify for the games in Tokyo in 2020 . If I make it, I’ll be the first American amputee to ever qualify for the Olympics.
It’s crazy to think they told me I would never walk the day I was born and I’m out here running against the fastest able-bodied runners in the world. Anything is possible with the right determination and the right mindset. On my way to becoming the fastest man in the world, I feel like it’s my duty to spread my message of hope to let people get a glimpse into my life. I’m running. Anything is truly possible! z z z
BALANCING RIGHTS, RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE AGE OF STUDENT ACTIVISM
While the interest in civic engagement may lead to a more vibrant democracy, student activism leaves administrators and school leaders unsure of how to support First Amendment rights while keeping students safe and engaged in learning.
By Jennifer Snelling
Student activism has a long history in our country. Over the years, students have been instrumental in protesting the Vietnam War and demonstrating for civil rights, student rights and lgbtq (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer) rights. Within the last two years, our country has entered a new period of protest, and this time k-12 students are leading the way.
In California, students have protested lack of minority inclusion in advanced placement programs, racially insensitive science fair projects, cyberbullying and school mascots. But protesting was brought to the forefront this spring when nationwide school walkouts were planned in response to the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
While the interest in civic engagement may lead to a more vibrant democracy, student activism leaves administrators and school leaders unsure of how to support First Amendment rights while keeping students safe and engaged in learning.
“Students are recognizing they have a voice and are very concerned about issues that will impact them in the future,” says casbo Immediate Past President Nina Boyd, associate superintendent of community & student support services for the Orange County Department of Education (doe ), a casbo organizational subscriber. “Social media is playing a huge role by creating an avenue for a greater outreach to the masses. Districts have to look at that and recognize that there are conversations they didn’t have to have in times past. Communication is critical. We support the First Amendment,
but we have to maintain the instructional integrity of what the educational process is all about.”
In preparation for the recent walkouts, Orange County doe and many school districts developed toolkits that covered how to communicate all of this to their students, families and communities. They know that identifying best practices around student activism will help carry school districts into the next generation.
Boyd is right that students don’t shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech at the school gate. To ensure that students, staff and community are clear about their individual rights and responsibilities, San Juan Unified School District, a casbo organizational subscriber, prepared a document that tried to clarify many of the questions.
For instance, under California law, school districts are prohibited from subjecting a high school student to disciplinary action based on speech or other communication that is protected by the First Amendment of the u.s. Constitution.
Students may participate in peaceful demonstrations on campus during non-instructional periods, as long as their speech, expression or conduct is not obscene, lewd, libelous or slanderous and does not incite students to destroy property or inflict injury upon any person, including bullying or harassment of any students who have chosen not to participate in the protest.
Protests cannot cause substantial disruption to the school’s operations.
While students have rights, school districts likewise have an obligation to impose restrictions on the time, place and manner of the protest in order to maintain a safe and orderly educational environment for all students and district employees. Students who fail to follow district policies concerning demonstrations, assemblies, protests or walkouts may be subject to disciplinary action.
While public employees don’t give up their own First Amendment rights by virtue of their employment, public school employees, particularly classroom teachers, may not participate in such activities if it means leaving their class-
room or work station during work hours because to do so risks leaving students unsupervised.
Likewise, staff should not follow students if they leave campus for a walkout that occurs during instructional time if that means some students are left unsupervised in the classroom. During the recent walkouts, this and many other questions arose about what to do if students leave campus, including any effects walkouts could have on average daily attendance and the funding tied to that. Under California law, school districts have a duty to supervise students while they are on school premises, and school
“ Students are recognizing they have a voice and are very concerned about issues that will impact them in the future.”
“Part of being proactive is having a plan and being ready to implement it.”
districts may be held liable for injuries caused by the failure to exercise reasonable care. So, employees may instruct students not to leave campus, but they are not allowed to physically restrain them from doing so nor follow them off campus if other students stay behind in the classroom.
In short, school districts and schools are responsible for ensuring the safety of students, personnel and school property, even if this means requesting help from local law enforcement to maintain safety and security on the school campus. Districts may need to develop an individual plan for each school in the district to maintain safety.
There has definitely been an increase in student protests since the 2016 election, says Lisa Bardere, director of communications/community relations for the San Bernardino City Unified School District, a casbo organizational subscriber. However, preparation can pave the way so that it is not a problem. “Part of being proactive is having a plan and being ready to implement it,” says Bardere.
To ensure that students, staff, parents and community are aware of their rights and responsibilities, communicate early and often, with a non-political
message, to keep the situation civil, she advises.
To that end, San Bernardino City Unified shared templates and kits with administrators that included talking points for students and teachers. A model letter provided language the schools could follow exactly or use as a guide, including individual model letters for before, during and after the protests:
“At (insert school name), our top priority is to support the academic and social emotional needs of our students while maintaining a safe and orderly learning environment for all. We respect and support the right of our students to advocate for causes that are important to them and welcome the opportunity to work with any student or student group to discuss appropriate and creative ways to do so while at school. It’s important to know that disorderly conduct that disrupts school operations is not acceptable and will be handled compassionately but firmly in accordance with the Code of Student Conduct.”
Trent Allen, senior director of community relations at San Juan Unified, says transparency and early communication are important, as well as keeping language neutral if the protest is around a potentially divisive topic. Some communication out of San Juan Unified leading up to the walkouts had a bit of a political tone, leaving Allen to rethink what could be done better next time.
“We suggested our staff stay focused on safety issues because there was a political overtone to the conversation,” he says. “We wanted them to take the opportunity to harness that energy without taking a political position. In retrospect, I wish we had been a little more prescriptive in the suggested language.”
The district partnered with the San Juan Teachers Association to provide a districtwide activity at 10 a.m. on the day of one walkout. While specific activities varied by school site, the intent was to provide school communities a chance to engage on the topic of school safety. Student participation was age appropriate and optional, and staff participation was based on the need to provide proper supervision for all students.
San Juan Unified’s organized activity was a creative solution to a potentially difficult situation. Other districts in California have also responded to recent student protests by turning them into an opportunity for civics education.
In Orange County, students and parents contacted the Santa Ana Unified School District, a casbo organizational subscriber, to alert the administration of their intention to participate in the March 14 walkout. District officials decided to use the walkout as a teachable moment, rather than a divisive political protest, by instituting lessons
To ensure that students, staff, parents and community are aware of their rights and responsibilities, communicate early and often, with a non-political message, to keep the situation civil.
on the role of young people in the civil rights era.
“The students really set an example for adults everywhere in how to have disagreements without being disagreeable.”
While students still participated in the March 14 walkout, they did so with a sense of the role of civil disobedience in our nation’s history. Orange County’s school business leaders did not sponsor or condemn the actions, but worked with students, law enforcement agencies and community groups to ensure that all students, whether they participated in the protest or not, remained safe, and the interruption to instruction was kept to a minimum.
In Anaheim, Savanna High School students put civic action into practice recently when they lobbied the school board to change their mascot, Confederate soldier “Johnny Rebel.” The decision,
which came in late 2017 , followed concerns raised by several students, their families and community members.
“The students really set an example for adults everywhere in how to have disagreements without being disagreeable,” Anaheim Union High School District Superintendent Michael Matsuda said in a district press release. “We had a very difficult conversation as a community regarding the fate of the Rebel mascot, and the students led the way in how to have civil discourse on the matter.”
The California Council for the Social Studies has recognized Matsuda for his work promoting civic education. Building civic and social responsibility is prominent in the district’s mission statement, where Loara and Savanna High
Schools have become the first campuses in Orange County to join the California Democracy School Civic Learning Initiative, a program designed to institutionalize civic learning.
Fostering opportunities for student civic engagement can be as simple as a minor logistical accommodation. In Orange County, superintendents from several districts thoughout the county brainstormed solutions and came up with the idea of changing the bell system so that the passage time was a little longer to accommodate the walkout.
Increasing numbers of students are organizing on social media and attending and speaking at school board meetings. District leaders have an opportunity to help channel these conversations into appropriate forums by providing venues for students to be heard.
Whether you’re coming from the instructional side or business operations side, being part of the conversation around student voice is important, says San Juan Unified’s Allen. His district has organized formal forums for students to voice opinions, including a superintendent’s advisory committee that seeks out students who don’t normally have a voice.
Allen recommends dedicating staff to student groups who want to engage with the district’s business side. “It doesn’t mean you have to do everything they ask for,” he says. “But engage and understand the underlying issues, and [see] if there’s something that makes sense for student safety or success or whatever the issue.”
For instance, after the walkouts this spring, a group of seniors approached San Juan Unified’s school board, wanting
to bring a greater focus to mental health resources within schools. Students asked for training in order to be part of the solution. They wanted help identifying warning signs and what to do in a crisis.
Allen developed a safety team and talked through the underlying issues. In response, the students developed a campaign to spread the word that high school counselors aren’t there just to help you schedule classes, they are a mentalhealth resource students have access to all the time. San Juan Unified also beefed up training for active shooter responses and put up posters within schools, reminding students what to do during a crisis.
Lisa Bardere agrees that it is important to involve student voices at all levels of the school district, something that is supported by San Bernardino City Unified Superintendent Dale Marsden, Ed.D., a casbo honorary lifetime member and winner of its 2018 Pinnacle Award for outstanding leadership in school business.
“Marsden has valued and appreciated student voice, and that has carried through our school site administrators,” she says. “We always provide our students with an outlet to express concerns in a constructive manner. Be transparent with your leaders, your students, your union, and involve people in the decision-making.” z z z
Jennifer Snelling is a freelance writer based in Eugene, Oregon.
Weigh in on our social media sites. Find links at casbo.org.
Whether you’re coming from the instructional side or business operations side, being part of the conversation around student voice is important.
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By Sue Poremba
Mobile apps are so ubiquitous today, it’s hard to imagine a time when we didn’t rely on the technology to do, well, just about everything. In a business setting, we rely on apps that handle our appointments, manage our documents and allow us to better communicate with each other.
However, as the line blurs between business and pleasure, school business leaders increasingly use these apps as a primary resource to stay in touch with their entire school community.
That includes the tools we don’t necessarily think of as apps, like Google Docs and Google Drive, which are a must for casbo San Diego/Imperial Section Director Eric Dill, who currently serves as superintendent at San Dieguito Union High School District (and who will take a new post as chief business official at Santa Clara Unified School
District, effective July 1). “[San Dieguito] was an early adopter of Google apps, and now sharing and collaborating using their apps is deeply rooted in how we work, teach and collaborate together,” he explains.
Using Google applications was an easy way for Dill’s office and district to go paperless and always keep important documents at their fingertips, which, as Dill explains, has been an effective tool:
“Last year, I was in Sacramento to attend the Friday night session of the cbo Mentor Program. I was awakened early on Saturday morning with news that a student had been killed on one of our campuses. Knowing we were going to have to prepare to support students and handle the media, I opened a new Google doc and shared it with all the key staff who would be part of our crisis response: associate superintendents,
principal, assistant principals, student support services director and executive assistants. While on the first flight back to San Diego, I used the plane’s Wi-Fi to stay in contact with the staff on the ground as we collaboratively developed our crisis response plan. Everybody was typing simultaneously, but it came together quickly. We created sections for supporting students and staff, identified resources, drafted specific messages for different audiences and identified short-term and long-term action items with clear assignments and timelines. When I landed, I drove directly to the school, gathered the reporters and held a press conference using the talking points we crafted for our public messaging. By the way, since it was just a quick overnight trip, I left my laptop at home, so I was doing this all on my cell phone.”
There’s an app for that!
You can organize your lists by project or by location, so it’s much easier to manage all the different things you have to do.
Of course, your apps won’t usually be used in a crisis (although it is good to know you have the tools to get you through a stressful situation). Here are some of the favorite apps school business leaders use to make their work day more efficient:
A popular file-hosting service that allows users to store and share documents in the cloud. School business leader Dill uses Dropbox to share documents for section conferences and meeting agendas.
An online meeting, desktop sharing and videoconferencing app. According to Dill, the casbo San Diego-Imperial Section uses GoToMeeting in conjunction with Dropbox to conduct section meetings online for those who can’t attend inperson.
“With everyone tied to their desks and the inconvenience of driving long distances for some, it’s been an effective way for the local section leadership to conduct business remotely,” he says.
A task management app for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. “All of us are constantly managing tasks and calendar events,” explains Ron Carruth, Ed.D., superintendent with Whittier City School District, a casbo organizational subscriber. “Informant 5 is a super powerful task manager that allows you to keep track of tasks in both the most simple and also the most detailed ways possible, depending on your particular needs.”
A calendar app for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch that lets users modify calendar options. Users can also color code different events and create standing appointments. Carruth uses WeekCal to build agenda items for a variety of meetings with his cabinet, board and management team. “I use both of these apps every day to manage and organize the crazy workload we face as school administrators when you cannot forget any item,” he adds.
Calendar apps are popular and useful tools for busy business leaders who juggle meetings, school-related events and personnel matters. casbo Past President Leeann Errotabere, director of purchasing with the Clovis Unified School District, a casbo organizational subscriber, likes Outlook’s calendar because it syncs with her Outlook email app. “I can send and respond to emails and check calendars while in meetings, traveling and working from home,” she says. “Contacts are also readily available on my iPhone as well.”
A task management app that sets up to-do lists, allows users to add due dates for the tasks, then reminds them when the tasks are coming due. The lists can be shared with co-workers or family members to keep them on task as well.
Apps like Evernote, Microsoft OneNote, Apple Notes and Google Keep allow users different options for notetaking on
the fly. In addition, Evernote lets you clip web pages for future reference and make audio recordings. Microsoft OneNote provides a place to organize thoughts and projects. Google Keep lets users collect images as well as draft documents. Apple Notes is the ideal place to jot down thoughts.
“The Notes app on the iPhone is useful for quick notes to myself during meetings or, sadly, when I wake up in the middle of the night and want to remember something in the morning,” says Errotabere.
A project management app and a favorite of Katie Siemer, director of curriculum and technology integration at Forward
Edge, who works closely with district leaders. “Todoist has a Chrome extension, mobile app, Gmail add-on, and you can log into the website, so you can access your to-dos from anywhere,” she explains. You can organize your lists by project or by location, so it’s much easier to manage all the different things you have to do. You can also set reminders so you don’t forget any to-dos. The paid version allows you to collaborate with others. “Todoist keeps my head on straight!” she adds.
A cloud-based team collaboration app. “My team uses Slack to stay in constant communication,” Siemer says. “It’s more than just a chat because you can categorize
and search your conversations. We are able to keep a conversation thread about the individual districts we work with and projects we’re working on separate from one another so that important information isn’t lost in the stream of offtopic convos.”
A Google app specifically for co-working teams. Google Team Drives is where team productivity really lives. “We do everything out of Google Drive: create documents, presentations, spreadsheets and forms,” says Siemer. “Team Drives gives us a one-stop shop that allows everyone on the team to have access to anything they may need at any point. At any given time, we may be conducting
There’s an app for that!
You can still jot down a thought on a piece of paper and stick it to your phone, but chances are, the note will fall off or get moved because it is in the way.
an integration survey for a school district, collecting the data in Google Forms, analyzing that data in [a Google] sheet and writing our recommendations in a [Google] doc. The real-time collaboration and commenting features of Google Drive allow us to keep our projects moving even when we’re not in the same place.”
A time-tracking app. With Toggl, users can easily track time spent on multiple projects or with different customers in one central location. Toggl has a Chrome extension, a mobile app and a website login, so it’s easy to track your time from anywhere. When you log into the website, you can run reports across a particular time period, so you can better judge how much time you have spent on particular projects. “When I take on a new project, I use this tool to help
me better understand how much time a particular task is going to take me on average. I also use this to track my time on consulting jobs,” says Siemer.
An app to keep you focused. The old saying “you can’t see the forest for the trees” certainly describes our technology overload. Forest works on the incentive principle: You designate the amount of time you want to avoid distractions and a virtual tree grows while you focus on your work. The moment you begin to check your other distraction apps (social media, email, etc.), the tree dies.
A document-scanning app. Not every professional is as successful as Eric Dill in achieving a paperless office. Still, you probably get a lot of papers you’d like to be able to work on, share or file electronically. Scannable, an app from Evernote, lets you easily scan paper documents to high-quality digital docs.
A messaging app designed to improve team communications. The app is called a walkie-talkie application, with the goal of providing real-time communications. Rather than send a group text or set up a conference call, Voxer allows school leaders to reach out to their team with the push of one button. It also allows for group chats, and you can use it to send photos and videos as well as voice messages. Another bonus is that the app can be used for recordings, so you can record your thoughts and have them sent to you as an email.
A brainstorming app. Who doesn’t love Post-It Notes? Unfortunately, though, the sticky notepads aren’t designed for our high-tech mobile workplace. You can still jot down a thought on a piece of paper and stick it to your phone, but chances are, the note will fall off or get moved because it is in the way. Now PostIt-Notes come in app form, and you can use them in many of the ways you use the paper product – as a reminder note pinned where you can see it or in a grid formation to brainstorm ideas.
A communication app. Most of the apps school leaders use keep them connected with their staff and peers. Classdojo is an
app that keeps school business leaders connected with students, parents and teachers. Leaders can use the app to send messages to parents or share feedback with students. In an era where bullying and school shootings are a major concern, this app gives leadership a tool to quickly reach out to their communities during emergencies or as a way to easily address concerns. z z z
Classdojo is an app that keeps school business leaders connected with students, parents and teachers.
A journey where the people you meet and connections you make will serve you for a lifetime. Where the skills you hone will give you a hand up in your career. Where you will always have a voice in public education.
That's our mission: to provide exceptional professional development and advocacy services to you, the committed professionals who dedicate yourselves to California school business operations, and to the children, families and communities you serve.
For us, it’s not about profit. It’s about aligning our services with your goals, so you can broaden your network, get the resources you need to grow your career, and build healthy LEAs.
If you haven't already, we invite you to renew your relationship with CASBO this year.
Because that’s not just a dream waiting at the end of your journey … that’s something that we can achieve together.
You don’t have to be tech savvy to know that things like artificial intelligence, the internet of things and virtual reality are affecting how we live and work. In fact, these same topics are being studied and discussed across K-12 and higher ed and around our dinner tables.
In “The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future,” author Kevin Kelly argues that much of what will happen in the next 30 years is inevitable, driven by technological trends that are already in motion.
Kelly, who helped launch Wired magazine and is the author of four other books, walks readers through the 12 tech imperatives he believes will transform our lives.
Don’t worry, most of his predictions are optimistic and serve as a road map for the future, showing how the unavoidable changes that are coming can be understood by looking at a few long-term accelerating forces.
And Kelly believes these forces will revolutionize how we shop, learn and communicate – and he means that in a good way – as in using emerging tech in ways that benefit our lifestyles.
Readers say the book provides helpful guidance on where business, industry and life are heading so you can plan, prepare and avoid getting left behind!
By Molly McGee Hewitt CEO & Executive Director
If there’s a common theme in almost every workplace, it’s the issue of time. Time is a regular topic in conversations and finds its way into almost all meetings, strategic planning sessions, contracts, policies and documents. Starting times, estimated times, time constraints, time delays, time allocated for this and that, deadlines, calendars, schedules. We continually examine, complain about and plot how to make the most of our time and how to survive the fact that we just don’t have enough of it.
In “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” the White Rabbit originated a now-familiar diatribe: “I’m late, I’m late for a very important date. No time to say hello, goodbye, I’m late, I’m late, I’m late.” Many of us identify with this! We’re all working to make the most of our time every single day.
The ability to maximize the use of time is a recognized leadership trait. Great leaders figure out how to get their work done and how to triage their time to handle their business. They understand time is finite and schedules are fluid. The greater and more diverse your responsibilities are, the more challenges arise outside your well-planned day. Being able to focus on the most important tasks and using the synergy of your team is critical to leadership today.
Some of the greatest time management mistakes have to do with the failure to build a culture of prioritization and communication. You and your team must understand what the key priorities for your organization are. Understanding these priorities allows you to designate a proper amount of time
to important work while also tackling the ordinary tasks. Every team member should know what your core mission and priorities are and show evidence that their activities are aligned to those ideals.
Prioritization has a partner –communication. Leaders must be able to communicate their expectations with clarity, specificity and consistency. If your staff has to guess what you want or how you expect projects to be delivered, you’ll never maximize your effectiveness.
agencies is minimal. We bring people into complex educational organizations and we expect them to produce immediately. But we often fail to give examples, provide templates, discuss styles or clarify our expectations. We throw them into the deep end of our school business pool and expect them to swim.
Spending time with your team to prioritize and communicate expectations, protocols and procedures is an investment in your current and future success. Every time you dedicate an
Spending time with your team to prioritize and communicate expectations, protocols and procedures is an investment in your current and future success.
Why do our colleagues fail to meet our expectations? It all comes back to time. Too often, we don’t spend the time we should to build and train our team. A handbook or short orientation can’t address the complexities of our work. We need to spend time training, reviewing and sharing expectations on a regular basis. We need to spend time practicing, reviewing work product, correcting and directing colleagues to create the work product we’re seeking.
But when? Yes, we’re all busy. But we must carve out time in our workdays and create teaching opportunities that continually and consistently promote prioritization and communication.
Frustration, strained relationships and poor office cultures can often be traced back to the issues of prioritization and communication. Onboarding and orientation in most local education
hour to training, you deposit into the professional development account of your organization.
There are many methodologies for effective time management available online, in print and in seminars. Organizations often spend thousands of dollars sending their teams to training sessions to help them be better time managers. Sure, these programs are valuable and can improve the skills of your team, but your team can’t advance if you fail to articulate your priorities and expectations. z z z
Diversity – of people, places and activities! Character – not just one, but three charitable events! Inclusion – all were welcome … and always will be!
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”
The tide of history only advances when people make themselves fully visible.
Anderson Cooper
1 million
An estimated 3,000 schools and nearly 1 million U.S. students participated in the Enough! National School Walkout on March 14.
Source: USA Today
”
Mobile is becoming not only the new digital hub, but also the bridge to the physical world. That’s why mobile will affect more than just your digital operations – it will transform your entire business.
Thomas Husson, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research
The average number of apps people use daily – 9, monthly – 30.
Source: TechCrunch
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Mark Adler
Managing Director
310 297-6010 mark.j.adler@pjc.com
• Interim Project Financing
• Debt Refinancing/Restructuring
• GASB 45 Liability Funding
Rich Calabro Managing Director 310 297-6013 richard.n.calabro@pjc.com
Gauhar Bauyrzhankyzy Analyst 415 616-1627 gauhar.x.bauyrzhankyzy@pjc.com
Pam Hammer Office Supervisor
310 297-6023 pamela.a.hammer@pjc.com
Piper Jaffray California public finance investment
Jin Kim Senior Vice President 310 297-6020 jin.y.kim@pjc.com
Trennis Wright Senior Vice President 310 297-6018 trennis.l.wright@pjc.com
Ivory Li
Managing Director 415 616-1614 ivory.r.li@pjc.com
Ilya Barats Analyst
310 297-6016 ilya.x.barats@pjc.com
us help you achieve your financing goals.
Visit www.stifel.com/institutional/public-finance or contact a member of our School Finance Group:
Northern California | San Francisco Office
Bruce Kerns Managing Director (415) 364-6839 bkerns@stifel.com
Erica Gonzalez Managing Director (415) 364-6841 egonzalez@stifel.com
Roberto J. Ruiz Director (415) 364-6856 rruiz@stifel.com
Southern California | Los Angeles Office
Dawn Vincent Managing Director (213) 443-5006 dvincent@stifel.com
Robert Barna Managing Director (213) 443-5205 rbarna@stifel.com
Stifel is the leading underwriter of California K-12 school district bonds.* We assist local districts in providing financing for facility projects and cash flow borrowing, including new construction, modernization, renovation, and technology improvements. Our work with California school districts includes general obligation bonds, Mello-Roos bonds, certificates of participation, leases, bridge financings, TRANs, and the refinancing or restructuring of previously issued bonds.
We give back to the communities we serve by providing college scholarships to graduating high school seniors through Stifel’s annual Fabric of Society essay competition and by supporting school-related foundations and functions through the Stifel Education Program (“StEP”).
* Source: Thomson Reuters SDC, by par amount and number of issues for negotiated transactions in 2017.
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated | Member SIPC & NYSE | www.stifel.com/publicfinance