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FLORIDA SCHOOL BUSINESS

SPRING/SUMMER 2009

Official publication of the Florida Association of School Business Officials

Presorted Std. U.S. Postage PAID FARGO, ND PERMIT 43

IS YOUR DATA SAFE FROM IT HACKERS? ALSO:

IT’S ALL ABOUT MONEY THE EVOLUTION OF FASBO

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Florida School Business is published for the Florida Association of School Business Officials 215 West Garden Street, Pensacola FL 32502 Phone: 850-469-6253 | Fax: 850-469-6310 Web: www.fasbo.org Sid Tally, Editor rtally1@cfl.rr.com

FLORIDA SCHOOL BUSINESS

Spring/Summer 2009

FASBO Officers Neil McDonald President Osceola County Schools Wayne Hart President Elect Polk County Schools Ed Daugherty Treasurer Volusia County Schools Robin Hukill Executive Director Escambia County Schools Desiree Henegar Past President Sarasota County Schools FASBO Board of Directors Becky Eggers Auditing Pinellas County Schools Greg Pead Information Technology Manatee County Schools Lolita Corker Business Management Orange County Schools Khristine Brugger Finance Indian River County Schools Jeff Robison Fixed Assets Accounting Hillsborough County Schools Theresa Giles Risk Management Duval County Schools Art Dunham Food and Nutrition Service Pinellas County Schools Ken Marsh Facilities Planning and Operations Sarasota County Schools Rita Zazzaro Human Resources Manatee County Schools Florida School Business is published by Naylor, LLC 5950 NW 1st Place, Gainesville FL 32607 Phone: 800-369-6220 | Fax: 352-331-3525 Web: www.naylor.com Publisher: Kathleen Gardner Editor: Julie Ahlgren Project Manager: Michael Senecal Marketing Associate: Zach Swick Publication Director: Jamie Williams Advertising Sales: Jennifer Canady, Al Clements, Krys D’Antonio, Jim Dielschneider, Janet Frank, Jessica Imm, Patricia Nolin, Leron Owens, Debbie Phillips, Beth Sheahan, Norma Walchuk Design: Catharine Snell Advertising Art: Carrie Smith

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in this issue FEATURES 8

IT’S ALL ABOUT MONEY School districts and the Legislature await decisions Dr. Wayne Blanton, Executive Director, Florida School Boards Association

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IS YOUR DATA SAFE FROM IT HACKERS? Keeping your login info secure is the first step to avoiding cyber crimes Melvin Jones, Manatee County School District

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THE EVOLUTION OF FASBO A closer look at the early history and progress of FASBO Sid Tally, Florida School Business Editor

ALSO 7

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Neil McDonald, Osceola County Schools

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2009 FASBO CONFERENCE PREVIEW A sneak peak at what to expect at the 2009 FASBO Conference

18

Advertisers’ Marketplace

19

Index of Advertisers

19

Advertiser.com

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Florida School Business is published for the Florida Association of School Business Officials.

Postmaster: send address changes to FASBO, 215 West Garden Street, Pensacola FL 32502.

©2009 Naylor, LLC. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of the publisher. For information on advertising opportunities in Florida School Business, please call Publication Director Jamie Williams at 800-369-6220.

Advertising rates available upon request.

PUBLISHED MAY 2009/FSB-B0109/8914

www.fasbo.org FASBO

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PRESIDENT’SMESSAGE

NEIL MCDONALD FASBO President, Osceola County

F•A•S•B•O

Florida Association of School Business Officials

We Want to Hear from You FASBO encourages submissions for consideration as feature material in Florida School Business in any of the following subject areas: • AUDITING • AUTOMATION/OFFICE/MIS/DATA • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT • ENERGY MANAGEMENT • ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE • FINANCE • FOOD SERVICE • MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS • PROPERTY CONTROL/FIXED ASSETS • PURCHASING AND DISTRIBUTION • RISK MANAGEMENT • SCHOOL PLANT PLANNING • TRANSPORTATION Feature articles are typically 1,500 to 2,500 words in length, although this standard is flexible depending on the subject. You should consider your article a tool for school business officials and not a vehicle for promotion of products or services. We encourage you to submit supporting artwork such as photographs, charts, tables and graphs. Send your brief editorial proposal and information as to your professional affiliation to Sid Tally, editor, Florida School Business, via email at rtally1@cfl.rr.com.

Greetings from FASBO! This time last year we had completed our joint conference with SASBO at the Rosen Plaza in Orlando. The next FASBO Conference site is TradeWinds Island Resorts in St. Petersburg Beach, October 5–9, 2009, and our theme is “$etting $ail for $uccess.” The Board of Directors changed the annual conference from the winter months to the fall hoping this will help attendance and give us better hotel rates. Check out the preliminary information on pages 16 and 17, mark those dates on your calendar and plan to attend.

School systems in the state of Florida are facing major budget cuts, and the business service areas that make up FASBO will be helping school boards and superintendents decide where those cuts will be made. On pages 8 and 9 Wayne Blanton, Executive Director of the Florida School Boards Association, addresses a few of the critical issues the 2009 edition of the Florida Legislature and the governor face. The deteriorating revenue picture makes developing a state budget a challenge at the least.

Melvin Jones, Coordinator of Information Applications, Manatee County Schools, has written a timely article on computer security asking the question “Is Your Data Safe from IT Hackers?” Check it out on pages 10 and 11.

For those of you new to or not familiar with FASBO, you can read how, why and when it originated on pages 12–15. Sid Tally, Editor, Florida School Business has been a member since 1978 and has witnessed significant changes over the past 30 years. He has also given a brief description of the 13 business service areas that make up this professional organization consisting of members from school districts throughout the state.

As this year’s president, it is my pleasure to serve along with a great group of officers and directors in planning the Annual Conference in St. Petersburg Beach. I hope you will be able to take the time to attend our 43rd conference.

Neil McDonald

www.fasbo.org FASBO

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LEGISLATIVEUPDATE

It’s All About

Money

School districts and the Legislature await decisions

T

BY DR. WAYNE BLANTON Executive Director, Florida School Boards Association

The 2009 edition of Florida’s Legislature could be the most critical school districts have ever faced.

I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, but districts can simply not afford any more budget cuts. Gov. Charlie Crist’s initial proposed budget actually calls for an increase in K-12 funding, but it’s based on stimulus dollars and trust fund sweeps, both nonrecurring, but which could help us over the hump until the economy rebounds.

With an influx of $787 billion from the federal stimulus package—about $12 billion for Florida ($3 billion of which is for education)—the governor’s $66.5 billion state budget recommendation represents an overall increase in the state budget of more than $1 billion over the current year.

As mentioned, that’s based on stimulus dollars, trust fund borrowing and $500 million in fee increases and revenue that could be gained from casino gambling through a compact with the Seminole Indians.

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For K-12 education, the governor’s budget provides $18.3 billion in FEFP funding—an increase of more than $397 million over current year FEFP funding—thanks, at least for now, to the more than $880 million in federal stimulus funds.

It is also important to note that, for the most part, these stimulus funds will be provided over two years and that most funding will not begin to be available until later this year.

Although the governor’s budget provides increases in education spending without raising taxes, it is important to remember that the governor had to base his budget proposal on the last official state revenue data, which was published in November 2008.

The Revenue Estimating Conference projection issued in March means an additional $2.3 billion reduction in revenue from $5 billion to at least $6.5 billion. Couple that with a possible further reduction in property tax revenue and it’s obvious we’re not out of the woods yet. Far from it.

And this is just the governor’s projections. The Legislature still must produce its own budget which may be far apart from what the governor has proposed.

The bottom line is even with federal stimulus funds, there is a good likelihood that further budget reductions will be necessary if the Legislature does not also approve some new revenue stream, such as eliminating some sales tax exemptions, which would provide additional income.

The deteriorating revenue picture has also sparked some serious consideration of higher taxes among some legislators. Both the House and Senate have been reviewing sales tax exemptions, and some bills have been filed to eliminate some exemptions. Bills have also been filed to increase Florida’s cigarette tax (the current rate of 33.9 cents per pack is the 6th lowest in the country).

Severa l business a nd communit y groups have encouraged the Legislature to move forward with enforcing the collection of sales tax on goods purchased over the Internet. However, there does not appear to be any agreement to pursue these or other tax initiatives.

Right now it’s like a huge jigsaw. At least with puzzles that come in a box, you know what the end result is supposed to look like. But here, you have stimulus dollars, less the downturn in assessed property values, and new revenue estimates that come in lower and lower. And then you have to figure out how all of this is supposed to fit together.

In the meantime, we have school districts getting ready to lay off employees, defeating the purpose of the stimulus program. School districts in many counties are the largest employers, and if many of these people are out of work, they won’t be capable of doing those things that would stimulate the economy.

The Legislature is also moving ahead with attempting to amend the class size requirements from a per-class or perteacher level to a school level. But that requires amending the Constitution, which must be approved in a general election.

Still, if the amendment is passed by voters, it would take some pressure off school districts to generate more classrooms.

In an attempt to generate statewide support for public schools, education groups around Florida, such as the teacher’s union

(the Florida Education Association) and the Florida PTA, have been holding rallies to emphasize that school district budgets should not be further slashed. Whether these rallies will have an impact won’t be known until the final budget is approved.

Right now, the only truth we can rely on is that we don’t know the truth. There are still just too many unknowns. I have never seen so many different puzzle pieces that the Legislature will have to try to fit together to produce a coherent picture.

Because of all of this, I believe it will be extremely difficult for the Legislature to complete its budget during the regular 60-day session which is supposed to end May 1. I project we’ll be here well past that date.

To get the most up-to-date information about this year’s budget, or other legislative issues, go to our Web site, www.fsba. org, where we post daily updates as well as our weekly Webcast, which comes out every Friday. ●

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ITSECURITY

SafeFrom IT Hackers?

Is Your Data

Keeping Your Login Info Secure is the First Step to Avoiding Cyber Crimes

N

BY MELVIN JONES Manatee County School District

Not all too long ago, we used to sit in front of our computers, turn them on and go to work. Then, someone hired a geek who wanted us to start using a username and password before our computers would turn on. “What’s a password supposed to look like?” I remember asking myself. They said not to use anything that someone else could guess, like my social security number or my dog’s name.

The examples given were far too complicated for a mere mortal to remember. My first password was “dSm166Rv3” or some incredibly forgettable string of nonsense that I immediately changed to my mom’s maiden name. I eliminated any problems by writing my password on a Post-It note stuck on my monitor or under my keyboard.

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Sound familiar to you old timers?

The reason for the password requirements, of course, was to keep other employees from tampering with your documents and to control access to the server system. These days, we need to worry about outsiders transmitting viruses and Trojan horses to our computers and stealing our identifiable information, or causing catastrophic loss of mission-critical data.

Over the past few years, this problem has become paramount to the entire IT industry. Where there was once a few lonely people who wanted to see it they could break a system, now it has become an industry. The exchange of illegally obtained information is a multibillion-dollar industry that works without boundaries. The people who want your information have some of the best hackers and software designers in their employ. Many of these hackers and engineers do not even know that they are part of a global crime network. The people who use data harvesting farm out small portions of the lethal code to independent software developers for big dollars.

The use of user names and passwords are our first line of defense. Many Web sites have instituted secondary factor measures, such as having you type in a string of words from a picture.

This factor ensures that you are a real person rather than one of the many data harvesters running on the web.

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As users of a similar system in our workplace, many organizations are looking at using biometrics as a secondary or redundancy factor. A software publisher recently introduced their solution called PhoneFactor. The solution works in conjunction with your user name and password. When you log into your computer, the system notifies the secondary solution, which then calls your cell phone. If you provide the correct PIN, you will gain access to your computer. However, it you are not trying to log into your computer, the PhoneFactor solution immediately locks your account and notifies the IT department.

Hackers can usually count on someone’s username and password being handy. Every security solution will fail if the right conditions exist.

What is the Solution?

Therefore, we must be aware of the dangers of leaving our authentication information just anywhere where someone can find it easily. Most internal cyber crimes occur at work by disgruntled employee and corporate spies who have everything to gain from our carelessness. Of course, we should all consider secondary authentication, but we must also change our habits with regard to our computer use. ● Melvin Jones is a coordinator of information applications with the Manatee County School District. Contact Mel at jones2m@manateeschools.net.

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HISTORY

Evolution of FASBO

The

S

A closer look at the early history and progress of FASBO

BY SID TALLY Editor, Florida School Business

School systems are basically divided into two disciplines. One side is the instructional that develops the curriculum used in the system. There are associations such as the Association of Elementary School Principals and The Association of Secondary School Principals that oversee the curriculum. In addition, there are organizations in all of the subject areas: math, science, social studies, language arts and physical education that help with the development of the curriculum.

However, there ere is another side that is equally as important—the portant—the areas that support the school ol system. These are the business areas that hat oversee the finance, facilities, personnel and technology to name a few; areas that are critical to providing a safe, healthy and fiscally sound learning environment to the students, faculty and administration of a school district.

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In an effort to make sure there is consistency throughout the school systems in the state of Florida, it makes sense to have an organization that would help coordinate the efforts of the various districts for the study, analysis and exchange of information that is interrelated in improving all areas of schools business.

This organization also needs to provide a program of education that will improve the abilities of individuals in the field of school business systems in the state of Florida. In addition, it should strive to cooperate with other educational organizations and with governmental education agencies at all levels in improving school business management and administration.

Such an organization exists in the state of Florida. The Florida Association of School Business Officials (FASBO) has been in existence since the mid 1960s, making available an arena for dealing with the many complex issues facing the support side of public school systems. This organization has a rich history and offers many benefits to personnel that make sure schools are safe, legal and efficient.

The Origin and Early History

Business Management

The Florida Association of School Business Officials (FASBO) originated on April 8, 1965, when 28 members from Florida attending the Southeastern Association of School Business Officials (SASBO) Conference in Mobile, Ala., met to discuss the need for a Comprehensive Organization for School Business Personnel in the state of Florida. It was the unanimous opinion of those attending the meeting that there was a very definite requirement for a state organization, and Ed Hurst was elected chairman of the Organizational Committee.

During the summer of 1965, Chairman Hurst appointed a committee of eight to develop proposed bylaws for a Florida Association of School Business Administrators (FASBA). Fred H. Kline was elected chairman.

Upon completion of the proposed bylaws, Chairman Hurst called the organizational meeting to be held Sept. 22–24, 1965, at the Robert Meyer Hotel in Jacksonville, Fla. The major topic of the First General Sessions was the evaluation of the need for a Comprehensive Organizational for School Business Personnel with Herman O. Myers, State Department of Education, serving as moderator. The evaluation resulted in the unanimous decision of the 150 school administrators in attendance that there was a need for such an organization. The proposed bylaws were presented and adopted resulting in the official organization of the Florida Association of School Business Administrators.

Discussion sessions were held for all areas and feature speakers at the General Sessions included Ish Brant, Superintendent of Duval County Schools, and the Honorable Thomas D. Bailey, State Superintendent of Schools.

This area includes the overall supervision of the other specific areas. Associate superintendents and others who manage several business support areas would be included in this group.

This would vary from county to county and with the size of the particular school district. A smaller district might have one business manager for the facility areas including Facilities and Planning Operations, Maintenance and Operation Service, Environmental and Energy Management, Purchasing and Distribution, Fixed Assets Accounting, and Transportation. A second business manager would oversee Information Technology, Finance, Risk Management, Auditing, Human Resources, and Food and Nutrition Service.

A larger district on the other hand would have more personnel in each business area and therefore each business manager or associate superintendent would be responsible for only three or four business areas.

Elections of officers and directors for the 1966-67 fiscal year were held and Ed Hurst was elected to serve as the first president for the remainder of the 1965-66 fiscal year. There were a total of 109 charter members from county school systems, universities, junior colleges, and the State Department of Education.

The first annual conference was held in Tampa at the Causeway Inn. Featured General Session spea kers included the Honorable Floyd T. Christian, State Superintendent of Schools and H. Spilman Burns, President of the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO).

Originally there were 11 business areas consisting of the following: Business Management Data Processing Finance Insurance & Property Management Internal Accounting & School Auditing Maintenance & Operations Personnel Management Purchasing & Distribution School Plant Planning School Lunch Transportation

There were two program meetings held for each of the 11 areas at the first conference.

In 1987, at the 21st Annual Conference in Orlando the name of the organization was changed to Florida Association of School Business Officials, Inc. (FASBO). This name is consistent with ASBO and SASBO and the organization is affiliated with both organizations.

Over the 44-year history of the organization many changes have occurred.

One of the most significant is the fact that the business areas now number 13. In 2007, the bylaws were revised to reflect the changes that have occurred over time and now include the following: Business Management Information Technology Finance Risk Management Auditing Maintenance and Operation Services Human Resources Purchasing and Distribution Facilities and Planning Operations Food and Nutrition Service Fixed Assets Accounting Transportation Environmental and Energy Management

Information Technology This of course is the business service area that coordinates the school district’s administrative computers, Web site, software, servers, security, and maintenance of all technology. In smaller districts, the instructional computers would be supervised by this area, but in a larger district this would be handled by the instructional technology personnel and come under the instructional side of the school system.

The district’s Information Technology personnel would be involved in all new construction and renovation projects. They would be responsible for keeping up with the latest technology and support both administrative hardware and software in the school district.

Finance Finance is the budgeting arm of the school system. Personnel in this business area are responsible for the receipt of funds (Accounts Receivable), the expenditure of funds (Accounts Payable and Payroll), and allocating resources (Budgeting). Finance is often the area responsible for accounting and reporting for federal and state grants and programs.

Risk Management This area of school business supervises the district’s insurance and provides that type of coverage to both the facilities and personnel within the school district. This is a very specialized area of support to the school system and experience in the field of insurance is critical to personnel that work in this department. Risk Management www.fasbo.org FASBO

13

is responsible for Workmen’s Compensation claims. They work closely with the insurance provider to make sure personnel receive correct information in a timely manner.

Auditing This is another critical area of the school system. This department makes sure that tax dollars received from city, county and federal governmental entities are allocated to the district and spent within the guidelines and laws of the state of Florida. They are also responsible for auditing the internal accounts of the schools within the district. While each district has their own auditors, they are required to have an outside audit every few years.

Maintenance and Operation Services Personnel in this support department make sure that the existing school plants are properly maintained and kept in good repair. In bigger districts, this might be a larger

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department including painters, electricians, carpenters and other maintenance personnel since these would be needed for ongoing projects. There may be some outsourcing in smaller districts.

Human Resources This is the department responsible for hiring all personnel employed by the school system. They must follow the guidelines for hiring teachers, administrators and support personnel for each school. Records are centralized here to maintain consistency throughout the district. Employee Relations would operate out of this department.

Purchasing and Distribution All supplies, equipment and services used in the school district must be purchased according to statutes of the state of Florida. Personnel in this service area approve requisitions from schools and departments and assign a purchase order for acquisition. For items and services that must be bid, purchasing writes the bid specifications, distributes and opens the bid. After evaluation, bids are recommended for awarding to the School Board.

Some of the larger districts own warehouses for storing school supplies, furniture, custodial equipment and supplies for distribution at a later time. Personnel are necessary for this function. Other districts use just-in-time delivery from local vendors.

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Facilities and Planning Operations

FASBO Leadership

All schools, offices and other facilities used by a school district must first be planned according to the Florida Statutes.

When construction begins, there must be personnel monitoring to assure that the facility is built safely and according to specifications before final occupancy.

In-house architects are often utilized but sometimes are outsourced.

Food and Nutrition Service This is the support area of the school system that oversees the lunchrooms that feed the students in the school district.

Whether it is commodities provided by the federal government for processing or food purchased for consumption by students and teachers, there are very strict guidelines to be followed by school food service managers.

Fixed Assets Accounting Per s on nel i n t he Fi xe d A s s e t s Accounting service area are responsible for the accounting of all assets owned by the school district. Values are established for which all items over that amount must be inventoried. Once a year an inventory is taken and reconciled. Adjustments must be made for any changes, additions or missing assets. As in other business areas, some districts may outsource this function.

The Board of Directors of FASBO consists of the officers—President, VicePresident, Treasurer, Past President, and Executive Director—along with a director from each of the 13 business areas.

FASBO Web site As with any professional organization, FASBO has a user friendly Web site to promote the organization. You can read a brief description of the goals and who is served. The current officers and directors are listed along with contact information.

Next you will find information about the next annual conference of the organization including vendors from the previous conference.

Membership categories and fees, membership and vendor applications follow vendor information.

The Educational Energy Managers have their home page on the FASBO Web site. They are affiliated and are usually part of the annual conference.

Under the Publication title, there is a link to Naylor, LLC, the publisher of the

official FASBO publication, Florida School Business. There is a letter from the president of FASBO to advertisers and information regarding advertising rates.

When you click on the Affiliates section of the Web site, you are linked to ASBO International. The acronym stands for Association of Business Officials, founded in 1910 and considered the parent organization of FASBO. Members of ASBO International are the finance decision-makers in school districts around the world.

The next link is to SASBO a regional organization composed of the 12 Southeastern states. SASBO provides support and professional development for all segments of the fiscal leadership team. As mentioned earlier in the article, FASBO was born out of a SASBO conference.

There are also links to Web sites for FIRN, Florida government, and the Florida Department of Education.

Finally there are jobs posted for positions in the business areas and a link to contact Robin Hukill, Executive Director who manages the Web site. ●

“Education:

a debt due from present to future generations.”

– George Peabody

Transportation Students in a school district that are transported to and from school depend on personnel in this business service area to assure they are transported safely.

This department purchases and maintains vehicles, including buses, used in a school system. They also are responsible for establishing school bus routes.

For over 30 years, The PFM Group has been providing Florida’s School Districts with financial leadership.

Environmental and Energy Management This is a business support area that was not in the original list mainly because they were not of major concern 40 years ago. Today however, caref u l attention must be given to make sure land and facilities are environmentally safe and that there is efficient use of energy in the facilities utilized by students and teachers.

PFM ®

The PFM Group Public Financial Management, Inc. PFM Asset Management LLC PFM Advisors

www.pfm.com

347148_PublicFinancial.indd 1

www.pfm.com

PFM provides comprehensive public school financing services: FINANCIAL PLANNING DEBT ISSUANCE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT ARBITRAGE REBATE OPEB ADVISORY SERVICES PENSION ADVISORY SERVICES

13350 Metro Parkway Suite 302 Fort Myers, FL 33966 239 939-3009 239 939-1220 fax

300 S. Orange Ave. Suite 1170 Orlando, FL 32801 407 648-2208 407 648-1323 fax

201 Alhambra Circle Suite 700 Coral Gables, FL 33134 305 448-6992 305 448-7131 fax

www.fasbo.org FASBO 9/17/07

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5:11:35 PM

Florida Association of School Business Officials

2009 Annual Conference IMAGE PROVIDED BY TRADEWINDS ISLAND RESORTS

October 5–9, 2009 TradeWinds Island Resorts St. Petersburg Beach, Florida

16

FASBO SPRING - SUMMER 2009

Wayne Blanton, Executive Director Florida School Boards Association

2009 FASBO Conference Features: • • • •

Vendor trade show with more than 50 vendors Continental breakfast each morning Beverage breaks Vendor roundtable discussions

IMAGE PROVIDED BY TRADEWINDS ISLAND RESORTS

General Session Speaker

Special Interest Sessions:

Drawings for: • Pre-Conference registration prize • General session door prizes • Vendor prize drawings

IMAGE PROVIDED BY TRADEWINDS ISLAND RESORTS

District and Internal Audits Secret Service on Counterfeiting Electronic Forms Dealing with Difficult People Computer Security Online Auctions for Surplus Property PIVOT Soft ware Demonstration (Spreadsheets) Contract Negotiations Dealing with the Media Public Record Requests

www.fasbo.org FASBO

17

x

Creating Customized Solutions to Meet Your Transportation and Budget Needs Every day school districts are faced with shrinking budgets, rising fuel costs and increasing ridership. Districts like yours are struggling to ensure student safety and security, while additionally addressing ongoing regulatory changes, daily routing concerns, and driver shortages. These transportation issues distract you from focusing on the education needs of your students.

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Call us today to create custom solutions to meet all your needs.

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3/11/09 9:09:14 AM

ng and Building

Envelope Solutions Our nationwide capabilities include: the manufacture of premium products and systems; inventory and diagnostics; repair, restoration and replacement of roofs, façades, parking garages and parking lots; HVAC systems; preventive maintenance and transfer of risk.

To learn more about Tremco’s unique programs and services, call 1-800-892-1872.

18

FASBO SPRING - SUMMER 2009

419520_Tremco.indd 1

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9/19/07 4:45:34 PM

Quality Solutions for Educational Employers

MidAmerica provides innovative employee benefit programs to over 1,500 plan 419910_Florida.indd 1

INDEXOFADVERTISERS

2/27/09 7:30:38 PM

ADMINISTRATIVE DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS Skyward Inc. .....................................3

INVESTMENT ADVISORY SERVICES PFM Asset Management LLC ........... 15

ARBITRAGE REBATE SERVICES PFM Asset Management LLC ........... 15

JANITORIAL/CUSTODIAL SERVICES GCA Services Group .................outside back cover

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS Tremco ........................................... 18 BUILDING MAINTENANCE GCA Services Group .................outside back cover Tremco ........................................... 18

• Social Security Opt-Out Programs • Special Pay Programs

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• HRA/HSA/FSA Plans

serve primarily the education and governmental marketplace.

• GASB 45 Programs

Call 1-800-430-7999 to learn more about us, or visit our website.

211 E. Main St., Ste. 100, Lakeland, Fl 33801 863.688.4500 / (FAX) 863.686.9727 / 800.430.7999 www.midamerica.biz

LOCKERS & LOCKS Southern Lock & Supply .................. 14

Distribution partners include:

Securities offered through GWN Securities, Inc. 11440 Jog Road • Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418 • 546/472-2700 • Member FINRA, SIPC

MODULAR BUILDINGS M Space Holdings, LLC.................... 18

OPEB SERVICES PFM Asset Management LLC ........... 15

COMPUTER SOFTWARE CrossPointe.net, LLC ....................... 14 CONTRACTORS First Student ................................... 18

• Independent 403(b) and 457 TPA Services

sponsors and over a half million employees

421706_MidAmerica.indd 1

CHECK GUARANTEE TIGERTRANZ ....................................4

Our programs include:

3/12/09 2:27:10 PM

ADVERTISER.COM Commerce Bank ...........................commerceonline.com .......................................6 CrossPointe.net, LLC....................www.crosspointenet.com ............................... 14

RETIREMENT PLANS & SERVICES ING ...................................................4

First Student .................................www.firststudentinfo.com ..............................18 The Garland Company Inc. ..........www.garlandco.com ...................................... 11

EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY SOLUTION PROVIDERS LanSchool Technologies, LLC ............6

RISK MANAGEMENT Siver Insurance Consultants ............. 14

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PROGRAMS MidAmerica .............. inside back cover

ROOFING & FLOORING SYSTEMS The Garland Company Inc. ............... 11 Tremco ........................................... 18

GCA Services Group .....................www.gcaservices.com .......... outside back cover Hertz Furniture Systems, LLC .....www.hertzfurniture.com ..........inside front cover ING..................................................www.us.ing.com ..............................................4

M Space Holdings, LLC ................www.mspaceholdings.com ............................18

FINANCIAL ADVISORY SERVICES PFM Asset Management LLC ........... 15 FINANCIAL PRODUCTS & SERVICES Commerce Bank................................6

LanSchool Technologies, LLC .....www.lanschool.com .........................................6

SCHOOL NUTRITION Florida School Nutrition Association........... inside back cover

The Maksin Group ........................www.maksin.com ............................................6 MidAmerica...................................www.midamerica.biz................inside back cover PFM Asset Management LLC ......www.pfm.com ...............................................15

FINANCIAL SERVICES ING ...................................................4 PFM Asset Management LLC ........... 15

SECURITY PRODUCTS & SERVICES Southern Lock & Supply .................. 14

FURNITURE & EQUIPMENT Hertz Furniture Systems, LLC ....... inside front cover

STUDENT INSURANCE UnitedHealthcare Student Resources ....9

Siver Insurance Consultants .......www.siver.com .............................................. 14 Skyward Inc. .................................www.skyward.com ..........................................3 Southern Lock & Supply ..............www.southernlock.com ................................. 14 TIGERTRANZ..................................www.tigertranz.com .........................................4 Tremco ...........................................www.tremcosealants.com ..............................18

INSURANCE ING ...................................................4 The Maksin Group .............................6

TRANSPORTATION First Student ................................... 18

UnitedHealthcare Student Resources ..................www.k12studentinsurance.com .......................9

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