OPERATIONS ISSUE / SUMMER 2014
update INDISPENSABLE TOOL for SCHOOL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
S C H O O L BUSINESS OFFICIAL
Behind The Scenes
DIRECTING SCHOOL OPERATIONS New Food Regulations // 14 Shared Services // 24 Transportation Best Practices // |34 www.iasbo.org
1
Did you know... Illinois ASBO has two targeted programs focused on the communication and leadership development of school business officials?
We help build skill-sets that reach far beyond the budget.
Learn more at www.iasbo.org under Get Involved > Become a Leader
INSIDE
Illinois Association of School Business Officials UPDATE Magazine / Summer 2014 / v.21 / i.04
OPERATIONS ISSUE
Behind The Scenes S C H O O L BU S I N ES S O F F I C I A L SCHOOL FINANCE / FALL 2014
update INDISPENSABLE TOOL for SCHOOL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
A BALANCING ACT
GETTING THE MOST FROM LIMITED RESOURCES
24
Directing Efficient School Operations Through Shared Services
THE NEXT ISSUE: SCHOOL FINANCE Finding ways to get the most out of your district's dollars.
Facing the daunting challenge to “do more with less,” districts are turning to a variety of shared services to help effectively reduce costs and manage resources. Cover Story by Hillarie J. Siena and Nelson W. Gray
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Partnering with other local governments can be a viable option for everything from natural resources to buildings to investments. By Elizabeth M. Hennessy, Ronald R. O’Connor and Michael J. Prombo
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www.iasbo.org
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PERSPECTIVE
FROM-THE-PODIUM Teaming Up to Streamline Operations. 07
FROM-THE-OFFICE What it Really Takes to Run a School District. 09
FROM-THE-FIELD Building Relationships Outside the Office. 11
ARTICLES
The Seven Year Itch: Subcontracting Revisited Even under the strict limitations of the Subcontracting Act, school districts and vendors are finding creative solutions that keep subcontracting as a viable solution. By Joseph J. Perkoski
30
FROM-THE-DISTRICT A Healthy Challenge: The Evolving Face of School Lunch. 14
Driving Change Eight strategies to keep a high level of transportation service with funding at a low. By Walter Doughty
FROM-THE-TABLE Statute vs. Reality in Transportation Funding. 16
SCHOOL BUSINESS 101 Shared Services: Insurance Co-ops, Milk, Copiers, Fuel Depots and more. 19
34
The Hunger Games With new regulations from the Capital continuing to roll out, operating school meal programs is not as easy as it used to be. By Clare R. Keating
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UPDATE Magazine / Summer 2014
38
RESOURCES
ON MY LIST
A Cab Case: Special Education Transportation
Guiding principles of negotiation that literally “change the game.�
Learn how North Chicago CUSD 187 maneuvered their bid process to keep their taxi service within the local laws. By Megan Clarke and Michael J. Prombo
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43
THE FINAL WORD Great Ideas from Great Illinois ASBO Members Richard A. Lesniak Dir./Business Services Lockport Twp. HSD 205 Rich believes that even if CSBOs report to work at an administration building every day, they have to see their primary role as being an educator. He sees his role as doing everything he can to support the educational goals of the school district and have a positive impact on students.
Leading School Operations: Food Service, Transportation and Shared Services.
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46 www.iasbo.org
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JOIN
THE
CONVERSATION
PDC MEETING OF THE WHOLE JULY 24, 2014 NIU NAPERVILLE CONFERENCE CENTER
Getting involved in an Illinois ASBO Professional Development Committee is the perfect next step to build your network and increase your involvement within Illinois ASBO. As you brainstorm ideas for professional development seminars, Conference sessions and more, you’ll gain insights and ideas to bring back to your district or company!
To learn more and select a PDC that matches your interests, please visit: 6 | www.iasbo.org > Get Involved > Professional Development Committees UPDATE Magazine / Summer 2014
PERSPECTIVE / Board President
FROM–THE–PODIUM Teaming Up to Streamline Operations In the world of teaching and learning, instructional delivery concepts of collaboration and teaming represent accepted norms. In an educational setting, professional learning communities contain people from multiple levels of the organization who collaboratively and 1 continually work together for the betterment of the organization as a whole. This same studentcentered outcome is the focus of the school business community as well. School business officials, together with instructional leaders, share a common vision and set of values that lead to continuous improvement. Successful working teams cooperate to achieve organizational goals and foster an environment that questions the status quo and considers experimentation as an opportunity to learn and grow. This internal dynamic is essential to organizational growth and ultimately leads to successful student outcomes.
Hillarie J. Siena ASST. SUPT./BUSINESS AFFAIRS GLENBROOK HSD 225
SIMPLY SAYING
What makes the school business community so unique is an unpretentious willingness to share information. Equally important is the establishment of a strong network of external resources. School districts face unprecedented financial challenges, struggling to provide quality educational programs and services within an environment of rapidly shrinking pools of resources — all while streamlining operations to control costs and function with greater efficiency. Within a current economic environment of steadily rising labor and health care costs, significant increases in fuel and energy costs and the necessity for improved technology, school business officials are charged with belt-tightening the ever-expanding waistline of an obese external economy, the growth of which is completely out of local control. Consequently, school business officials must look toward innovative cost containment measures to control local spending and provide adequate funding to meet the educational needs of their students. One such area of cost containment involves the sharing of ancillary services. Although not a new concept, the arena of shared services has expanded from insurance pools and special education cooperatives, to a much wider
scope of services. This edition of UPDATE contains a wealth of information covering a broad spectrum of ideas ranging from best practice to formal intergovernmental agreements. The authors have provided great insight and valuable perspectives to assist in the continuous quest for operational efficiencies. I have heard it expressed many times that the school business profession is unlike any other field in business operations. What makes the school business community so unique is an unpretentious willingness to share information and provide each other with strategies and tools for success. I have been honored and humbled to serve as your president this past year. I wish all of you continued success in your endeavors and urge you to remain steadfast in your commitment to your districts and to Illinois ASBO. FOOTNOTES 1.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_learning_community
www.iasbo.org
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ASBO International’s Annual Meeting & Expo September 19–22 • Kissimmee, Florida asbointl.org/AnnualMeeting
rd Gaylo
s Palm
ort
Res
Connect in Kissimmee Networking is essential, and nothing beats face-to-face interaction. In fact, attendees from the 2013 Annual Meeting & Expo ranked networking with colleagues as one of the most valuable aspects of the meeting—second only to the quality professional development. Mark your calendar for ASBO International’s 2014 Annual Meeting & Expo, and make plans to connect with your colleagues from Illinois and school business officials around the world.
Learn more about ASBO International’s Annual Meeting & Expo
asbointl.org/AnnualMeeting
Strategic Partners 8 |
UPDATE Magazine / Summer 2014
PERSPECTIVE / Executive Director
FROM–THE–OFFICE
What it Really Takes to Run a School District The operation of a school system is a complex one, to say the least. Most citizens and even leaders of government do not understand how many non-instructional elements must come together daily in order for the instructional environment to be effective.
Michael A. Jacoby EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ILLINOIS ASBO
Years ago I was leading an education fund tax rate referendum effort in a growing district. At a community engagement session, a citizen made a statement something like, “I don’t understand why a school needs all these resources. Isn’t it only about funding a teacher with 25 students?” They had done some math and determined that at 25 students per class and one teacher, the budget should be “$X.” Of course our real budget was at least three times that figure, so I gave a rather in-depth answer that attempted to communicate the complexity of the system. SIMPLY SAYING
You truly do make a difference in the quality of students’ experiences each and every day. It was sufficient for the moment, but sparked the thought that we needed a document that would communicate more regularly to the community who we really are and what we really do. Subsequently, we developed a fact sheet that displayed some details of what our district had to do daily:
It proved to be an effective tool to show the community how deep and wide our service levels were and solidified the fact that we were an extremely large, complex, well-run organization that depended on us providing high quality operational support on a daily basis.
• Clean, light, heat or cool millions of square feet of facilities. • Track and process huge number of employees and an even greater number of clients (students). • Run a daily fleet of busses and other vehicles larger than any other business in the community. • Serve more meals than any restaurant in the area. • Plow and shovel more driveways and sidewalks than anyone could imagine. • Maintain a network of computers and ancillary devices that outnumbered any local business. • And the list went on and on.
This issue of UPDATE is focused on that reality. You will find excellent articles dealing with transportation, shared services, outsourcing and food service. I trust that you will read it for greater understanding of the breadth and depth of these services. Beyond that, I really hope that you will value how critical what you do to make education happen is to the excellence of the academic program. Know this – your labor is not in vain. Whether you are a school business professional or a service associate, you truly do make a difference in the quality of students’ experiences each and every day.
www.iasbo.org
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THE
MAGA ZINE
UPCOMING SUMMER
SEMINARS
Illinois Association of School Business Officials
Northern Illinois University, IA-103 108 Carroll Avenue DeKalb, IL 60115-2829 P: (815) 753-1276 / F: (815) 516-0184 / www.iasbo.org
Update Editorial Advisory Board
Check out www.iasbo.org or the latest Calendar of Events included in the UPDATE mailing for full seminar listings including location and PDC sponsorship and register for professional development today.
PDC COORDINATOR MEMBERS Richard A. Lesniak, Ancillary Services Kristopher P. Monn, Educational Enterprise Grant L. Sabo, Facility Management Cathy L. Johnson, Financial Resource Management Kevin Dale, Information Management Robert J. Ciserella, Information Management
June 2014
July 2014
August 2014
S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
S 29 6 13 20 27 3
S 27 3 10 17 24 1
Date
M T W T F S 30 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 25 26 28 29 30 31 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9
Time
M 28 4 11 18 25 2
T 29 5 12 19 26 3
Paul A. O'Malley, Sustainability
September 2014
W 30 6 13 20 27 4
T F S 31 1 2 7 8 9 14 15 16 21 22 23 28 29 30 5 6 7
Session
S M T W T F S 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Location
06/09/14
8:00am Developing the Leaders Around You - AAC #1163
Naperville
06/09/14
8:00am School District Auditing & Reporting
Springfield
06/11/14
8:00am School District Auditing & Reporting
Fairview Heights
06/13/14
The 360 Degree Leader: Creating a Positive Leadership 8:00am Culture - AAC #1164
Collinsville area
06/18/14
8:00am
Leadership Requirements for Moving from Good to Great - AAC #481
Mt. Vernon area
06/20/14
8:00am
Learning to Lead by Applying the Five Levels of Leadership - AAC #1360
Galesburg area
06/23/14
8:00am
Leadership Requirements for Moving from Good to Great - AAC #481
07/08/14
8:30am Leadership Series: Critical, High Stakes Conversations
07/10/14
8:00am
07/22/14
8:30am ISDLAF+ School Finance Seminar
Naperville
07/23/14
8:30am ISDLAF+ School Finance Seminar
East Peoria
07/24/14
8:30am ISDLAF+ School Finance Seminar
O'Fallon
07/24/14
9:00am PDC Meeting of the Whole
09/19/14
8:00am ASBO International Annual Meeting & Expo
09/30/14
8:30am ISDLAF+ School Finance Seminar
Naperville
10/01/14
8:30am ISDLAF+ School Finance Seminar
East Peoria
10/02/14
8:30am ISDLAF+ School Finance Seminar
O'Fallon
10/10/14
7:30am
10/20/14
7:30am CPMM Facilities Certification Training & Exam
11/03/14
8:00am 2014 Midwest Facilities Masters Conference
Wisconsin Dells, WI
11/10/14
8:00am CPS Facilities Certification Training & Exam
TBD
11/21/14
8:00am IASB/IASA/IASBO 81st Joint Annual Conference
12/05/14
7:30am Educational Support Professionals Conference
10 |
Geothermal Heating & Cooling: Digging Deeper for Energy Savings
TechCon: Technology and Financial Issues for the 21st Century
UPDATE Magazine / Summer 2014
Bourbonnais area Naperville
Amy McPartlin, Materials & Services Management
BOARD & EXTERNAL RELATIONS MEMBERS Nelson Gray, President-Elect Kurt J. Hintz, SAAC Chair
AT-LARGE MEMBERS Sandra Kwasa, Illinois Association of School Boards Phyllis A. Hanna, Glen Ellyn SD 41
John A. Gibson, Homewood SD 153 Susan L. Harkin, Comm. Unit Sch. Dist. 300 Eric Miller, Skokie SD 69
STAFF MEMBERS Michael Jacoby, Executive Director
(815) 753-9366, mjacoby@iasbo.org Susan P. Bertrand, Assistant Executive Director (815) 753-9368, sbertrand@iasbo.org Angie Byers, Communications Coordinator (815) 753-.9371, abyers@iasbo.org Rebekah L. Weidner, Staff Writer/Editor (815) 753-9270, rweidner@iasbo.org Brett M. Olson, Designer (815) 753-7654, bolson@iasbo.org Tammy A. Curry, Designer (815) 753-9393, tcurry@iasbo.org
Illinois ASBO Board of Directors Hillarie J. Siena, President
Nelson W. Gray, President-Elect Susan L. Harkin, Treasurer
Mark E. Staehlin, Immediate Past President
Prospect Heights
2011–14 Board of Directors
David Bein, Jennifer J. Hermes, Glayn C. Worrell 2012–15 Board of Directors
Naperville Kissimmee, FL
Naperville TBD
Chicago Naperville
David H. Hill, Luann T. Kolstad, Ann C. Williams 2013–16 Board of Directors
Dean L. Gerdes, Cathy L. Johnson, Lyndl A. Schuster
Illinois ASBO Board Liaisons Kurt Hintz, Service Associate
Advisory Committee Chair Michael A. McTaggart, Service Associate Advisory Committee Vice Chair Terrie S. Simmons, ASBO International Liaison Debby I. Vespa, ISBE Board Liaison Laurel DiPrima, IASB Board Liaison
Privacy Policy
All materials contained within this publication are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, displayed or published without the prior written permission of the Illinois Association of School Business Officials. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. References, authorship or information provided by parties other than that which is owned by the Illinois Association of School Business Officials are offered as a service to readers. The editorial staff of the Illinois Association of School Business Officials was not involved in their production and is not responsible for their content.
PERSPECTIVE / SAAC Chair
FROM–THE–FIELD
Building Relationships Outside the Office The Conference has ended, but that doesn’t mean that you’re done for the year. It is important as a Service Associate to stay in touch and in tune with the happenings of Illinois ASBO and its members. There are many opportunities to continue to further relationships that may have been started at the Annual Conference. SIMPLY SAYING
Kurt J. Hintz BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER PERFORMANCE SERVICES, INC.
It is important as a Service Associate to stay in touch and in tune with the happenings of Illinois ASBO and its members. There are Regional Organization meetings that sometimes allow Service Associates to join and possibly even present to the groups. Check the Upcoming Events page on the Illinois ASBO Web site for details and dates when Services Associates are welcome. Professional Development Committees (PDCs) are a great opportunity to stay involved, learn from your peers and most importantly stay in touch with members outside of the office setting. If you’ve ever had the desire to present, the first step is joining a PDC. Contact Illinois ASBO staff or any PDC Chair to learn more about them and find a great fit for your skills. There are other conferences throughout the year where members will be and, on a case-by-case basis, may be a great opportunity to strengthen relationships outside of the office. ASBO International is in Orlando this year
in September and Illinois continues to have the largest presence of any state. The Midwest Facility Masters Conference and the “Triple I” Conference are both great conferences in November. All three of these Conferences offer one thing that is vital to relationship building with the membership that you can’t achieve inside the office or with a phone call or e-mail — face to face communication in a more relaxed environment. I guarantee that if you asked the members what they prefer, the majority would agree it is extremely hard to build a substantial relationship in a 30 minute office meeting and would much rather talk in a social setting. These tips have helped me for over ten years in the IL K-12 market and can help you grow your business as well.
www.iasbo.org
| 11
CONTRIBUTORS
Kenya Austin
Megan Clarke
Walter Doughty
Business Manager Country Club Hills, SD 160
Asst. Supt./Pupil Services North Chicago CUSD 187
Mgr./Child Nutrition & Transportation Waukegan CUSD 60
After over ten years in corporate, Kenya moved to education as a district accountant. Prior to her current position, she worked six years as an ISBE Regional Financial Consultant providing technical and financial assistance to more than 217 districts. She will complete her Masters in Ed. Admin./CSBO from NIU this year. kenya.austin@cch160.org
Earned her Masters in Special Education Administration and Director of Special Education endorsement from National Louis University. She has extensive experience in developing programs, curriculum adoptions, compliance and early childhood programming. Megan is currently working toward her doctorate at NIU. mclarke@d187.org
Has worked in pupil transportation for 28 years and served in an administrative operations role for the past 18 years including creating efficiencies, teaching the community and promoting safety. Works to provide cost effective options to further the district’s fiscal ability to best support the use of tax dollars. wdoughty@wps60.org
Nelson W. Gray
Elizabeth M. Hennessy
Clare R. Keating
Asst. Supt./Business Services Des Plaines CCSD 62
Managing Director William Blair & Company, LLC
V.P./Marketing Preferred Meals
Started in education after 15 years providing environmental services to school districts. Hired as a Director of Facilities and Transportation in 2001, he has since earned his Masters Degree/ CSBO and worked up to his current role. Nelson serves on the Illinois ASBO Board of Directors. grayn@d62.org
Has worked with Illinois school districts on bond issues and bond ratings for more than 24 years. Based in Chicago, William Blair works with 19 of the 23 Illinois school districts currently rated by S&P and 13 of the 20 districts rated by Moody’s. ehennessy@williamblair.com
Prior to her current position, Clare was a program auditor for federal meal programs at the Illinois State Board of Education. She has also received the designation of School Foodservice Specialist from the School Nutrition Association and is certified in Illinois to teach the Foodservice Sanitation Manager’s Course. ckeating@preferredmeals.com
12 |
UPDATE Magazine / Summer 2014
Elvira Michalek
Ronald R. O’Connor
Joseph J. Perkoski
Director Quest Food Management Services, Inc.
Dir./Finance North Chicago CUSD 187
Partner Robbins, Schwartz, Nicholas, Lifton & Taylor, Ltd.
Works as a food service consultant with Quest and is on current assignment at J. Sterling Morton High School District 201. She has extensive knowledge and experience working with school food programs and navigating through the regulations for USDA food programs. jizzo@sragahauser.com
A member of the Principles of School Finance Illinois ASBO Professional Development Committee, Ron has performed a multitude of tasks in the education arena, such as writing curriculum, policy and implementing finance/operations initiatives. roconnor@d187.org
Focuses on labor and employment law, representing both public and private employers in collective bargaining, contract maintenance and grievance arbitration matters. Joe has litigated civil rights and discrimination cases as well as unfair labor practice charges. jperkoski@robbins-schwartz.com
Would you like to be an UPDATE Contributor?
Contributions to the UPDATE are solicited to enhance the content of the Magazine. If you have an issue you feel needs to be brought to the forefront, present your ideas to Angie Byers at abyers@iasbo.org.
Michael J. Prombo
Hillarie J. Siena
Asst. Supt./Business Services North Chicago CUSD 187
Asst. Supt./Business Affairs Glenbrook HSD 225
After a 25-year corporate career, Mike moved into education administration after receiving his CSBO at NIU. At North Chicago, he has helped the district implement changes as directed by the state-appointed Independent Authority and Financial Oversight Panel. He is working towards his doctorate degree from Aurora University. mprombo@d187.org
Earned her Education Specialist in Educational Administration and Masters in School Business Management from NIU and has completed her doctoral coursework in Educational Administration. Hillarie is a member of several professional organizations and currently sits on the Illinois ASBO Board of Directors. hsiena@glenbrook225.org
Issues are themed so your contribution may not appear for some time, or we may choose to distribute it in some other format. The issue themes that we will be soliciting articles for next year include: • Non-Traditional Programs • Legal Issues • Technology We look forward to seeing new faces on this page as we continue to make the UPDATE an indispensable resource for school business management. www.iasbo.org
| 13
A Healthy Challenge The Evolving Face of School Lunch
N
ew USDA National School Lunch Program (NSLP) guidelines continue to be met with apprehension as many school districts correlate the menu requirements as a direct cause and effect to decreased student participation. According to the USDA, 80% of school districts in the program are now certified and are receiving the additional 6 cents per meal reimbursement. Even so, many school districts are concerned reimbursements will not offset the increased expense of producing meals. According to the USDA, 95% of public schools are in the NSLP and, on a national average, very few schools have dropped out of the program to date. The new ala carte standards that take effect July, 2014 are likely to decrease ala carte revenue significantly. With these changes, a move to no trans fats and lower sodium levels going into effect, it is a possibility that some schools – especially at the high school level may decide to branch out on their own. Meanwhile, the challenge to those operating the NSLP programs continues to escalate in terms of how to remain accountable and cover costs for guidelines that require more specialized work.
Changing Guidelines and Menus Attributes
2005 Guidelines
2010 Guidelines — Rolling
Menu Planning
Nutrient or food based
Food based; age/grade appropriate
Fruit & Vegetable
Combined food components with minimal serving requirements
Separated; fruit juice limit; 5 vegetable subgroups offered weekly
Grains
No whole grain provision
Whole grain rich + daily minimum
Sodium Restrictions
None
Intermediate gradual reductions
Meat or Protein Alternative
2 oz. with CN labeling requirements for Same; limits on counting legumes processed foods as protein when also offered as a vegetable on menu day
Fats
<30% overall and <10% saturated
Zero trans fats and <10% saturated
Milk
Fat free flavored; fat free or low fat plain; must offer two varieties
No change
Calorie Restrictions
Required for nutrient standard or five year audit compliance of food based
Food based; age/grade appropriate meal plan three-year audit cycle
Competitive foods sold in schools including a la carte offerings during lunch
Limited regulations based on age/grade
New “Smart Snacks in School” for 2014-2015 includes restrictions for all foods sold during the school day
14 |
UPDATE Magazine / Summer 2014
FROM–THE–DISTRICT
By Elvira Michalek
DIRECTOR QUEST FOOD MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC.
Key Challenges and Solutions The School Nutrition Association’s 2013 Back to School Trend Report identified several key challenges that school food departments are facing with the new regulations. Considering their list, here are some workable solutions.
Challenge
Workable Solutions
Acceptance of menu changes and maintaining student participation.
• Food has to look and taste good. • Less reliance on processed foods that kick up sodium levels. • Fruits and vegetables can become a focus on freshness and variety.
Developing a mix of menus and finding products that meet the requirements.
• Develop a menu mix and offer a variety of daily entrée choices to find what kids like. • Work with food brokers to learn about manufacturer’s reformulations – especially as it relates to packaging and reduced portion sizes. • Accept that not everything can be made from scratch so work to keep a clean order guide.
Managing increased program costs and food waste.
• Pre-cost meals and work with acceptability factors to determine production levels. • Get the best bid pricing available from food purveyors. • Develop a plan to replace old kitchen equipment to improve labor efficiency.
Staff training and professional development.
• Recruit and hire the best people you can find. When you raise the bar, it sets a good example for longterm employees who may struggle with change. • Set standards and train to achieve them with predetermined expectations.
Partnerships with chef and farm to school programs can help make the switch from “heat and serve” programs to real food in the cafeteria. A Culture Shift Setting limits on what students may eat is a bold move and new healthy meal standards are creating a cultural shift in the way we all view food. By exposing children to a wider variety of healthier food choices at school cafeterias and incorporating nutrition education, children are learning to develop better discernment and habits that promote healthier lifestyles.
www.iasbo.org
| 15
STATUTE VS. REALITY IN SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION FUNDING The state funding of regular transportation has become an unbelievable dilemma for school districts all over the state. A large percentage of districts in the state are legally required by statute to provide free bus service to students who live 1.5 miles or more from the school. Yet, funding for transportation has continued to decrease. Taking a closer look at statute requirements of school districts, the breakdown of year-to-year proration effects on school districts and the future of transportation in the coming school year will help shed further light on the issue.
STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS Illinois School Code Language on Transportation
Elementary
(105 ILCS 5/29-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 29-1) Sec. 29-1. Free transportation of pupils. School boards may provide free transportation for pupils, as prescribed in Section 10-22.22.(Source: Laws 1961, p. 31.)
(105 ILCS 5/29-3) (from Ch. 122, par. 29-3) Sec. 29-3. Transportation in school districts. School boards of community consolidated districts, community unit districts, consolidated districts, consolidated high school districts, optional elementary unit districts, combined high school unit districts, combined school districts if the combined district includes any district which was previously required to provide transportation and any newly created elementary or high school districts resulting from a high school unit conversion, a unit to dual conversion, or a multi unit conversion if the newly created district includes any area that was previously required to provide transportation shall provide free transportation for pupils residing at a distance of one and one half miles or more from any school to which they are assigned for attendance maintained within the district, except for those pupils for whom the school board shall certify to the State Board of Education that adequate transportation for the public is available.
0
02 - Common - Other
237
03 - Consolidated
16
04 - Community Consolidated
122
05 - Charter
2 Total
377
High School
School District Type
(105 ILCS 5/29-2) (from Ch. 122, par. 29-2) Sec. 29-2. Transportation of pupils less than one and one half miles from school. School boards may provide transportation for pupils living less than one and one half miles as measured by the customary route of travel from the school attended and may make a charge for such transportation in an amount of not to exceed the cost thereof, which shall include a reasonable allowance for depreciation of the vehicles so used. (Source: Laws 1961, p. 31.)
01 - Common - Teacher
13 - Consolidated
5
15 - Charter
1
16 - Community
47
17 - Township
46
18 - Protectorate
0
19 - Non-high
1 Total
100
Unit Districts 22 - Old Type
22
24 - Community Consolidated
5
25 - Charter
10
26 - Community Unit
350
27 - Hybrid
1 Total
FY 2011-12 Counts (in the state)
(105 ILCS 5/Art. 29 heading) ARTICLE 29. TRANSPORTATION
388
Other 30 - IL Dept. of Juvenile Justice
1
80 - U of I and ISU Lab Schools
2
90 - State Charter Schools
2 Total
5
TOTAL 870 16 |
UPDATE Magazine / Summer 2014
Not Required
371
Required
499
Schools required and not required to provide transportation outside the mile and a half radius (Summarized from School Code requirements)
By Kenya Austin
FROM–THE–TABLE
BUSINESS MANAGER COUNTRY CLUB HILLS SD 160
A RECENT HISTORY OF TRANSPORTATION FUNDING The proration of transportation over the past few years has caused havoc to school district fund balances. The chart below shows the historical funding loss to districts all over the state. TRANSPORTATION APPROPRIATION HISTORY
FY11
FY12
FY13
FY14
FY15 Proposed
Appropriation
$277,533,300
$205,808,900
$205,808,900
$205,808,900
$236,193,500
Change From Prior Year
($138,566,700)
($71,724,400)
0
0
$30,384,600
Yearly Claim
$328,898.50
$324,383.20
$312,746.50
$321,832.30
$331,165.44
Yearly Proration
74%
77%
76%
74%
80%
*Assumption that claim costs increase 2.9% for FY15 which is consistent with the FY14 increase Transportation reimbursement claims are based on the prior year’s cost. They are calculated based on the district’s able cost and the computed minimum local taxes, which determine the district’s General State Aid assessed valuation and the qualifier assigned to each district type. The flat funding claim is $16 times the number of eligible students transported. The maximum reimbursement for transporting vocational students is 80% of the allowable cost. By law, payments are to be vouchered in quarterly installments throughout the school year. The following is the actual claim data transmitted by school districts, excluding Chicago SD 299, which receives 3.9% of the appropriation through the Chicago Block Grant. FY13 TRANSPORTATION REIMBURSEMENT/ DISTRIBUTION METHOD
Salaries/Benefits
FY14
$157,395,321
$161,255,200
$28,330,328
$22,868,510
$229,269,772
$236,295,228
Payments to Other Districts
$9,712,744
$9,757,290
Payments to Transit Carriers
$1,285,219
$1,255,887
$51,180,258
$53,219,205
$1,947,691
$1,647,627
Purchased Services Contractual Transportation Service
Supplies Other Expenses Building & Maintenance (Education Fund)
$683,177
$533,910
$3,397,088
$3,915,010
Depreciation
$41,414,088
$40,238,663
Indirect Cost (Reimbursable)
$13,515,007
$13,543,129
($15,833,372)
($14,700,104)
$522,297,321
$529,829,555
Building & Maintenance (O&M Fund)
Offsetting Revenue Totals
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FROM–THE–TABLE / Transportation Funding
TRANSPORTATION POPULATION AND SERVICE LEVELS
FY13
FY14
Total Claim Amount
$320,773,006
$329,858,820
Chicago Dist. 299
$8,026,500
$8,026,500
Downstate
$312,746,506
$321,832,320
Actual Percent Paid
76%
74%
Avg. # of Regular Students Transported Over 1.5 Miles
911,092
866,763
Avg. # of Regular Students Transported-Hazardous Conditions
177,748
177,969
1,088,840
1,046,732
16,637
16,161
Total Eligible Pupils Transported Vocational Ed. Students Transported
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE The proposed budget presented in the State Superintendent’s January, 2014 Board meeting packet made it clear that the State Board of Education understood that school districts are dealing with increasing transportation costs at the same time they are dealing with declining local revenue and state reimbursement. The proposed increase of a $30.4 million in the Regular/Vocational Transportation Appropriation is roughly a 6% increase for the FY15 school year. There have been several discussions of rewriting the formula that determines how much state transportation dollars districts receive. It’s still a touchy conversation, but school districts around the state are already considering how to fund transportation with fewer state dollars coming in: perhaps eliminating busing all together, or charging fees to students riding the bus. If necessary, they could eventually tap into funds from other parts of their budgets.
STATUTE VS. REALITY As stated more than two decades ago by the Metropolitan Planning Council, “Quality education for Illinois children is in everyone’s best interest. Quality education is central to our state’s future economic success. Quality education is the foundation of strong communities.” The Legislature has required both State appropriations and school budget decision makers to prioritize school outcomes and merit in their decisions: Section 15 ILCS 20/50-25 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes requires that the Governor and each constitutional officer of the executive branch in consultation with the appropriation committees of the General Assembly prioritize outcomes that are most important for each State agency to achieve for the next fiscal year and set goals to accomplish those outcomes according to the priority of the outcome. P.A. 96-1529, which was signed into law on February 16, 2011 further refined the requirements for what has become known as the Budgeting for Results (BFR) initiative. This Act required that, beginning with budgets prepared for Fiscal Year 2013, staff must adhere to a method of budgeting where each priority must be justified each year according to merit rather than according to the amount appropriated for the preceding year. What the statute dictates sounds good in theory. However, the reality is that decreases in funding of regular transportation hinder the initiative to demonstrate continuous educational improvement, which in turn affects the quality of education and opportunities for growth and learning for Illinois students.
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*All data in this article is taken from the Illinois State Board of Education.
PERSPECTIVE / On the Profession
SCHOOL BUSINESS 101 What shared services are you utilizing within your district? Greg Brown
ASST. SUPT./CFO, BELVIDERE CUSD 100
Have a question or issue that needs to be addressed by School Business 101? Submit your ideas or questions to Rebekah Weidner at rweidner@iasbo.org
A: We share Property Tax Appeals Board costs and have formed a co-op with several other local governmental agencies for some insurance benefits (life insurance, etc.). Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re also looking at the possibility of going together for big ticket items like fuel and salt with the City and County. We work with surrounding districts on some out-of-district transportation.
Mary Werling
ASST. SUPT./BUSINESS, GLENVIEW CCSD 34
A: Last spring, five neighboring districts collaborated to issue a joint RFP for copiers. As a group, we found we had significant purchasing power given the number of devices to be replaced as a shared services group. The outcome of this initiative was cost savings for all of our districts. William Harkin
ASSOC. SUPT./BUSINESS SERVICES, WAUCONDA CUSD 118
A: Besides participation in the medical and property/casualty cooperatives, Wauconda CUSD 118 created a fuel depot for its transportation department that is shared with other village entities. The fire and police departments fuel up at our location on a regular basis which also offers additional protection of our buses when the police department fuels up after hours! Want to add to the discussion? Add your response in the Hot Topics Group within the peer2peer Network. Then, watch for the next School Business 101 discussion for a chance to be featured in the UPDATE Magazine.
Chris Grinis
ADMIN. ASST./BUSINESS SERVICES, NORTHBROOK ELEM. SD 27
A: We work with the other Northbrook districts â&#x20AC;&#x201D; each district takes a service and works on that bid to get better pricing. For example, for transportation one district collects the information from everyone, compiles it and puts out to bid. We have also utilized this technique for milk and paper. This is a win for everyone; the vendor gets more business and there is less paperwork for the individual school districts.
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Wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t
YOU
Be My
Neighbor? Intergovernmental agreements offer local governments the ability to engage in a wide array of cooperative efforts with each other, state agencies and other governmental entities by joining together and pooling scarce resources.
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UPDATE Magazine / Summer 2014
POINT OF VIEW
By Elizabeth M. Hennessy MANAGING DIRECTOR WILLIAM BLAIR & COMPANY, LLC
Ronald R. O’Connor
DIR./FINANCE NORTH CHICAGO CUSD 187
Michael J. Prombo
ASST. SUPT./BUSINESS SERVICES NORTH CHICAGO CUSD 187
Pooling Resources for School Success An intergovernmental agreement (IGA) is entered into by two or more public agencies and agreed to by their governing bodies. This is accomplished through the use of a direct contract or agreement, contract for services or jointly exercising any powers common to the contracting parties that enter into an agreement with one another for joint or cooperative action. Entities that are eligible for participation in such agreements include local governments, special/multipurpose districts, school districts, state or federal governments and any of their agencies or subdivisions. By definition an IGA cannot be formed between a public agency, such as a school district and a non-public agency, such as a non-profit organization. Advantages • An intergovernmental agreement allows the local entities great flexibility in establishing joint services and programs. • The agreements are negotiated at a local level that can fit the specific local needs of the community. • Communities can safeguard local control since the agreements are locally negotiated. • Intergovernmental cooperation is a good way to address natural resource protection due to the fact that natural features are often located across governmental boundaries. Disadvantage • Local units may perceive a loss of control or autonomy as they cede some control over to another governmental agency. Even if all contracting parties are public agencies, an intergovernmental agreement can only be used when each of the agencies has the power to perform the services or action contemplated in the contract pursuant
to which they agree to allocate responsibilities between them. Once the capacity for joint exercise of powers has been established, the public agencies may jointly exercise those powers or contract to have one party perform the powers that are in common. The intergovernmental agreement statutory provisions are cumulative and supplemental and do not authorize any public agency to exercise any power or engage in any business or enterprise that such public agency is not authorized to exercise or engage in pursuant to other provisions of law.
Minimum Requirements of an IGA 1. Duration of the IGA. 2. Purpose(s) of the IGA. 3. The manner in which financing the joint or cooperative program will be accomplished. 4. Establishing and maintaining a budget. 5. The ability to completely or partially terminate the agreement, including disposal of any property that might be purchased or created through the agreement. 6. Establishment of policies and procedures relating to labor, supervision, equipment and payments among the governmental agencies. 7. Provisions in the agreement that the parties agree to comply with all applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations regarding equal opportunity and nondiscrimination. 8. Verbiage to ensure that in the event of a dispute under the agreement, the parties agree to use arbitration to the extent required under local courts. 9. Submission of the agreement to your lawyer for review to determine whether the agreement is in proper form and within the powers and authority granted to the school district.
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Looking Locally There are many examples of IGAs that have been incredibly successful for districts. Try one of the following in your district: • Leverage pricing on some bids. Coordinating with neighbors to purchase items or services in greater bulk may lead to cheaper prices. • Set up an agreement to share facilities. Facilities can be used for recreational, educational or social purposes. If equipment is used by a particular entity, it has to be maintained. Be sure to decide which entity has priority over others in the event that multiple groups want to use the facility. • Split attorney costs. When it comes to Property Tax Appeals Boards (PTABs), municipalities may want to cooperate. Attorney costs can add up quickly, especially with the challenges to property taxes. • Participate in insurance cooperatives for health and property/casualty coverage. This creates the opportunity to minimize insurance costs.
• Collaborate on student education. If kindergarten is a half-day, think about working with the park district in creating a ‘full day’ event. Discuss any staff or facility concerns. It would be an opportunity to create a unique experience and form an opportunity for all. • Work with your village in installing a fiber optic network. The village is the owner of certain real property located within municipal boundaries, known as village right of way. Work with the village in the operations and maintenance of a fiber optic telecommunications network on their grounds. • Look to outsource busing in tandem. If times are staggered compared to another district’s, there is an opportunity to share a vendor. • Provide food service to another district. This can occur if districts have the capacity to provide food through a kitchen.
Where it starts Start working now on having an excellent relationship with other municipalities. In the long run, this may improve the opportunity to work together, bringing the end result of the best quality for students. Communicate with each other when it comes to using amenities. Be flexible to each other’s needs, taking scheduling, transportation and responsibilities into account. Both entities succeed when there is a strong partnership.
Start working now on having an excellent relationship with other municipalities. In the long run, this may improve the opportunity to work together, bringing the end result of the best quality for students. 22 |
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POINT OF VIEW / Intergovernmental Agreements
Investing in Your Neighbors: A Case Study For years, large issuers have invested in taxable municipal bonds as a vehicle that provides higher returns than treasury bonds, agencies or CDs. The large issuers typically purchase these bonds on the secondary market. Illinois school districts issue short-term debt from time to time for either operating or capital purposes. Given these facts, it makes sense that Illinois school districts would loan money to each other. The investing district can access a higher rate of return from a school district bond versus other investment instruments. The issuing district cuts the costs of issuing debt by over 50%. It is a win/win situation for both the borrower and the investor. This came to the forefront in 2010 when Lemont HSD 210 loaned funds to Lemont-Bromberek Combined School District 113A. District 113A was experiencing financial difficulty and was unable to access the bond market for second year Tax Anticipation Warrants (TAWs) were needed for short term cash flow. Joe Murphy, Business Manager of Lemont HSD 210 at the time, said “I felt like the big brother watching his little brother in need, continuing to try to borrow money from mom and dad but being told “no,” when we (District 210) had the funds to loan them the money.” This led to the superintendent, local counsel and eventually the board of education investigating the option of having District 210 purchase the TAWs of District 113A. District 210 had enough reserves in its fund balance to make the loan but had to make sure its investment policy allowed the purchase of TAWs. The investment policy was amended by citing the Investment of Municipal Funds Act (50 ILCS 340/1) which allows municipalities to purchase other municipal debt including Tax Anticipation Warrants, which typically do not have a bond rating. District 210 was then able to proceed with the loan and since then has completed two more TAW transactions.
Considerations for Intergovernmental Borrowing Type of Municipal Debt Taxable Whether purchasing a TAW or a general obligation bond, it is important to know the security behind the debt. A TAW is a loan against the next property tax extension with a set due date. TAWs cannot be issued for greater than 13 months. Because of their short term nature and guaranteed repayment from the tax levy, most investing districts feel secure about the credit. However, the reason a district borrows TAWs is because their cash balances are inadequate to fund monthly cash needs which can be a sign of financial distress. An additional security for TAWs may be a tax-intercept whereby the taxes are collected directly from the county clerk, as opposed to being paid by the district. The investing district is considered to be a “sophisticated investor” because of the business official’s expertise. As with any investment, it is important to review the audited financial statements of the district prior to purchasing the debt.
Investment Policy
The Illinois Public Funds Investment Act allows the purchase of municipal bonds as long as they are in the top three rating categories: “AAA, AA and A” and is generally cited in most districts’ investment policies. It is important that the Municipal Funds Investment Act is cited in the purchasing district’s investment policy as well to allow the purchase of municipal debt including TAWs. The Municipal Funds Investment Act does not require the debt to have a bond rating.
The municipal bonds should be taxable and not tax-exempt for the simple reason that a governmental entity does not pay income taxes. Governmental purchasers of municipal debt should avail themselves of the higher interest rates from taxable debt.
Costs of Issuance
Costs of issuance are lower when issuing taxable bonds, because bond counsel does not have to complete all the various tests required to determine tax-exemption. Savings on bond counsel fees, underwriting fees, rating agency fees and expense related to the disclosure documents are all saved for the issuing district.
How the Interest Rate is Determined
In order to provide a fair return, comparable pricing analysis should be performed by a financial expert such as a financial advisor or placement agent. Considering the issuing district’s underlying bond rating and credit quality, interest rate comparisons can be made with similarly rated districts issuing taxable bonds in the same maturity schedule. In this way, both the issuing and investing district can be assured they are receiving a market rate. Over the last several years, many school districts have sold bonds to other school districts. The results are a higher investment return for the investing district and less costs for the issuing district. This is truly a win/win proposition and demonstrates the way Illinois school districts are being creative to help each other.
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Directing Efficient S C H O O L BUSINESS OFFICIAL
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COVER STORY
By Hillarie J. Siena
ASST. SUPT./BUSINESS AFFAIRS GLENBROOK HSD 225
Nelson W. Gray
ASST. SUPT./BUSINESS SERVICES DES PLAINES CCSD 62
School Operations Through Shared Services
Over the past few years, â&#x20AC;&#x153;doing more with lessâ&#x20AC;? has become a common mantra for school districts. Directing school operations becomes a challenge with so many moving parts: continuous reductions in funding, ongoing low trending of the Consumer Price Index and constantly rising operating costs. School administrators have become creative problem solvers in order to minimize the fiscal impact upon student programs and services. Faced with this daunting challenge to operate as efficient organizations, school districts continually explore opportunities to identify and develop shared services with other entities to help effectively reduce costs and manage resources.
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BEHIND THE SCENES The concept of shared services is nothing new, but the interest and need among school districts continues to grow.1 Some typical shared services models currently utilized by school districts involve the establishment of intergovernmental agreements with local municipalities for purchases and services or with park districts for use of athletic space in trade for services, such as maintenance of playing fields. Districts also participate in cooperatives for insurance, energy procurement and for the purchase of supplies and materials. However, many districts have been exploring new types of shared services for the purchase of goods and supplies, delivery of ancillary services, providing for alternative student programs and for meeting various staffing needs. Where do opportunities exist for exploration of other shared services models? Many shared services studies have been conducted both large and small, with some likely and unlikely partners. The Illinois School District Realignment and Consolidation Commission, also known as the “Classrooms First Commission,” shifted its initial focus from issues centered on school consolidation to the task of identifying potential educational and operational shared services opportunities.2 Other states have conducted similar studies regarding the development of shared services models and have worked in conjunction with their state school board associations or with other governmental agencies: ✰The ✰ New Jersey Shared Services Association is a non-profit association that proactively promotes increased efficiencies in the delivery of services, while reducing the costs of local government.3 ✰Beyond ✰ Boundaries: A Shared Services Action Plan for Ohio Schools and Governments is a comprehensive study of public policy recommendations, potential collaborations and prospective changes to the overall way of doing business in Ohio’s public sector, including schools.4
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ACT ONE: PURCHASING OF MATERIALS AND SERVICES Although larger studies of shared services models may provide a broad framework for use in the development of statewide purchasing enterprises, many Illinois school districts have recognized the potential for savings through the development of partnerships at a more local level. Beyond the Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS) joint purchasing program,5 statewide master contracts and existing governmental purchasing cooperatives, school districts have begun working together to develop innovative joint purchasing programs with each other. By bidding jointly for goods or services under a master bid or a local cooperative bid, districts have found that by combining their program needs they gain more “purchasing power.” There can be significant benefits for districts working together through shared purchasing agreements. By bidding together, the pricing for a larger volume of materials or services will typically be lower than if these same materials or services were independently bid. The participating districts may likely experience lesser administrative time and reduced operational costs resulting from securing identical materials or services through one joint bid, rather than through several individual bids. A consolidated service base and centralized point of contact also provides for a higher level of customer service and for quicker response times. There are purchasing requirements to be considered under §105 ILCS 5/10-20.21 of the Illinois School Code, for all contracts in excess of $25,000 (unless lower by board policy), for the purchase of supplies, materials and services.6 While districts may enter into a joint bid for materials or services and the board of education for the administrative bidding district approves the bid contract, the participating member districts should also seek individual board approval of the joint contract. It is important to review your respective board purchasing policies to understand any limitations that may exist and enter into a dialog with your board before participating in a joint bid process.
SHARED SERVICES IN PURCHASING INCLUDE: Joint Purchasing Programs Consolidated Bidding Contracted Services Program Expansion Legal Services
COVER STORY / Directing Efficient School Operations
ACT TWO: CONTRACTED SERVICES
While not a new concept, many school districts have demonstrated an increased interest in the shared services model under which districts purchase services directly from other school districts. Although contracts for goods or services procured from another governmental agency are exempt from the requirements under §105 ILCS 5/1020.21, school districts look to contract with other districts for reasons other than relief from the formal bid process or increased purchasing power. Schools understand the needs of other schools and many share the same types of service and program needs. In some cases a school district is able to provide ancillary services to a neighboring district as an expansion of their own existing programs. Examples of the most common types of shared services under this model include food services management, transportation services and technology.
Scene One: Food Services Management
Operating and maintaining school cafeterias is a costly ancillary service, one that many districts can no longer afford to provide. In the area of food services management, some school districts strive for cost containment through negotiating a contract for food service delivery directly from another school district. Through the development of creative and innovative purchased services contracts with neighboring districts, schools can avoid expenses related to operating their own cafeterias or costs of contracting directly with food purveyors. By contracting to receive daily deliveries of prepared food from another school district with the capacity to adequately provide this service, overhead costs relative to food procurement, cafeteria maintenance, upkeep and staffing are abated. The sending district then has the ability to contract separately with their food service provider for some form of commission or rebate from additional sales. This alternate source of revenue helps to offset the sending districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s overall food services costs.
Scene Two: Transportation Services
Perhaps the hardest hit area of ancillary services for Illinois schools with respect to funding is in the field of transportation services. State reimbursement for regular transportation services has been significantly reduced. Special education transportation costs have grown at exponentially alarming rates, with federal and state reimbursements severely delayed or diminished. Costs of operating and maintaining district-owned bus fleets have become unmanageable.
To mitigate these costs, schools have developed and implemented many shared services programs relative to student transportation. Innovative shared services agreements between school districts have resulted in new and creative ways to achieve the common goal of safely and efficiently transporting students to and from school. Some types of shared services agreements for student transportation involve pooling districts located within specified geographic areas. Other agreements designate centralized pickup and drop-off sites at various locations within the school community or stagger school start times to utilize buses in tandem routing. In the area of special education transportation, many districts have developed joint bids for shuttle bus, specialized vehicle and/or taxi services. This collaborative effort of multi-district bidding within a narrow field of service providers has resulted in significant cost savings for the participating districts. Many school districts have also explored joint bidding for transportation services through their special education cooperatives, affording them the opportunity to achieve maximum operational efficiencies through economies of scale. To address transportation issues related to extra-curricular athletics and activities, many school districts have designed cooperative lease agreements for small activity buses, either utilizing their own staff as authorized drivers or collectively negotiating standard hourly rates with local school bus companies for contracted drivers. Other types of local lending arrangements have been created, with one school district renting or leasing activity buses from another. Another area of operational services that falls under the broad umbrella of transportation is related to vehicles that are not used for student transportation, but rather are used within the domains of curriculum and facilities. Vehicles used for curricular programs such as driver education or for facility needs such as grounds maintenance, can be extremely costly to own and maintain. Cost containment issues relative to this area of fleet management parallel those associated with busing. Creative shared services agreements, whether they involve pooled fuel purchasing, joint purchasing/leasing of vehicles or collective bids for contract labor, can provide substantial relief from onerous overhead costs.
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Scene Three: Technology
A discussion of technology within the realm of shared services is critically important for a number of reasons. Recent research reveals that 10 of the top 30 shared services opportunities being pursued by schools and local governments fall within the category of information technology.7 Microsoft estimates that the purchase and maintenance of servers and storage devices represent 45 percent of all datacenter costs, excluding labor costs associated with staffing.8 School districts are investing significant amounts of budgetary funds into technology-focused curriculum and instructional support. Popular initiatives such as 1:1 computing or BYOD (bring your own device) have taken center stage over established educational delivery methods utilizing standard textbooks and designated teaching space such as computer labs. Mobile devices have created a demand for greater capacity relative to network storage and Internet bandwidth. Innovative thinking within the world of technology is inherent. Technogeeks9 continuously come up with creative ways to do more. School administrators are charged with the formidable task of fitting this trend into the shared services model of doing more with less. The importance of partnerships here is evident. Shared services that bridge the gap between grounded reality and cloud computing are not only desirable, but necessary.
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Some existing models of shared services in technology involve school-to-school server and network support. Larger schools with greater hardware capacity can provide operational support for schools that lack sufficient resources and space to adequately provide for selfsupport. Other models include joint purchase or lease agreements for student and/or staff devices. Economies of scale opportunities abound within this structure and are conducive to successful negotiations with technology vendors. Emerging technologies necessitate the creation of shared services models related to Internet access bandwidth and fiber networks. Through the development of intergovernmental agreements between local school districts in partnership with other local units of government (e.g. municipalities, libraries, park districts), wholesale pricing can be secured and benefits realized from sharing low cost/high capacity networks.
Shared school district provided services include: ✰Food ✰ Services ✰Purchasing ✰ Services ✰Management ✰ Services ✰Assistive ✰ Technology Specials ✰Transportation ✰ Contracts
✰Certified ✰ School Nurse ✰Occupational ✰ Therapies ✰Vision ✰ Specials
School d other di istricts look to relief frostricts for reaso contract with increase m the formal bns other than underst d purchasing p id process or schools and the nee ower. Schools types of and many sh ds of other a service and pro re the same gram ne e ds .
COVER STORY / Directing Efficient School Operations
ACT THREE: STAFFING There has been a growing trend for districts to share staff to achieve efficiencies in areas such as central office support or for hard-to-fill positions. Some shared staffing models provide central office support to contiguous districts or to feeder elementary districts, with delivery of these services mirroring a unit district structure.
In the case of hard-to-fill positions, the administrative district hires a full time staff position and assigns a portion of the staff member’s time to another district. These hard to find and fill positions are commonly associated with meeting the individual needs of special education students or for unique curricular offerings in areas such as foreign language or vocational education. While this type of shared service involves additional planning and execution, both districts benefit from maintaining stability and continuity of service delivery.
SHARING THE SPOTLIGHT: OTHER LOCAL GOVERNMENTS School districts are not the only governmental entities challenged to do more with less. Other governmental agencies within your district are funded from the same tax base and may be looking for effective cost saving options, thereby serving as potential partners. Initiate dialogue with your municipalities, park districts, libraries and senior centers to explore opportunities for shared services and discover the benefits derived from combining best practices, increasing capacity, attaining greater leveragability and tapping knowledge capital.10 CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING SHARED SERVICES: ✰✰ Internet services municipality-wide in partnership with the city/village, library and school district. ✰✰ Joint e-book purchases with libraries. ✰✰ Park district provided afterschool student programs.
FOOTNOTES: 1. http://www.njsba.org/news/research/shared-services.php 2. http://www.iasb.com/bulletin/nb0212.cfm#a5 3. http://www.njsharedservices.org/ 4. http://www.beyondboundaries.ohio.gov/index.aspx 5. http://www2.illinois.gov/cms/localgov/jpp/Pages/Default.aspx 6. http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=010500050K10-20.21 7. http://www.beyondboundaries.ohio.gov/documents/BeyondBoundaries-6.14.12released.pdf 8. http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/dmaltz/papers/dc-costs-ccr-editorial.pdf 9. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Technogeek 10. http://www.njslom.org/interlocal/THE%20PROS%20AND%20CONS%20OF%20SHARING%20SERVICES_v4.pdf
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Subcontracting Revisited In our seventh year under the Subcontracting Act’s strict limitations, school districts and vendors are finding creative solutions that keep subcontracting as a viable route to tackling their financial woes.
S
ince coming on the scene in 2007, the Subcontracting Act has had the desired chilling effect on a district’s ability to subcontract services previously performed by district employees including food service and transportation. With the implementation of Section 10-22.34c of the Illinois School Code (the “Act”), a school district’s right to subcontract non-instructional services to a third-party vendor, including another school district, was limited primarily by the requirements that a district select a vendor which provided a compensation package to its employees that was substantially similar to what had been paid to the employees who would be displaced by the subcontracting. This challenge requires the vendor to increase the cost of the subcontracted services to the district – thereby undermining the cost savings to the district. While the Act imposes significant hurdles to a district seeking to subcontract services, with some creative thinking the avenue of subcontracting can continue to be a viable route. 30 |
UPDATE Magazine / Summer 2014
ARTICLE
By Joseph J. Perkoski
PARTNER ROBBINS, SCHWARTZ, NICHOLAS, LIFTON & TAYLOR, LTD.
Re-Examining the Act First, it is important to remember that the Act only applies in situations where a district is seeking to subcontract services currently being performed by non-instructional staff, regardless of whether the employee is in a union. While the Act requires a district and the prospective vendor to clear a number of hurdles, many vendors are willing to overcome such barriers in order to secure relationships with school districts. The burden is to a large degree on the vendor to be creative. The following requirements of the Act place a burden namely on the vendor: 1. They are required to provide evidence of liability insurance in scope and amount equivalent to the liability insurance provided by the district. 2. They must provide in their bid a benefits package for the third party’s employees who will perform the services that is comparable to the benefits package provided to the district employees who currently perform the services. 3. They must list the number of employees who will provide the services, the classification of these employees and the wages they will pay these employees. 4. In their bid, they need to provide a minimum three-year cost projection, using generally accepted accounting principles, and if the district accepts the bid, the vendor cannot increase it. 5. They must provide composite information about the criminal and disciplinary records of the employees who may provide the services and the vendor must have a notarized affidavit from the president or chief executive officer of their organization that certifies that its employees have completed a criminal background check pursuant to 10-21.9 of the School Code within three months prior to the submission of the bid.
While this list may seem daunting, the biggest of these challenges is to provide a comparable benefits package, while still achieving savings for the district. It is crucial for districts to be able to show a cost-savings by subcontracting because otherwise districts generally cannot implement a proposal to subcontract over union objection in a bargaining scenario. Further complicating this situation is the Act’s requirement that before entering any contract school districts must prepare a cost comparison, utilizing generally accepted accounting principles, that details how much the district would spend if they continued to provide the service versus how much it would cost the vendor to provide the service. Challenge: Comparable Benefits Package Requirement A narrow interpretation of the Act is that vendors need only to provide a comparable “benefits package.” Significantly, the Act uses the phrase “benefits package” rather than the phrase “compensation package” which is normally interpreted to have a broader meaning and would cover both salary and benefits. As such, in submitting bids the vendor only has to match the non-salary benefits provided to the current employees in the collective bargaining agreement or through the district’s policies and the benefits provided by the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (“IMRF”). While districts initially were worried about matching the IMRF retirement benefit, many vendors have been able to offer 401(k) retirement plans that could potentially exceed these benefits. Additionally, since 2007 there has been a narrowing of the gap between private sector and public sector compensation. Vendors are able and willing to craft benefits packages that are comparable to those offered to school district employees. This provides much more flexibility and the ability to show actual cost savings by subcontracting.
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Once a union contract expires it is usually replaced by a successor agreement and there can be no subcontracting once that agreement becomes effective. Creative Solution: Subcontracting to Neighbor Districts Furthermore, some districts have been subcontracting their services to neighboring school districts, who can easily match district benefit packages since they already provide such benefits to their employees. By using other school districts as vendors, districts can save money and rest assured that they are receiving efficient and effective services. This option can be particularly attractive to smaller districts who neighbor larger districts because such larger districts can easily provide services such as transportation to the smaller district and at the same time offer comparable, if not better, benefits since as a larger district they are likely to have greater resources. Thus, a seemingly impossible hurdle can be cleared and districts can successfully utilize subcontracting to save money and secure efficient provision of services. Challenge: Timing Requirements When Unions are Involved The Act prohibits any subcontracting during the term of a collective bargaining agreement and states that a subcontract may only take effect upon the expiration of an existing collective bargaining agreement. However, the Act also requires that a 90-day notice be given to effected employees of a subcontracting arrangement, which creates a very difficult time challenge for districts. At the same time, once a union contract expires it is usually replaced by a successor agreement and there can be no subcontracting once that agreement becomes effective. Thus, a district must give notice of implementation 90 days before the contract expires with the plan to implement after the current union contract expires and before the successor agreement becomes effective. 32 |
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Case Study: Staying Compliant Under IELRA Even if a school district follows all of the procedures in the subcontracting provision of the Illinois School Code, it still needs to ensure that it complies with all of the statutory obligations in the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act (IELRA). A recent Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board (IELRB) case involving the McLean County Unit District is illustrative of this point. To meet the increased service demand of decreased state transportation funding combined with increased enrollment, the district entered into a transportation service agreement with Illinois Central School Bus Company to supplement their existing workforce, save money and increase their number of bus drivers. While the district maintained it followed all of the subcontracting provisions of the Illinois School Code, the IELRB determined that the district acted with anti-union animus when it subcontracted out transportation services and discharged members of the bargaining unit. The Board stated that the timing of the districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision to subcontract indicated anti-union animus since it occurred just a few months after the Union was certified. The Board also found that the district had a duty to bargain over its decision to subcontract transportation services and was required to maintain the status quo until the parties bargained to impasse or reached agreement on the subject. Since the district unilaterally subcontracted out its transportation services without coming to an impasse or agreement with the Union, the district was found to have violated their duty to bargain. The IELRB affirmed an Administrative Law Judgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision that the district violated IELRA provisions and ordered the district to rescind the decision to subcontract and terminate bargaining unit employees. They also ordered the district to bargain with the union over the subcontracting decision.
ARTICLE / Subcontracting Revisited
Creative Solution: Reopener Clause While these requirements create a very narrow timeframe, school districts that are in the process of bargaining a successor agreement can overcome this challenge by including a reopener clause in the contract, which permits subcontracting if certain events occur. Reopener clauses have become more common in contracts as they provide greater flexibility for districts amid uncertain budgetary concerns. The following example clause can be incorporated into a collective bargaining agreement to preserve the districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to subcontract during the life of the agreement: The board will notify the association of its intent to reopen this agreement for purposes of bargaining with subcontracting of services of work performed by bargaining unit employees. Notification will be provided prior to any decision by the board to subcontract such services. Notification under this section may be given by the board at any time during the term of this agreement and will constitute a legally binding contract reopener such that the term of this agreement with respect to the sole purpose of subcontracting is effectively open and subject to bargaining. Therefore, a reopener clause allows a district to bargain over subcontracting during the term of a collective bargaining agreement, freeing them from the difficult time constraints of the Act. Alternative Solution: Co-op Arrangements A possible way to avoid triggering the Act is to use a co-op arrangement to achieve, in essence, a hybrid subcontracting relationship. Co-ops are commonly used for special education services or for health insurance
and are based on the notion of pooling resources to achieve a greater value and leverage and thereby, achieve a cost savings. As noted, the Act only applies to a school district engaging a third-party vendor for non-instructional services. This would seemingly not apply to a district entering into a co-op that secures the employees to perform a specific set of services (such as food service) for its member districts. While some may argue that a district receiving services from a co-op is still acquiring workers through another entity, the district would be a part of the co-op and thus the services arguably would not be provided by a third-party vendor and the act would not be triggered. The outcome of such an arrangement is not currently clear, as there have been no challenges with respect to creation of such a co-op. The creation of co-ops presents its own set of challenges and complexities. However, co-ops may provide an attractive alternative as they provide some flexibility in the number of school districts that could become involved and the types of services that could be acquired. As We Enter the Seventh Year Although the subcontracting provisions of the Act created a number of steps for school districts and third-party vendors to overcome, the past six years has shown that is indeed possible for districts to subcontract non-instructional services. Subcontracting remains a viable tool for districts looking for new ways to save money in the midst of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ongoing financial troubles. Through creativity and careful planning, school districts and vendors can work together to overcome the barriers of the Act and form mutually beneficial relationships. www.iasbo.org
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DRIVING CHANGE Strategies to keep a high level of transportation service with funding at a low 34 |
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By Walter Doughty
ARTICLE
MGR./CHILD NUTRITION & TRANS. WAUKEGAN CUSD 60
Pupil transportation is the support service mechanism that literally drives our students into their daily common core of learning. Unfortunately, transportation funding, or the lack thereof, continues to create challenges that greatly inhibit school districts. The mark of success for transportation departments is safety first, followed by efficiency and effectiveness. Beyond this, they are tasked with providing services that meet the expectations and desires of the community. Developing strategies, implementing key concepts and teaching the collaborative benefits of change with the involvement of the community will all be key factors for success as we strive to run successful programs in the midst of funding reductions. The following key strategies can help any district begin the journey toward more efficient practices.
1
Develop a Community Assessment Plan. Identify what the expectations of the community are for the district’s transportation services. Most communities desire more specific transportation services than can be provided by the school district. Although the community expectations will exceed the fiscal responsibilities of the transportation department, you will have desires that you can now prioritize when developing your strategy. Annual budget planning often becomes more than a challenge. The chore of explaining how the desires of the community and the school district cannot be met with the available resources is difficult. However, assigning each community desire to a priority level shows a recognizable acceptance of their desires. Additionally, districts can use supportive rationale to show evidence of priority importance. Setting these priority-funding levels never concludes without leaving unfunded desires at the table and out of the budget. Therefore, the development of a new winning strategy to help reduce the budget gap between transportation funding and local district support is vital.
2
Based on the community desires, create an internal assessment plan. The administration should then bring forth recommendations to the school board of what the “rules” will be before starting any re-organizational
plan. It is important that the board is “on board” with the administration plan so that if and when the opposing public and families object, the school board is wholly aware. With the support of the board, Waukegan CUSD 60 was able to implement “courtesy transportation” for kindergarten and first grade students over 0.5 miles and up to 1.5 miles. Their siblings have to walk, as the regulation requires students to walk who reside less than 1.5 miles from their school of attendance who are “free from hazardous transportation conditions.”
3
Establish a standard criterion for bus stops. This will be one of the key concepts within your internal assessment plan. Creating community bus stops to serve students attending all district programs, whether it is a neighborhood school, magnet or related program site, provides consistency to community members. Families in the neighborhoods will become familiar with the bus stop location, just like the neighborhood playground. Some considerations in choosing the locations for these neighborhood bus stops include: • A standard and reasonable walking distance from a residence to the bus stop. • Considering students’ age and ability to enforce the district’s commitment to student and family safety. • Applying this knowledge to the district standards while allowing for interventions.
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Each school district has inherent elements exclusive to their community that would require additional consideration when establishing neighborhood bus stops. Some security matters districts may consider are: • The proximity to registered sex offenders. • An identifiable factor that would qualify as hazardous by the Illinois Department of Transportation School Safety Busing criterion. These include walking along a roadway, walking on a roadway, crossing a roadway and crossing railroad tracks. • Recommendation of parent supervision to and from the bus stop at all times. • An expectation upon the parent or guardian to accompany younger children, particularly PreKindergarten and Kindergarten students.
4
Have transportation goals and objectives written into Individual Education Plans. Individual Education Plans, 504 Plans and homeless categorical students will always necessitate change. Having transportation goals and objectives written into the Individual Education Plan is an added benefit because it greatly assists staff in identifying how better to work with a student’s specific needs. A weekly report can earn points that may reward a student for their positive behavior. Some special education students can adapt to “regular” transportation services or have a better overall transportation experience and be more successful with minor adaptions. As an example, children with autism or emotional disabilities can bring an iPod to listen to music to keep their focus more stable. Handheld computer games
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can also create a focus of a student’s attention to prevent them from being distracted by normal circumstances that may present a challenge for them. Creating effective standards will ease the accommodations needed for required interventions and help keep the department within the budgetary limitations.
5
Create an effective bell schedule that maximizes daily contracted service costs. Separate time schedules for different schools enable the district to use a single school bus two or three times as opposed to using two or three times as many school buses to service the same number of students. As an example, a K-12 school district may decide to stagger their bell schedule with separate times for elementary, middle and high schools. High school students may start the day, followed by elementary school students and lastly, middle school students. This schedule will provide parents with an advantage in providing supervision for elementary school students. Older middle school siblings would be able provide assistance in getting younger siblings to the bus stop in the morning and neighborhood high school students would be available for childcare support in the afternoon. An elementary school district may find a staggered time beneficial between primary and intermediate buildings so that support service personnel with shared responsibilities may better serve the students. Your community’s need assessment will help you to determine your best options.
ARTICLE / Transportation Strategies
6
Build in time to communicate changes to the program. Education has taught us that change is normal and expected. Without change, we cannot grow. The reduction of local funds to support pupil transportation services leads to the reallocation of funding sources to maximize needed classroom dollars. However, transportation funding readiness takes time in planning before the release of new ideals to the community that will save taxpayer dollars and help meet the district’s budget deficits. Before rolling out a change, the school district should review their teacher and support staff collective bargaining agreements to assess any timelines for change notification or required staff consensus. As change typically sets a tone of apprehension, providing staff with charts and copies of “what their working day will look like” as compared to their current schedule will provide a clearer picture of what is on the horizon. Educating district personnel on the new strategies and key concepts will result in a stronger knowledge base to provide foundational support to students, parents and the community. Teaching the collaborative benefits to the community will improve their comprehension of the initiative as they see the evidence-based planning the transportation department has undergone to maximize equipment, staffing, resources and time.
7
Utilize technology to improve your program effectiveness. Technology is a vital component of our everyday living in and out of the classroom, as well as for our transportation departments. Routing software can improve your effectiveness, GPS will provide security and resource management and equipment maintenance programs can improve vehicle efficiency all through the strategic use of technology. Field trip programs can be set up to provide
the district and staff access via the Internet. The electronic process reduces paper and form use, lost paperwork and time from the district courier and provides a database for record keeping and state reporting processes. Digital media such as video recording enhances learning and provides visual tools as an effective teaching mechanism. This tool can provide real time video accounts for administrators handling disciplinary matters that occur on the school bus. Video recording can also provide visual accounts of bus accidents and vehicles ignoring the “red flashing lights” and the stopped school bus. School district Web sites can offer valuable assistive resources to our communities. Some technology programs can be integrated with the Web site to serve your community with a one-stop point of reference. Simple PowerPoint presentations posted as links will help families review and understand the basic principles of transportation that your district expects. This, too, can assist your administrators and transportation staff when they are speaking to parents on the telephone. It is a tool that may be reviewed together to understand and hopefully arrive at an agreement of support in the future.
8
Realize that change only comes through time and learning. Transportation’s instrumental concepts of time and distance are truly of value in creating great lessons learned for your district. Without change, we cannot see growth. Change develops a level of acceptance with time. Through time, our communities will translate the learning experiences into a better understanding and together we can achieve the goal of transportation services that will continue to serve students more effectively. The community will feel incredible when they see the efficient use of their tax dollars with an effective transportation system that puts safety and students first!
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The Hunger
Games
Nutrition regulations are keeping school meals in the balance
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ARTICLE
By Clare R. Keating V.P./MARKETING PREFERRED MEALS
T
his is not the meal program we grew up with, or even the meal program of five years ago. W ith the new regulations from the Capital continuing to roll out, operating school meal programs is not as easy as it used to be. Implementation of new meal patterns mandated as a result of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 has proven to be a challenge to school districts and school meal operators alike across the country. Two years after implementation of new lunch regulations, foodservice operators continue to find that cost and student acceptance of meals remain the biggest challenges of running the school lunch program. Declining lunch participation and increased food costs make balancing budgets difficult and program operators are bracing for the next round of changes with the final phase of breakfast regulations beginning July 1. A Dilemma For Districts “Planning a school menu now is like putting together pieces of a puzzle” said Lauren Hummel RD, Director of Foodservice at Twp. High Sch. Dist. 211. “Balancing items that students will accept, adding the required daily components and ensuring that the menus don’t exceed calorie and fat requirements is not an easy task." One of the biggest challenges with planning school meals is simply finding foods that kids will eat. Popular lunch offerings such as pizza and chicken nuggets remain at the top of list, but reformulations to meet requirements such as changing crusts and breadings to whole grain and reducing fat, calories and sodium has turned many fans away. And the main entrée is not the only place students are turning up their noses. New requirements for increased quantities of fruits and vegetables, including offering vegetables from five different subgroups, has caused menu planners to replace popular vegetables such as potatoes and corn with less popular items such as baked beans and collard greens. Furthermore, limits on calories has led to the elimination of added treats on menus, such as cookies or snacks. Additionally, community demands for fresh, local, organic and clean-label products, managing new sodium targets and meeting school district budgetary needs require a highly skilled foodservice operator. A High Stakes Plot Despite the additional six cents allowed for districts that proved compliance with new meal patterns, school meal operators are seeing dramatic increases in operating costs over the last year an average of 6-10 percent, well above the 2.4 percent CPI-U for the Food Away From Home index that the reimbursement rate is based on. Increases in quantities of fruits and vegetables, incorporation of more fresh offerings and supplier increases are also challenging budgets across the board.
Foodservice operators are not the only ones struggling with the new regulations. Food manufacturers scrambled to reformulate protein and grain items in time to implement new regulations in 2012, spending months of time and money only to have the regulations reversed later that year. This eased the burden on foodservice directors, but the change came too late to recover industry costs. Changes to the crediting of grain items in 2013 caused further R&D reformulations and upcoming sodium targets going into effect on July 1, 2014 are challenging the industry even further, causing additional costs to be passed on to schools. A Labor of Love Despite the growing pains felt across school nutrition programs, students are adapting and learning to eat items they may never have eaten before. Kale chips, fresh spinach salads and sweet potatoes are becoming common on school menus and educating students on the benefits of making these healthy choices is a mission and labor of love that school meal operators are dedicated to.
What’s At Stake According to the November 2013 National School Lunch Program Participation Tracker, from the School Nutrition Association, NSLP average daily participation has dropped since the implementation of new regulations nearly four percent on average from 31.7 million in SY201112 to 30.5 million in SY2013-14.* All of this decline is coming from students in the paid and reduced-price category. While free meals have seen a slight increase, it is not enough to offset the declines overall. *2013-14 average from Sept-Nov, 2013
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ASPECIAL CAB CASE: EDUCATION TRANSPORTATION It should all be so simple. The bidding of taxi/livery service for outplaced special education students is a standard practice of the business cycle within a school district. Put together the transportation specifications, advertise the bid and choose the lowest, most responsible bidder. Pretty cut and dry right? That is, until you run into a city ordinance that trumps school bidding codes.
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UPDATE Magazine / Summer 2014
ARTICLE
By Megan Clarke
ASST. SUPT./PUPIL SERVICES NORTH CHICAGO CUSD 187
Michael J. Prombo
ASST. SUPT./BUSINESS SERVICES NORTH CHICAGO CUSD 187
A Roadblock to Taxi Service
North Chicago School District 187 has over 20 off-site locations that transport nearly 70 special education students to on a daily basis. The need for a reliable transportation service is critical to ensure that the students reach their destination in a safe and timely manner and that the district is meeting the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) needs for transportation. During the process of writing the bid specifications, a number of community members, city officials and a board member mentioned that the city of North Chicago has an ordinance whereby the city regulated all taxi and livery services, regardless of the reason for the service. The transportation of students was not exempt from this ordinance. Having never heard of a city ordinance that overrules the ILCS purchasing code, the district had to contact their lawyer and ISBE for guidance. Both the district lawyer and ISBE legal counsel reviewed the city ordinance to determine to what extent, if any, the school district had to comply. The district lawyer also contacted the city legal counsel to discuss the ordinance and school district transportation needs. Per the ordinance, even though the district used vans to transport outplaced students, they had to comply with the ordinance since it defined livery vehicle as “any public passenger vehicle having a rated seating capacity of not more than seven persons, transporting passengers for hire as a result of individual contract, on a trip, or hourly basis fixed in advance; also referred to as a limousine and registered as a livery vehicle by the secretary of state.”
It now appeared that the district had to comply with the city ordinance, which meant that the only taxi or van services that could used were limited to the three vendors that had been approved by the city. The problem with that scenario was that the district was locked into the rate that the city set for the vendors and it did not give the opportunity to bid out for a lower cost and possibly better service.
The Case for Cabs There are a number of reasons to use vans or taxis for the transportation of outplaced special education students: • It offers flexible door-to-door transportation services. • Drivers have the appropriate driver certifications and background checks per school code. • The ability to choose livery companies that have a dedicated fleet of taxis and vans to transport students. • Drivers are employees of the livery company, not contracted drivers, who will not drop a student delivery for a more lucrative business transport. • Some students based on their special education needs require to be transported alone. • Other special education students have significant medical needs and need specialized transportation. • Some transportation companies specialize in transporting special needs students. • Sometimes the district will only have one student attending a specialized school, so using a bus is not cost effective.
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ARTICLE / Special Education Transportation
Working within the Law
To mitigate the issue with limiting the district to three vendors, the district lawyer added language in the bid document regarding: • In the Instruction To Bidders section the following verbiage was added: “The bidder shall at all times observe and comply with all laws, ordinances, regulations, codes, conditions, terms, recommendations, definitions, instructions and requirements of federal, state, county and other local government agencies, which may in any manner affect the performance of the Contract and in particular any such laws pertaining to safety, including, but not limited to, maintaining all required licenses.” • Under General Conditions verbiage was added that: “The Contractor’s drivers shall be subject to all federal, state and local laws pertaining to the operation of school vehicles and the transportation of students, including the Illinois School Code, the Illinois Vehicle Code and the rules and regulations pertaining to same and the policies and regulations of the District. No driver shall be permitted to operate any vehicle under this Contract unless he or she is in full compliance with all such laws, rules, regulations and policies.” • In the appendix of the bid document: The bidder had to complete and sign the License Certification form specifying that the bidder did have a license to operate in the city of North Chicago. If the bidder did not have a North Chicago license, then the bidder had to give the reason why they believe
Find it on peer2peer
that they did not need a license from North Chicago. In addition, the successful contractor agreed to hold harmless and indemnify the parties for all costs, fees, losses and expenses, including but not limited to attorneys’ fees and court costs, incurred as a result the contractor’s failure to obtain or perform, as the case may be, any and all licenses, inspections and certifications required by any law, rule, regulation or ordinance related to, connected with or arising from the performance of the services required by the contract. By adding the above-mentioned items to the bid document, the district was able to move forward with bidding the transportation of outplaced special education students. The district chose to use a transportation company for the FY14 school year that does not currently have a license from North Chicago.
TAKEAWAYS > > > There are two main points that any district can take away from this situation: 1. You should never assume that a school district is immune from any local or regional law that is outside of the Illinois Compiled Statutes or ISBE rules. If in doubt, ask your lawyer to review the situation. 2. There is usually a way to get around the issue or shift the risk over to the vendor. If there is a question as to what you need to include in your bid documents, have your lawyer draft language and forms for the vendors to sign.
Under UPDATE on the Resources page, find the actual License Certification Form that District 187 had each bidder complete and submit with their bid! 42 |
UPDATE Magazine / Summer 2014
RESOURCES A better way to meet in the middle The scenario is all too familiar (as we are suddenly transported into an episode of Pawn Stars). One person makes an offensively low offer. The other counters with an extremely high price. They take turns making small concessions as they assert and defend their positions. It becomes a battle of wills to the end. Chances are, these two parties did eventually come to an agreement. But did the solution satisfy both of their interests? Were they able to maintain a positive relationship? Was there a better approach that could have been employed?
The pitfalls of positioning This interaction depicts what Roger Fisher and William Ury call “negotiating position.” In this typical negotiation style, each party chooses their stance and argues for it. This leads to a few key problems: • People get locked in too soon (and the more they defend, the more their ego gets involved!) • It is inefficient (due to all the back and forth and stalling) • It endangers relationships (as it turns into a battle of will)
Overview: Whether it is world peace, employment contracts or what is for dinner, negotiations are a part of life. People typically lean toward one of two approaches, hard (“I will not give in”) or soft (“I will be nice at all costs”). Neither is likely to produce the best possible solution.
In Getting to Yes, Fisher and Ury present a new way that allows you to get what you are entitled to, while still being decent. In what they call “principled negotiation,” each negotiator can remain hard on the merits, yet soft on people.
In Getting to Yes, two thought leaders will walk you through four guiding principles of negotiation that literally “change the game.” Applying these concepts is sure to bring about better solutions for your students, districts and communities!
Separating people from problem The first main principle of this new style changes the way you look at your “opponent.” Rather than an adversary you need to attack, the person (or group) becomes someone you are working side by side with to solve a problem. Other important guiding principles include a focus on the underlying interests (not positions), inventing
Rather than an adversary you need to attack, the person becomes someone you are working side by side with to solve a problem.
On My List Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In By Roger Fisher and William Ury
multiple options for mutual gain and using objective criteria to help everyone meet in the middle. When all else fails For when the other end of the table simply refuses to play nice, Fisher and Ury finish their book by giving the reader some “negotiation Jujitsu” to navigate difficult scenarios. No matter what you are negotiating – this book is sure to help you find a better way and ultimately reach better outcomes.
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Directing School Operations:
Food Service, Transportation and Shared Services
FOOD SERVICE: Changing Guidelines and Menus
See articles, A Healthy Challenge by Elvira Michalek on pg. 14 and The Hunger Games by Clare Keating on pg. 38.
Back-To-School Trends Report School Nutrition Association, 2013 Learn from recent data and trends on school breakfast and lunch, prices and reimbursements, how districts are dealing with the new standards and more. Find it: On peer2peer in the Resources section.
Nutrition Standards for School Meals U.S. Department of Agriculture Get the latest on the new regulations in the form of policy memos, technical assistance and guidelines for meeting the standards. Find it: On peer2peer in the Resources section.
TRANSPORTATION: Doing more with Less
See articles, Driving Change by Walter Doughty on pg. 34 and A Cab Case by Megan Clarke and Michael J. Prombo on pg. 40.
Illinois Association of Pupil Transportation (IAPT) Your closest vested interest right in your backyard – send your transportation staff there for information and resources! Find it: www.ilapt.net
National Association of Pupil Transportation (NAPT) Gain information, resources and access to a much broader span of content that can be adjusted to serve your needs at home. Find it: www.napt.org
School Bus Fleet Find current events and articles from transportation officials who have worked out the kinks of new invention, so that you don’t have to “reinvent the wheel.” Find it: www.schoolbusfleet.com
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RESOURCES
INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENTS: Partnering for Success
See article, Wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t You Be My Neighbor? by Elizabeth M. Hennessy, Ronald R. Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor and Michael J. Prombo on pg. 20.
Forming successful partnerships: A practical guide for local government Association of Washington Cities, 2006 Download this document for a step-by-step guide to discovering partnership opportunities, negotiating agreement and managing partnerships.
Governing States and Localities, 4th Edition By Kevin B. Smith and Alan Greenblatt Look into the future for states and localities as they deal with new federal regulations, a decrease in public sector employment, the consolidation of agencies and new factors such as the Affordable Care Act.
Find it: On peer2peer in the Resources section.
Find it: On peer2peer in the Resources section.
SHARED SERVICES: Looking to Our Neighbors
After reading the cover article, Directing Efficient School Operations Through Shared Services by Hillarie J. Siena and Nelson W. Gray on pg. 24, get some ideas from what other states are doing.
NEW JERSEY
OHIO
Shared Service Policies, Practices and Recommendations New Jersey School Board Association Check out their comparative spending data, catalogue of best practices and other resources outlining how NJ schools are approaching shared services.
Beyond Boundaries: A Shared Services Action Plan Check out this initiative in Ohio that provides recommendations, information and tools needed to help local leaders realize the benefit of shared service opportunities. Download their latest report and be inspired for what can happen here!
Find it: www.njsba.org/news/research/shared-services.php
New Jersey Shared Services Association Get a picture of what local governments are doing in NJ including success stories, a list of services currently being shared and more. Find it: www.njsharedservices.org
Find it: www.beyondboundaries. ohio.gov
See Where the Law Stands in Illinois
Go to the peer2peer Network under UPDATE for more guidance on how to implement shared services in Illinois. While there, find links to the other resources mentioned on this page! www.iasbo.org
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THE FINAL WORD Speaking Up About School District Operations Richard A. Lesniak Dir./Business Services Lockport Twp. HSD 205 rlesniak@lths.org
No matter what my position in education, I have always had a very simple philosophy… What can I do to help students? Even though we report to work at an administrative building, we have to see our primary role as being an educator. I see my role as doing everything I can to support the educational goals of the school district and to have a positive impact on students. A CSBO has to know what takes place in the classroom, as the budget is really a financial interpretation of that.
The measure of successful ancillary services is being invisible. I think we have all heard about the importance of child nutrition via the school lunch or breakfast program. And how many times have we told our bus drivers to greet our students with a friendly face to start their day? All of this is important. Yet the goal is to make ancillary services so reliable and consistent that our students take them for granted. Poor ancillary services bring a lot of negative energy to a school district, which interferes with the education process. The best services are never discussed by anyone outside of the business office!
Springfield and our elected leaders will have the most significant impact. Traditionally poor economies and recessions bring about an increase in legislation and we have certainly experienced this. Unfortunately, our leaders have failed to address the most urgent need of increasing state revenue and finding new revenue sources. Because of this lack of revenue, Illinois ranks at the bottom of state funding. Every year that passes worsens our overall financial position. Our leaders keep looking at ways to reallocate resources. This will not solve the problem–it will only delay the real solution.
A practice that districts can adopt now is shared services.
JIM WOMACK / NIU
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Update Magazine / Summer 2014
Of course, twenty years ago we did not think of it as “shared services” and we did not do it because of the AFR reporting requirement. We shared services simply because it provided quality service and makes good financial sense. Shared services should be used when the relationship is right and the partnership benefits both entities. Insurance cooperatives, food service satellites or shared transportation contracts are viable options that need to be considered when you are evaluating your ancillary services.
Develop Thought Leaders Within Your District How is your district preparing now for what your schools will look like in 20 years? Creating the future school reaches beyond technology alone to classroom content, instructional methods, facilities and operations. Bring your whole team so you can plan for the future together!
• Superintendents will get a vision for what direction the future school is heading. • Business Managers can understand how to collaborate and play a vital role in the technology equation. • Technology Directors will gain practical insights on the how to usher in the changes ahead.
SAVE the DATE
Friday, October 10, 2014 NIU Naperville Conference Center | 1120 E. Diehl Rd., Naperville, IL 60563
Registration will open this summer! http://illinoistechcon.com/
Illinois ASBO | 108 Carroll Ave. | DeKalb, IL 60115 | (815) 753-1276
IL CTO
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DON’T MISS THESE EVENTS ASBO INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL MEETING & EXPO September 19 – 22, 2014 Gaylord Palms Hotel and Convention Center, Kissimmee, FL TECHCON: TECHNOLOGY & FINANCIAL ISSUES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY October 10, 2014 NIU Naperville Conference Center, Naperville, IL MIDWEST FACILITY MASTERS CONFERENCE November 3 – 4, 2014 Kalahari Resort & Conference Center, Wisconsin Dells, WI IASB/IASA/ILLINOIS ASBO 82ND JOINT ANNUAL CONFERENCE November 21 – 23, 2014 Hyatt Regency Chicago, Chicago, IL EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS CONFERENCE December 5, 2014 NIU Naperville Conference Center, Naperville, IL TAKE NOTE OF FUTURE ILLINOIS ASBO CONFERENCE DATES! 64TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE April 29 – May 1, 2015 Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center Schaumburg, IL 65TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE May 4 – 6, 2016 Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center Schaumburg, IL 66TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE April 26 – 28, 2017 Peoria Civic Center Peoria, IL 48 |
UPDATE Magazine / Summer 2014
FIND OUT MORE AT WWW. IASBO.ORG