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CSMC 2014
Bringing Choice to Back Office CSMC IS MORE THAN A BACK OFFICE, WE ARE YOUR PARTNER IN SUCCESS Why Use a Back Office Provider? Are you opening your charter school to run a business or to lead a world-class school? Many charter school leaders do not realize the depth and complexity involved in running a charter school, and for most charter schools throughout the country, using a back office company is the cost effective way to meet the financial and operational needs of your school.
t Access to financial experts t Increase your school’s bandwidth t Lower your costs t Maintain decision making control t Ensure accuracy in data and reporting Charter school authorizers and state agencies place enormous pressure on schools to maintain accurate books, payroll records, and compliance and assessment data reports. Using an effective back office company like CSMC can allow you to focus on your main priorities, your students and your educational program.
Why CSMC? CSMC has been assisting charter schools with operational and financial support since 2001. We are the nation’s largest and one of the oldest charter school back office providers. Our mission is to ensure a laser-like focus on improving efficiencies and saving your school money. We do that by providing a range of cost effective and high quality business services – bringing the experience and scale of an organization that has committed years to helping grow the charter movement across the nation. Our expert staff of charter school founders, board members, CPAs, school data analysts, and more allows us to offer a depth of expertise at a far lower cost than a charter school could fit in its own budget. We manage the necessary financial and operational systems to keep your school operating at peak performance, all while your school’s leadership still retains full control over the operations and decision making.
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Services TableCSMC of Contents Financial Services Charter Development and Renewal s Bookkeeping s Payroll Development & Renewal s Charter Vision Academy – On-demand charter3-4 petition training New School s Accounts payable/receivable
s Budget creation s Authorizer advocacy and negotiation support
s Budgeting and cash-flow projections
s Governance best practice alignment
Back Office Financial Services
s AuditCharter support
Vision Web Portal
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s Replication strategies
7-10
School Software Support
CSMC Client Testimonial Compliance and Reporting
s Power School Implementation and Support
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s Local/State/Federal reporting
s Student data assessment solutions
s ADA Tracking and reporting
s Online student enrollment system
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Financing Support
School Outreach & Marketing Support 13 s Charter Vision© - 24 Hour web-based financial portal
s Grant tracking for expense reports
Governance & Strategic s Monthly financial board reports s Student Longitudinal State Reports PowerSchool Student
Planning Support 14 Governance and Strategic Planning
s Governance training for administrators and15-16 board members Information System
s Strategic planning guidance Human Resources and Payroll OARS Student Data Assessment Support
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s Teachers and Staff retirement system reporting
s Finance training for staff and board members
s Benefits
s Replication guidance for schools looking to grow
s Payroll Tax
s Employee handbook
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PORT OF LOS ANGELES HIGH SCHOOL
“CSMC offers flexible and accurate services- there is no limit to their attentiveness and care for the success of our school.” ~Jim Cross
Ŕ Over 50,000 K-12 students are enrolled in CSMC supported schools Ŕ Over 2,000 full time teachers receive payroll and benefit support through CSMC Ŕ Thousands of training hours offered at school sites, regional meetings, conferences, and for state associations
YOUR EXPERTISE LIES IN EDUCATING STUDENTS EDUCATING YOUR YOUR STUDENTS
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Charter School Development Training WEB-BASED
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ON DEMAND
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RIGHT INFORMATION
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RIGHT TIME
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RIGHT PLACE
Charter Vision Academy from CSMC You need quality training to launch an excellent school. But it is challenging to find the time and money to attend live workshops and trainings; especially when faced with busy schedules, shrinking budgets, rising travel costs, and tough economic times. CSMC is helping to break down the barriers between excellent educators and their dream of opening a high quality charter school. That’s why CSMC has brought Charter Vision Academy on demand and right to your fingertips. Charter Vision Academy is available in a convenient and affordable online environment, and provides your team with the expertise, training, and resources to turn your vision into an approvable charter petition.
s 24/7 web-based on-demand access s Downloadable templates and guides s Based on 20 years of charter school best practices s Speed up your team’s ability to draft a petition s Work as a team or individually s Watch, stop, rewind, replay, and come back tomorrow
Overview of Charter Vision Academy’s On Demand Training CSMC’s charter petition training will cover all the aspects of launching a high quality charter school. s Fundamental Basics of Charter School Development s Overview of all Required Elements
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s Building your Founding Team
s Budget Development
s Fundraising
s Educational Program Breakdown
s Facility Planning
HELPING THE CHARTER CHARTER MOVEMENT MOVEMENTSUCCEED, SUCCEED ONE ONE SCHOOL SCHOOL AT AT AA TIME TIME HELPING THE
s Community Outreach
KING CHAVEZ PUBLIC SCHOOLS
“The experience experience and they [CSMC] bring to our schools has helped us “The andknowledge knowledgethat that they [CSMC] bring to our schools has helped us expand beyond our imagination we are now up to 6 schools.” expand our imagination- we are now up to 6 schools.”
~Tim Wolf~Tim Wolf
Charter School Budget Support We collaborate with your school leadership team to create an
Downloadable Templates & Sample Language
operating budget for the school covering all revenues the school
Over the past 20 years, since charter schools first started, school
should expect to receive.
leaders have developed numerous operational and academic best
t School start-up budget
practices. Why reinvent the wheel?
t 5 Year operating budget projection
t Articles of Incorporation
t Full breakdown of projected expenses
t Service plans for specialstudent populations
t Cash flow statement for all 5 year
t Admissions policies
t Budget narrative to include in petition
t Authorizer MOUs
t Corporate By-laws t Suspension and Expulsion policies
t Easy to follow spreadsheets
Online Training Videos Our custom video presentations range from 30-60 minutes long and take you through the relevant petition information, background, and context that every charter school developer needs to know. t Meeting state legal requirements
t Presenting your educational program
t Addressing the needs of various student populations t Governance structure and best practices
t Creating and measuring school and student outcomes
t School outreach and admissions
t School Finance 101
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Back Office Financial Services Charter school accounting and bookkeeping can be a very tedious and difficult endeavor. Every detail must be meticulously accounted for and our staff of CPAs and charter school financial experts have the experience to help your school with all of your financial needs, from creating sustainable budgets to providing audit reports. This is just a short list of the many back office financial and operational services CSMC can provide your charter school.
Bookkeeping Accurate bookkeeping is the backbone of your fiscal health. Our team will ensure that all financial transactions are accurate and reconciled, enabling you to stay on top of your numbers and make wise spending decisions for the benefit of your students and staff. t Enterprise level accounting software t Revenue & expense projections
t Board meeting reports t Fiscal training
Accounts Payable/Receivable Proper attention and management of your school’s accounts receivable is vital to making sure that your school maximizes every dollar for which it is eligible. For your school’s accounts payable, CSMC creates a process and solution that works best for your school to maximize efficiency and transparency, and be in line with your financial policy protocols. t Strict monitoring of all eligible receivables, including restricted accounts t Processing, verifying, & approving submissions for all vendor payables
Budgeting and Cash Flow Projections Our knowledgeable team of budget experts can help you anticipate the needs of your school and set realistic and manageable annual and five-year budgets that will make the most of your limited resources and help you accomplish your goals. t Multiple budget revisions t Budget as a network of schools or as individual sites
Payroll Services Every member of your team works hard, and compensating them correctly and on time, every time, is an important task. We know that payroll is about more than running checks, and with years of experience working with many payroll companies, we will make sure that this job gets done right. t State retirement reporting t Tax filings t Leave accruals
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Long Term Strategic Financial Planning If your school has a vision of growth for locations, grades served, or to save for that ideal facility, CSMC can help your school create the plan that can make your fiscal aspirations come true in the most responsible and quickest manner possible. t Facility planning t Long term benefit planning
Compensation & Bonus Analysis Our team can conduct complete assessments of your compensation strategies, including salaries, benefits packages, and bonuses for school leaders or for any or all staff members. This analysis will provide new levels of transparency that will improve staff retention and morale and will give you a solid foundation for future budgeting. t Executive compensation analysis t Teacher salary comparison with comparable schools
Authorizer Compliance & Reporting In return for your autonomy as a charter school, you are accountable for a variety of required reports to your authorizer designed to ensure compliance with all regulations as well as your charter. We can help you sort out the many deadlines and reports for which you are responsible so that you can remain in good standing. t Special authorizer fiscal reporting t Authorizer negotiations and meetings
Audit Preparation To avoid an unnecessarily stressful summer, we will prepare you for your audit throughout the year. With the help of our CSMC staff, you will be better positioned for your annual audit, which will result in meeting all state requirements and minimizing the likelihood for any errors and corrections required.
t Continuous support throughout year to assure regulatory compliance t Recommendations for operational policy or procedural change to align with all laws
YOUR EXPERTISE LIES IN EDUCATING YOUR STUDENTS
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www.CharterVision.net
Charter Vision Web Portal Charter Vision is CSMC’s easy to use online portal giving each school 24/7 access to their financial standing and reports. From Cash on Hand, to Revenue Year to Date, to Monthly Expenditures, every financial report needed to lead a cutting edge charter school is available at the tip of your fingers.
New Features: 1. REAL-TIME FINANCIAL REPORT ACCESS Get 24/7 access to your school’s vital financial reports in real time. Track accounts receivable and payable, monitor revenue and expenses by category, view paid invoices, cash flow projections and more.
2. COMPLIANCE CALENDAR Never miss a state reporting deadline again! On CSMC’s Compliance Calendar, you can view your charter school’s annual state and federal reporting calendar, with linked information for greater detail, assignment of duties, and stored documents for evidence of submission.
3. SUBSCRIPTIONS Don’t have time to log in to Charter Vision? Simply want reports delivered to your e-mail box at a time you choose? With Charter Vision, you can set up subscriptions to have all Charter Vision reports delivered to your e-mail box, or any number of e-mail boxes, as often as you would like.
4. CUSTOMIZABLE DASHBOARDS Customize your Charter Vision dashboard to reflect the exact reports that matter most to you. Financial reports, student information, cash on hand are just a few of the available widgets with which you can populate your dashboard. Every user can set their own dashboard settings.
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5. SORT REPORTS BY PARENT ORGANIZATION OR BY INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS If your organization leads more than one charter school, often it can be challenging to get network wide or individual school reports. Charter Vision allows you to sort through every school in your organization with the ease of a drop down selection. No more searching through multiple files, Charter Vision is your one stop shop.
6. FISCAL TRANSPARENCY LIKE NO OTHER Charter Vision is not just for your school leader or business manager; all key stakeholders can get up to date access to your school’s financial data. Charter Vision is free to CSMC clients, so key staff members, board members, auditors, or anyone you assign can have their own unique logon.
HELPING THE CHARTER MOVEMENT SUCCEED ONE SCHOOL AT A TIME
STUDENT DATA DASHBOARD t Frequently absent students list t Fiscal impact of absences t Student demographic totals t LCFF & special program eligible totals
COMPLIANCE CALENDER t Key due dates for all state and federal compliance reporting t Visible assignment of reporting duties & responsibilities t Links to the corresponding state or federal programs for more detailed information t Downloadable access to all completed reporting documents such as CALPADS, Attendance Reports, and Unaudited Actuals
FINANCIAL REPORTS DASHBOARD t Sort reports by total CMO or by individual school sites Popular reports include: t Actual to Budget Summary t Expenses by Category t Income Statement t Revenue by Category t Restricted Funds Tracking t Check Register
www.CharterVision.net
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SAMPLE REPORT - EXPENSE BY CATEGORY
1. 2.
NEED Charter Vision 3.0 logo
3.
4.
1. CALENDAR PERIODS View specific expense-by-category reports by choosing beginning and ending months & fiscal year.
2. EXPENSE STATISTICS An easy-to-read chart displays your school’s line item expenses by individual amounts, total dollar by category, and percentage of category.
3. CHARTS & GRAPHS Pie charts quickly summarize the expenses by category. Click on any pie slice to drill deeper into that account.
4. VIEW YOUR SOURCE DOCUMENT Now you can immediately view your invoices & see exactly what was paid.
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Charter Vision for your tablet or phone
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Client Testimonial OUR CLIENTS ARE OUR BEST ADVOCATES - SEE WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY ABOUT CSMC
Over the years, I have worked as a teacher, principal, charter school administrator, and recently as a district Superintendent, and one major lesson I’ve learned along the way is that you are only as good as your support team. When I was hired to be the Executive Director of Clayton Valley Charter High School, I knew we’d need a great deal of financial support and transparency to help propel this school to the level of operational excellence that everyone involved in its conversion dreamed of.
DAVE LINZEY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
My leadership team and I examined the services we were receiving along with our resources and current back office company at the time and determined that we needed to take a different path for back office support. In that process, CSMC stood out from the rest. Their expertise, knowledge, responsiveness, creativity, and teamwork approach, along with their specialization with tremendous resources made the decision to partner with CSMC an easy one. CSMC understood our needs and they supported us with quality leadership for decision-making. Clayton Valley chose to utilize CSMC’s additional suite of services, which included the implementation and support of PowerSchool for our Student Information System. Taking this route saved us a tremendous amount of money and staff time. As a result, the administrative team is now able to focus on what we do best – providing leadership in the areas of classroom instruction, meeting the needs of students, and implementing highly effective programs. Now we have direct access to huge team of CSMC experts without having the high cost of hiring our own internal staff. CSMC staff has been very responsive and has exceeded our expectations with their overall high quality of service. Being a new school, there are adjustment periods and CSMC has been able to support us through every ebb and flow. Having 24/7 access to Charter Vision, along with all of our financial data immediately at the tip of our fingers, allows us to make decisions that best meet the needs of the school. As Clayton Valley Charter High School grows and develops into one of the premier high schools in all of California, we know that CSMC will be right there by us, just like they are for almost 150 schools throughout the nation. We are partners!
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Financing In today’s economic climate, securing charter school facility financing is not an easy feat. The ability to secure financing is perhaps one of the foremost factors influencing whether or not a new building is in your school’s future.
CSMC has facilitated dozens of facility financing projects and cash flow transactions for its clients in the last 10 years. We can help you: t Start developing your project and analyze your financing needs. t Identify the type of financing that best suits your needs from New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC), Municipal Tax Exempt Bond Financing, Conventional Financing and Lease to Purchase options, and short-term financing. t Get introduced to lenders and financiers, including CSMC partners that specialize in charter school finance. t Better understand lender jargon and help your school make the best impression on your lender throughout the approval process. t Track the reports required by your lender. Automatically provide statements to your lender through Charter Vision 3.0.
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Student Outreach & Marketing CSMC understands that one of the biggest challenges to opening and growing a successful charter school is marketing the school and recruiting students. Most charter school leaders are not experts in marketing or graphic design, so CSMC has worked to create an almost turn-key marketing and outreach solution for your school. CSMC has worked with charter school leaders and professional graphic designers to create a collection of templates and guides ready to be rolled out for your school. t Postcards & flyers t Door hangers
t Tri-fold brochures t Marketing checklists
t Social media tips t Press release templates
A professional and customized marketing campaign is only days away with CSMC Marketing. We have partnered with experience graphic artists who can customize your desired collateral piece, and at a very competitive rate. No need to buy dozens of expensive stock images or go back and forth with a graphic artist who does not understand the needs of a charter school.
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Governance & Strategic Planning HIGH QUALITY CHARTER SCHOOL LEADERSHIP REQUIRES HIGH QUALITY TRAINING Effective charter school leadership is rarely formed, but rather cultivated and developed over time. In order to assure high quality and long-term sustainability, charter schools must invest in the right training and professional development.
Charter Vision Finance Academy CSMC’s Charter Vision Finance Academy gives your team the in-depth training and insight that school leaders and board members need for informed decision making and effective long-term planning. t State budget overview and outlook t Primary reporting requirements
t Cash flow planning t Annual audits
t Revenue programs t Expense benchmarking t Maximizing revenues & managing expenses
Charter Vision Governance Academy Governance Academy will provide your school leaders with an overview of key state laws, rules and regulations, as well as governance best practices. t Board roles & responsibilities t Leadership development and best practices t Administrative roles & responsibilities t Brown Act & conflict of interest
Charter Vision Strategic Planning Are you a brand new school and want to make sure you successfully hit the ground running? Is your school where you thought it would be when you opened 4 years ago? Are you ready to replicate? CSMC can help your school develop the short and long-term plans and strategies for your school to emerge as a leader in its community. t 6 Step Business Plans t Leadership operational focus t Strategic plan guidance t Replication considerations and planning t Strategies for cultivating excellent teachers and leaders
www.csmci.com
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Power School Power STUDENTINFORMATION INFORMATIONSYSTEM SYSTEMSHOULD SHOULDFREE FREEUP UPYOUR YOURRESOURCES, RESOURCES NOT - NOTTAKE TAKEAWAY AWAYFROM FROMTHEM THEM A ASTUDENT CSMC observed several of clients its clients have a positive experience setting implementing their Student CSMC observed thatthat several of its diddid notnot have a positive experience setting upup andand implementing their Student Information Information System (SIS). For some, the lack of technology personnel and training was the problem. For others, it was
System For asome, the lacksystem of technology training was the problem. For others, it was trying to make a distrying(SIS). to make district-level work forpersonnel a charterand school. trict-level system work for a charter school. CSMC’s partnership with Pearson’s PowerSchool program gives you all the benefits of an effective SIS system without
CSMC’s partnership Pearson’s PowerSchool program you all benefitsand of an effective SISa system the steep learningwith curve, high expense, and risk typicallygives required to the implement manage such system.without the steep learning curve, high expense, and risk typically required to implement and manage such a system.
POWERTEACHER MOBILE
POWERTEACHER MOBILE NOW AVAILABLE AVAILABLEFOR FORYOUR YOUR NOW TABLET ORSMARTPHONE SMARTPHONE IPAD OR
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HELPING THE CHARTER CHARTER MOVEMENT MOVEMENTSUCCEED, SUCCEED ONE ONE SCHOOL SCHOOL AT AT AA TIME TIME HELPING THE
CELERITY EDUCATIONAL GROUP “CSMC allows our school access to resources that wouldn’t be financially obtainable unless we were twice the size. We can operate with the expertise and resources of a large school, on a small school budget.” ~Vielka McFarlane
PowerSchool Features
No On-Site Tech Required:
t Student and parent portal in multiple languages
t Initial setup and implementation performed by
t GradeBook component for teachers t iPad and smartphone access for teacher and admin t Scheduling component
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professionally trained CSMC staff t School site or online staff training available for administrators and teachers
t Family, health, and immunization management
t No system monitoring or maintenance required
t Built-in state reports
t CSMC HelpDesk available via phone, email, or web portal
t Faculty management t More features being released each year
Lower Costs:
Charter School Specific:
t No capital technology investments
t No state reporting expert required at the charter school
t Reduce up-front costs for staff training
t School specific reports and dashboards
t Lower cost of initial system implementation
t Access to CSMC built customizations
t Security of knowing your data is being housed on
t Custom templates and report cards t Access to task specific tools and resources
dedicated and enterprise class servers t Get the support you need when you need it
t Adjust SIS to meet your school’s specific needs
MINIMIZE TIME SPENT ON SIS, MAXIMIZE TIME SPENT IN STUDENT SUCCESS
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Student Data Assessment LET CSMC HELP YOU MANAGE AND UTILIZE YOUR ASSESSMENT DATA CSMC supports the setup, implementation, and training of one of the more popular, user-friendly, and cost efficient assessment systems on the market, OARS. Providing insight on student test scores should be the starting point, but not the only point. Properly utilized, student assessment data can be broken down from the school organization level all the way down to the individual student. Our partners’ systems allow you to gather and analyze student data, aggregate it and disaggregate it, all in real time. The focus is on helping teachers and administrators make meaning from complex assessment data. Teachers and administrators can use the data and report options to monitor student progress, identify each individual student’s strengths and weaknesses, recognize curriculum and instructional needs, and plan for the next instructional unit.
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What CSMC can do for you: t Fully integrate with your existing Student Information System t Upload your student demographic data t Import historical assessment data including CST, CMA, CAHSEE, CELDT t Offer on-site teacher training at a time convenient to you t Provide insight and support in helping your school fully utilize assessment data t Automate the routine of uploading student data
OARS Key Features: t OARS has a growing library of diagnostic tests for the Smart Balanced Assessment, CST, and CAHSEE t Item Bank - Select over 20,000 Common Core State Standard aligned questions to administer to your classroom t Key Editor - Create your own tests, quizzes, or benchmarks t Plain Paper Scanning – Print your bubble sheets directly from OARS t Online Assessment Tool – Use the item bank, key editor, or diagnostic tests and administer your assessment online t Multiple Measures Report – Pull data ranging from local assessments, demographics and state assessments, all exportable to Excel or PDF t Item Analysis Report – Analyze students’ responses to individual assessment items. Identify which standards have been mastered.
Why a CSMC Supported Assessment System is for you: t Lower your up-front costs and incur no capital investment in technology or licenses t Know your student data is being housed in a secure, dedicated, and enterprise class server t Compare multiple sets of benchmark and test data from month to month and year to year t Create tests, quizzes, benchmark assessments, or homework in less time t Measure academic results with a greater sense of clarity and boost your overall student achievement
www.CharterVision.net
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About CSMC CSMC is one of the largest and oldest providers of charter school back office business services in the nation. With over 70 employees and growing, we support more than 150 schools across the country. CSMC’s sole mission is to support and empower leaders in education reform to create and lead innovative and high quality charter schools. With our background in school development, accounting, school operations, and financial management, CSMC can free you to lead your team toward focusing on creating high-functioning lifelong learners. Our experience was gained from the same personal narrative that many charter schools are founded upon: fifteen years ago, CSMC founder Sandro Lanni was looking for a better school for his own children and decided to help start what was then a new concept in public schools. The educational leaders of this new charter start-up needed financial and business support, so Sandro combined his extensive business experience with his support of the charter school movement and started CSMC, thus creating a new option of support for charter schools. Our innovative and experienced team of professionals is equipped to help you with all of your charter school back office business needs. But, we know that offering an unrivaled quality of service and outstanding value is not enough; that’s why our technical, financial, and operational initiatives are driven by the evolving needs of our customers. We are constantly implementing new services and levels of support for our clients and believe we can be the back office business provider to help your charter school attain the operational excellence you seek.
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Headquarters Ph. 888.994.CSMC
Southern California Ph. 213.430.9045
Northern California Ph. 510.891.1343
Arizona
Ph. 888. 994-CSMC
Colorado
Ph. 719.429.7665
Florida
Ph. 904.236.4878
Hawaii
Ph. 888.994.CSMC
Illinois
Louisiana
Texas
Ph. 888.994.CSMC
Ph. 888.994.CSMC
Ph. 888.994.CSMC
Ph. 888.994.CSMC
Ph. 888.994.CSMC
Ph. 888.994.CSMC
Indiana
Ohio
Wyoming
www.csmci.com