casbo school business spring 2013
DESCRIPTION
CASBO School Business Magazine Spring 2013TRANSCRIPT
california
California Association of School Business Officials
schoolbusinessSpring 2013
Prop. 30 – just the factsSigh of relief leads to questions about future
Digging into dataMeasuring district operations,efficiency at core of new data system
Happy workers,happy workplaceImprove performance, productivityby addressing workplace happiness
2 | California School Business
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Spring 2013 | 3
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4 | California School Business
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Spring 2013 | 5
contents departments 9 Checking in Don’t worry…be happy! Molly McGee Hewitt
13 Bottom line CASBO is a key driver in the race for excellence Michael Johnston
15 In focus CASBO member profile: Melissa Anderson
17 In focus CASBO associate member profile: Marty Middleton 50 Book club The Power of Professionalism: The Seven Mind-Sets that Drive Performance and Build Trust
52 Career Rx Ask yourself the dreaded question…
57 Out & about Photos from CASBO events
62 Last words
cover story32 Happy workers, happy workplace Improve performance, productivity by addressing workplace happiness Julie Phillips Randles
interview19 Education Committee chair is former school board member, community activist Joan Buchanan responds to questions on Prop. 30, bonds, policy goals Julie Phillips Randles
features25 Prop. 30 – just the facts Sigh of relief leads to questions about future Craig W. Anderson
42 Digging into data Measuring district operations, efficiency at core of new data system Lisa Maria Boyles
Volume 78 Number 1 Spring 2013
25
15
42
6 | California School Business
publisher
editor in chief
features editor
contributors
editorial assistant
design/layout
advertising art
casbo officers
president
president-elect
vice president
immediate past president
advertising sales manager
Molly McGee Hewitt
Kevin Swartzendruber
Julie Phillips Randles
Craig W. Anderson
Lisa Maria Boyles
Erika Sizemore
Sharon Adlis
Lori Mattas
Michael JohnstonClovis Unified School District
Rich BusePajaro Valley Unified School District
Vincent ChristakosHemet Unified School District
Gary MatsumotoHacienda La Puente Unified School District
CiCi TrinoAssociation Outsource Services, Inc. 115 Spring Water Way Folsom, CA 95630 916.990.9999
www.casbo.org
California School Business (ISSN# 1935-0716) is published quarterly by the California Association of School BusinessOfficials, 1001 K Street, 5th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814. (916) 447-3783. $2 of CASBO membership dues goes towardthe subscription to California School Business magazine. The subscription rate for each CASBO nonmember is $20. Periodicals postage paid at Sacramento and at additional mailing office. Send address changes to the CASBO membership department at 1001 K Street, 5th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814.
Articles published in California School Business are edited for style, content and space prior to publication. Views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent CASBO policies or positions. Endorsement by CASBO of products and services advertised in California School Business is not implied or expressed.
Copyright 2013 CASBO. All rights reserved. The contents of the publication may not be reproduced by any means, in wholeor in part, without the prior written consent of the publisher.
Published March 2013
ABOUT CASBO
A private, nonprofit corporation,
CASBO was founded in 1928 and
is the oldest statewide school
administrator’s organization in
California. Association members
are the voice of the industry
and oversee all areas of school
business management and
operations, including finance,
accounting, payroll, human
resources, risk management,
transportation, school nutrition,
maintenance and operations,
information technology, purchasing,
school safety and school facilities.
CASBO MISSION
The mission of CASBO, the leader
in school business management,
is to set the standard for best
business practices and policies
that support public education
through high-quality professional
development and effective advocacy,
communication and collaboration.
STRATEGIC PLAN
In April 2007, the association
adopted its new strategic plan
that will serve as a road map for
the organization’s activities for the
next several years in the areas of
administration and governance,
professional development,
advocacy and policy, marketing
and communications, and
membership and partnerships.
For more details on the strategic
plan, visit our website at www.
casbo.org. The plan can be found
under the “organization” link.
Spring 2013 | 7
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Spring 2013 | 9
checkingin
Don’t worry…be happy!
I have always loved to laugh and celebrate. Thanks to my father, I inherited a rather wicked sense of humor and the ability to see the funny in almost any situation. If you ride in my car, you’ll notice that I often listen to comedy radio and I love positive literature and upbeat speakers. At times, I am guilty of inflicting my humor on those around me. I may need to work on my timing and sense of appropriateness, but I do understand and appreciate the concept of comic relief!
Somewhere along the line, although I still love to laugh and celebrate, I got very serious and became a world-class worrier. Like the famous statue of Atlas with the world on his shoulders, whether it was my work or my family, I started to act as if I were carrying the world. My perspective started to focus on all the challenges, obstacles and things that needed attention. Sometimes, I forgot to laugh and started to take myself a bit too seriously.
Has this happened to you in the last few years? California’s school business officials have endured the most horrific five years in the history of public education. We have seen cutbacks in technology, risk management, finance, payroll, HR, child nutrition, maintenance and operations, facilities and transportation – literally every discipline served by CASBO members. We have lost members and friends due to layoffs, and have lost member participation in some areas due to increased work and responsibilities. Many of our members put in nights and weekends trying to keep schools solvent and functioning for our children. Somewhere in there, we got really serious. It was hard not to!
This issue has a wonderful article on the correlation between happiness and productivity in the workplace. With the passing of Proposition 30, while not the long-term solution we had hoped for, we did get a break in the chaos. A chance to regroup and face a more positive future was a welcome relief. I started seeing smiles for the first time in a long time. There is evidence of light at the end of the tunnel, and a new sense of anticipation and positive energy is evident in our industry.
While I do feel it is important to take our work seriously, I also think it is important to take ourselves with a grain of salt and a big dose of humor. We cannot lead without understanding the value of a positive and happy workplace. Happy workers outperform and handle obstacles with greater ease than unhappy folks. Laughter has always been the best medicine, and is a salve to soothe the stressed and the tired! A smile, a positive word and a compliment bring about much greater productivity and loyalty than a memo or email. The positive human factor is what makes great leaders.
As we approach the 2013 CASBO Annual Conference & California School Business Expo, our professional staff – in conjunction with our member-led Annual Conference Committee and Annual Conference Volunteer Task Force – are in preparation overdrive! Every meeting includes great work and a little bit of laughter. This year’s conference will give you the chance to recharge, revitalize and re-invigorate yourself and the profession. There will be workshops for in-depth learning, speakers who inspire and social activities for networking. There will be smiles, laughter and professionalism.
I look forward to our celebration in Long Beach, and to the future of public education!
Molly McGee HewittExecutive Director
There is evidence of light at the end of the tunnel, and a new sense of anticipation and positive energy is evident in our industry.
10 | California School Business
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Proposition 30 has brought much needed relief to California schools, adding more than $5 billion of estimated new revenue for K-14 education. That’s great, but it’s only a start.
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Spring 2013 | 13
bottomline
By Michael Johnston CASBO President
casbo is a key driverin the race for excellence
When i became casbo president
in April 2012, while excited about the opportunities before me and honored to serve, there were dark clouds on the horizon for California’s public schools. We had endured almost $20 billion in cuts, necessitating layoffs, furloughs and program elimination. There was not one school district or county office of education that had not felt the impact of our education economy.
The challenge was clear – casbo had to continue to be a strong leader in the political and educational community of California. The very future of our schools was at risk.
For the past year, along with the of-ficers, member leaders and professional staff, casbo has worked tirelessly on behalf of our profession and the children we serve.
Recognizing that our members were losing their ability to attend professional development programs away from the office, we successfully launched our online learning program. Today, free courses are available 24 hours a day to members, with many additional courses in the development stage! Our iPad Academy and Executive iPad Acad-emy were a success and are now being duplicated across the country. Deputy Executive Director Tatia Davenport has worked diligently to bring more and more programs to members.
Our video blogs and outreach to members continues to grow. Our maga-zine, newsletter and other publications, including a Buyers’ Guide, provide our members with valuable information, career advice and support.
A strategic look at our regional workshops led us to make changes to our programs that enable districts or county offices to book workshops in their neigh-borhood, or find a program locally that meets their needs. With the help of our Continuing Education and Certification Committee and our Professional Stan-dards and Leadership Committee, we are adding programs and enhancing our professional development in all areas.
While cbo Certification continues to thrive, we are updating this program and this fiscal year will add three new certifications: Director of Fiscal Services, Director of Human Resources and a spe-cialized certification called School Busi-ness Professional i, ii, iii!
We wrapped up our last five-year strategic plan and are in the planning stages of casbo by Design, a new road-map for the association. Over 100 casbo member leaders have already been in-volved in this member-driven process.
Despite the educational economy, we have continued our financial stability and have exceeded our required 25 percent reserve, ending the 2011/12 year with a surplus.
Our associate members embraced our new membership categories, and all current Premier, Premier Plus and Stra-tegic Alliance partners have extended their memberships. These programs, paired with our associate memberships, sponsorships and partnerships, are enabling casbo to continually develop and improve our programs and services to members.
We welcomed new Deputy Execu-tive Director of Governmental Relations
Jeff Vaca to casbo last March. Our NewsBreaks, legislative advocacy, online bill information and Proposition 30 re-sources, and our work with the legislative community, have expanded. casbo also hired a new advocate, Sara Bachez, al-lowing us to double our advocacy efforts.
Executive Director Molly McGee Hewitt and our professional staff contin-ue to reach out to sections and profession-al councils to serve members and provide additional programs and assistance.
As I prepare to welcome new casbo President Rich Buse at the casbo Annual Conference & California School Business Expo April 3-6 in Long Beach, I am partic-ularly mindful of the successes we’ve had and the races we’ve won this year. While the Toyota Grand Prix that will come to Long Beach post-conference is a for-profit race, the race for excellence in education is one that supports the future of our chil-dren and the schools we serve. It is not a one-time event, but an ongoing race that requires our passion, our dedication and our commitment to public schools.
Thank you for allowing me to join with you in this race, and let us never forget the challenges we have overcome and the distance we have traveled.
14 | California School Business
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Spring 2013 | 15
infocus
Spring 2013 | 15Photography by Hope Harris
Melissa Anderson, chief of district financial services for the San Bernardino
County Superintendent of Schools, may be lighthearted, but she has serious
school business leadership chops after nearly two decades in the industry.
In her current role, Anderson oversees the financial transactions of 33
K-12 districts, four community college districts, two Regional Occupational
Programs districts, three joint powers authorities, the county schools office
and numerous charter schools. Prior to coming to SBCSS in 2005, Anderson
had moved up through the ranks at Fontana Unified School District, holding
posts including budget and fiscal analyst, assistant fiscal services director
and fiscal services director. She started her 19-year school business career
as a senior accounting technician for the Rialto Unified School District.
Throughout her career, two traits have been at the forefront – a terrific
sense of humor and a tendency to be a compulsive volunteer. Both have
served her well in a career she says serves a higher purpose. “School
business is not static. It’s constantly changing and exciting. It’s not always
fun, but it is dynamic and I crave a challenge,” Anderson explained. “And
I know, even though I’m somewhat removed from students, that we are
ultimately serving students.”
She finds great joy in leading what she calls an “amazing team” at the
county office, despite the intense level of responsibility for every dollar
coming in or going out. She brings that happiness, and her comedic nature,
to work each day. “The best part of my job is having the autonomy to create
an atmosphere of joy, gratitude and humor,” Anderson said.
In addition to being a CASBO member since 1998, Anderson has volunteered
on behalf of Riverside Employee/Employer Partnership for Benefits, BEST-NET
County Computer Consortium, Public School Services, Fontana Management
Association, San Bernardino School Employees Federal Credit Union and other
organizations. She’s been a serial volunteer for as long as she can remember.
“I have this need to continue to challenge myself, and I’m curious by nature,”
Anderson explained. “I have been sitting with people in meetings and told
them, ‘if it appears I’m starting to raise my hand, please stop me,’” she joked.
On behalf of CASBO, Anderson is currently the chair of the Eastern Section
and state Financial Services Professional Councils, and is a member of the
CASBO by Design Strategic Planning Team, the Annual Conference Committee
and the Eastern Section board of directors. She is also the go-to person at
any CASBO event that requires a spirited and funny emcee. She says the
benefits of CASBO are no laughing matter. “The professional development
opportunities are the foremost benefit, but there’s also the ability to network
across disciplines, the certification programs and the mentoring. All of these
aspects of CASBO membership have inspired me to expand my horizons.”
Melissa AndersonThis funny lady is serious about school business
16 | California School Business
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Spring 2013 | 17
infocus
Spring 2013 | 17Photography by Hope Harris
Marty Middleton is one of only a handful of women nationwide who sells
school buses. She’s proud of that distinction, and of the way the job she
loves allows her to help California’s students.
Middleton, today a territory sales manager for A-Z Bus Sales Inc., began
her career in school business in a school district purchasing department.
During her 10 years at Kyrene Elementary School District in Arizona, the
district opened 15 new schools. “I bought a lot of buses during that time;
I actually bought a lot of everything,” Middleton joked.
An area bus distributor, impressed with her expertise, convinced
Middleton to leave the district and join the firm as a sales representa-
tive. “I never would have left if I couldn’t have stayed in the school field,”
she said. “People say, ‘once schools get in your blood, you don’t want
to leave.’ It’s so true.” After four years in bus sales in Arizona, she was
hired in 1998 by A-Z Bus Sales and relocated to Northern California.
Her territory runs from Monterey County to the Oregon border, requir-
ing Middleton to drive nearly 30,000 miles a year to meet with school
districts. But the extensive travel has not dampened her enthusiasm.
“It’s the thrill of knowing that you’re helping schools. There’s just nothing
better than that.”
Middleton is no newcomer to school business associations. She’s been
a CASBO member since 1998, and while working in Arizona was a board
member for AASBO. She has also participated in the Association of
School Business Officials International. “There’s so much value in build-
ing relationships, meeting people doing the same thing you are doing
and sharing information,” Middleton said of her dedication to the various
school business associations.
On behalf of CASBO, Middleton has twice served as the associate
member liaison for the Northern Section, and is currently a member of
the statewide Associate Member Committee. Along the way, her CASBO
participation has been supported by A-Z. “When I say I want to do this or
that with CASBO, they say, ‘Fine, go for it. Whatever you want to do, we
will support you,’ and they have.”
Middleton tells potential associate members that CASBO provides a key
opportunity for networking with school business officials in every disci-
pline, the chance to build long-lasting vendor relationships and a place
for vendors to gain a better understanding of the products and services
schools need most. “In this economy, it’s all about how much money
you can help districts save. Districts never have as much money as they
need, so any time you can help them meet their needs and save money,
you’ve just done a great job for that community,” Middleton explained.
Marty MiddletonShe’s a leader in a field with few women
18 | California School Business
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Spring 2013 | 19
By Julie Phillips Randles
interview
Education Committee chair is formerschool board member,community activistJoan Buchanan respondsto questions on Prop. 30,bonds, policy goals
California assembly member Joan Buchanan, a former
school board member and longtime community
activist, was named chair of the Assembly Education
Committee by Speaker John A. Perez in August 2012.
Buchanan was first elected to the state Assembly in No-vember 2008 to represent the 15th Assembly District, which included portions of Alameda, Contra Costa, Sacramento and San Joaquin counties.
Her new district, as a result of redistricting in 2010, is the 16th Assembly District, which includes the Contra Costa County communities of Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Moraga, Orinda, Alamo, Danville and San Ramon, as well as the Alameda County communities of Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore.
Buchanan says she brings a deep understanding of educa-tional issues to her role as Education Committee chair due to her 18 years on the San Ramon Valley Unified School District (srvusd) board of trustees, including four terms as board president. srvusd has received state and national recognition for student achievement, ranking among the top 5 percent of all school districts in California, with over 94 percent of the district’s graduating seniors attending college or university.
Buchanan has said that for California’s economy to thrive in the future, there must be an investment in a strong public educa-tion system, including a focus on instilling core fundamentals in early grades.
Buchanan serves on a number of Assembly committees including Utilities and Commerce, Budget, and Transportation. In 2009, she was appointed to the Special Education Commis-sion and in 2010, she was appointed to the Standing Committee to the Judicial Council on Court Technology. Also a member of the state Allocation Board since 2010, Buchanan has worked to
20 | California School Business
Joan BuchananEducation Committee chair is former school board member, community activist
maximize the state’s investment in safe and up-to-date school facilities for all students.
She also chairs the Select Committee on Government Ef-ficiency, Technology and Innovation.
Buchanan’s legislative agenda has focused on fiscal ac-countability, technology and innovation, and job creation. She has been a proponent of performance-based budgeting and supports using data to drive decision-making and the alloca-tion of resources. She has authored several bills to improve the development and acquisition of information technology by the state of California due to her belief that technology is critical to providing timely and cost-effective services and information to the residents of California.
In 2012, Buchanan led the Assembly’s review of the gover-nor’s reorganization plan, and successfully fought for changes to the plan including technology acquisition, maintaining the independence of the California Transportation Commission and the Delta Stewardship Council, and retaining an Advisory Com-mission on Boating and Waterways.
Prior to serving in the state Assembly, Buchanan was direc-tor of commercial operations for Delta Dental. She left the private sector to raise her five children and to work as a community activist in the San Ramon Valley.
Buchanan has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Here are her responses to casbo’s recent inquiries.
CSB: What is the best advice you’ve ever received? From whom? Buchanan: With respect to life, my mother often said, “Never burn your bridges. You don’t know if you’ll need to cross them again.” I do my best not to hold grudges and to look forward in life.
With respect to raising my children, our pediatrician gave me the best advice: “Give them lots of love and keep your sense of humor.” It definitely helps one get through some of the tough patches.
CSB: What hidden talent do you possess?Buchanan: I recently learned to quilt and now find myself in the position of deciding whether to replace my old, $125 Singer sewing machine with a fancy, new machine.
CSB: What is the best gift you’ve ever given?Buchanan: My oldest son was diagnosed with a large brain tumor in July 2007. He had six surgeries over the following seven
months, and the prognosis for the future is excellent. We decided as a family that our Christmas present would be a donation to the Brain Tumor Research Center at ucsf. It was a way to say thank you to the doctors and staff that provided outstanding treatment, as well as a way to celebrate the gift of life.
CSB: You have experience as a local school board member. In your current role, how do you view public education issues differently than you did when you were a board member?Buchanan: As a local school board member, one looks at issues in the context of district/school priorities and the district’s budget. As a state Assembly member, I look at issues from a statewide perspective and in the context of the state budget. Yet, my experiences as a school board member are invaluable. During the 18 years I served on the school board, I worked with dedicated educators and staff, and learned about public education from many perspectives. The lens I will use as chair of the Assembly Education Committee is the same as the one I used as a school board member: 1) What is the problem we’re trying to solve? 2) What is the proposed solution? 3) Is it good policy for children and public education?
CSB: What themes or policy goals do you intend to pursue as chair of the Education Committee?Buchanan: There are several major policy issues that I expect to come before the Education Committee this year: • Parameters for the issuing of capital appreciation bonds.• Updating discipline and dismissal statutes.• Updating teacher evaluation statutes.• Policy review and recommendations regarding the governor’s proposal for a new Local Control Funding Formula.• Introducing legislation for a 2014 school facilities bond. This will be a two-year bill.
CSB: The passage of Proposition 30 was obviously good news for California schools, but we know that finance issues will continue to be paramount. What do you see as the biggest opportunities and biggest challenges posed by the passage of Proposition 30?Buchanan: I want to thank the voters in California for passing Proposition 30 and valuing public education.
California continues to recover from the deepest recession since the Great Depression. Funding for schools declined as state revenues plummeted. In 2011-12, districts received 77 percent of the Proposition 98 guarantee, and 20 percent of that money came in the form of deferred payments.
Spring 2013 | 21
Districts have used federal stimulus funds and local reserves to avoid some of the most draconian cuts, but for most, these sources are now exhausted. Most districts would have been forced to lay off more teachers and make additional cuts without the passage of Proposition 30.
My caution to school districts as they develop financial plans for current and future budgets is to remember that Propo-sition 30 taxes are temporary, and they should plan accordingly.
My caution to the public is that while we have stabilized funding for schools, California ranks 49th in the nation in per-pupil funding. We still have work to do to restore our k-12 and higher education institutions to the positions of previous generations.
We have the opportunity to build a strong foundation for future budgets if we – the state and school districts – manage our money well and build a rainy day fund for the future.
CSB: School boards, superintendents and labor organizations garner the lion’s share of media attention when it comes to public schools. Where
do you see school business officials fitting into that spectrum?Buchanan: I’ve always believed that if we are doing our jobs, none of us should be in the media. The focus should be on our students and their achievements. Most often when a sbo is in the media, it is not welcome news. The district’s finances are under stress.
School business officials have one of the most important jobs in district leadership. We cannot fund the programs we value if we do not manage our money well. That means sbos must have a deep understanding of both California school finance and basic financial principles that underpin sound fiscal policies. They must provide good advice to superintendents and board members so they understand the full financial implications of their decisions. If they do their jobs well, our children will have more opportunities to achieve their potential in the classroom.
CSB: There are many critical issues associated with school facilities, not the least of which is the controversy over capital appreciation bonds. Can you share with us your views on those challenges?
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22 | California School Business
Buchanan: There have been many examples of districts that have sold capital appreciation bonds resulting in very high debt-services-to-principal ratios. This is problematic on several levels. Consider the implications of a district that sold a $100 million cab with total debt service of $1 billion. The structure deferred all payments for the first 20 years, with repayment in years 21 through 40. As a result: The district is able to complete $100 million in projects by selling the 40-year cab. Alternately, if the district sold a 25-year current interest bond, it would receive $600 million in bond proceeds for projects for the same $1 billion in total debt service.
The families and community members that receive the greatest benefit from the school improvements, those using the upgraded or new facilities in the first 20 years, will not have to contribute any money toward the cost of the projects. Those that receive the least benefit will pay for all the cost. Further, if the same facilities need modernization in year 25, there may be no capacity to sell new bonds to fund those needs.
The governor, the state treasurer and the Legislature recog-nize the need for reasonable regulations for capital appreciation bonds. Assemblymember Ben Hueso and I have had several meetings with stakeholders and plan to introduce legislation to limit these transactions.
CSB: Working on behalf of public schools at both the local and statewide level, what would you say are the appropriate roles for decision-makers at both levels?Buchanan: California is a large, diverse state with school districts that range in size from a few hundred students to over 600,000. The state should enact laws that serve the state as a whole, and allow local school boards to set policy based on the individual needs of their district and local schools. z z z
Julie Phillips Randles is a freelance writer based in Roseville, Calif.
Joan BuchananEducation Committee chair is former school board member, community activist
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Financing California’s Future
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roBerto ruiz Associate (415) 445-2381 [email protected]
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Spring 2013 | 25
By Craig W. Anderson
hen voters passed Proposition30, school districts across Cal-
ifornia heaved a sigh of relief, as did Gov. Jerry Brown, because taxes generated by the proposition prevented draconian budget cuts to the k-12 school system, provided billions of dollars for education and mandated remaining revenue be used to backfill the state General Fund.
And in what seems to be the most logical aspect of Proposition 30, the
feature
Prop. 30 – just the factsSigh of relief leads to questions about future
trustees of local school districts are al-lowed to use their discretion to decide in open meetings, and subject to annual audit, how funds from the measure are to be spent.
Key to the budget
For Brown’s budget to work, Proposition 30 had to be approved by voters to ensure that Brown’s plan would have the
money for education, with Proposition 98 parceling out Proposition 30 revenues to school districts across the state.
“The voters approval of Proposition 30 demonstrates that the state’s citizens are willing to extend their commitment to education,” said Jeff Vaca, deputy executive director of governmental rela-tions for casbo. “Prop. 30 moves k-12 education forward, even though it is just a short-term solution.”
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26 | California School Business
The General Fund automatically raises Proposition 98 funding for schools, and school districts will continue receiv-ing raises every year for the duration of Proposition 30.
Proposition 30’s success at the polls in November meant that trigger cuts were avoided, categorical flexibility was introduced to school districts, and Propo-sition 30 revenues were heading to dis-tricts to use as needed. “We needed more rational revenue distribution to districts, and now they get a base grant plus more money,” noted Edgar Cabral, a principal fiscal and policy analyst with the Legisla-tive Analyst’s Office (lao).
More money for schools
Proposition 30 increases personal income tax – retroactive to Jan. 1, 2012 – on annual earnings over $250,000 for seven years, and boosts the state sales and use tax by one-quarter cent beginning Jan. 1, 2013. The sales tax increase ends Dec. 31, 2016.
The lao estimates that during the five fiscal years in which both tax in-creases are in effect – 2012-2013 through 2016-2017 – the average annual state revenue gain would be approximately $6 billion. An lao analysis notes that smaller revenue gains of $5.4 billion an-nually are expected in 2017-2018, and $2.2 billion in 2018-2019.
The Department of Finance calcu-lates the tax revenues generated to be much higher than the lao’s estimate. The department’s numbers are as high as $9 billion in 2012-2013, $7.6 billion through 2015-2016, but falling off by $1.5 billion thereafter due to the sunset of the sales tax increase.
Revenues will be deposited into a new Education Protection Account with-in the state General Fund and included
in the calculations of the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee which will be raised by billions each year. Under Proposition 98, 40 percent of those funds would be allocated to k-14 education – with 89 per-cent of that amount going to k-12 schools. The remaining revenue will go toward backfilling California’s General Fund.
Also, realigned sales tax revenues are permanently removed from the Proposi-tion 98 calculation.
It’s a budget issue
“Proposition 30 laid the groundwork for Gov. Brown’s budget, including education,” said Robert Miyashiro, vice president, School Services of California and a member of casbo. “I agree with the lao that this is more of a budget issue than a k-12 issue.”
He noted that Proposition 30 is a temporary fix for the education sector in an economy where it has “become tougher and tougher to budget as the economy slows.”
Kevin Gordon, president of Capitol Advisors Group, a casbo associate mem-ber, said the months since the election have provided clarity on the importance of that fix. “There was plenty of skepti-cism about the good Prop. 30 would do for schools before the election, but the past few months have brought a sober-ing clarity to the reality we would have faced in schools had the measure failed,” Gordon said. “The evidence is in the dif-ficulty schools are still having as they at-tempt to balance budgets for the current and next two years.”
Voter’s stepped up
The California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (ccsesa) was one of many Proposition
30 supporters and, said executive director Peter Birdsall, “We appreciate voters stepping up and voting for Proposition 30 which will happen with the new budget.”
Voters did indeed respond when told that the initiative would benefit their local schools. “The success of the initia-tive validated the governor’s incredible political foresight that said if you paint a very clear picture of the consequences to schools, voters will deliver,” described Gordon. “He pulled off the seemingly impossible – raising taxes for any-thing. Things would have been really aw-ful if Proposition 30 had not passed, and that should not be lost on anyone. At the same time, it is wrong for some to insist that there is plenty of money to restore cuts made over the past five years.”
And it’s that perception among the public – that funding for schools is now abundant – that school business leaders will have to clarify in their communities in the coming years.
“There is a perception in local com-munities that the success of Proposition 30 means Sacramento will be shoveling lots of new money to public schools across the state, and it is a terrible mis-reading of what the measure was all
Prop. 30 – just the facts
It’s a short-term solution that changes the spending practices, stabilizes education funding and has education moving in the right direction.
Spring 2013 | 27
about,” Gordon said. “The ballot measure was completely about halting further cuts to schools by virtue of stabilizing the state’s General Fund, and not much more.”
“Gov. Brown has taken a 50/50 approach of determining how much of Prop. 30 funds will be used to pay off debt and how much will go to schools,” said the lao’s Cabral. “The big question is: can the funds slated for education be used for something else?”
Revenue restricted
In a word: No. Spending restrictions do not allow revenues to “be used for salaries or benefits of administrators or any other administrative costs,” noted a 2012 casbo analysis. However, the
costs to districts for complying with new auditing requirements can be paid with money from the Education Protection Account.
Billion dollar swings,economic cycles
The lao ’s review of Proposition 30-generated revenue notes that “the revenues raised … could be subject to multi-billion dollar swings” because the vast majority of the additional revenue is from the personal income tax increase on higher incomes which is “volatile and difficult to predict.”
Miyashiro agreed that “taxing the state’s top earners makes the tax struc-ture more unpredictable. If their income slows, that will cause problems. The plan
relies on fewer and fewer people whose incomes rely on capital gains and stock options, and that can be a shaky founda-tion to depend on for tax revenues.”
“Proposition 30 stopped the bleed-ing and was a major part of the hope and expectations for the budget,” said Brad Williams, senior partner at Capital Matrix Consulting and a past speaker at casbo events. “The hope being an im-proving economy, and the expectations being increasing revenues. What happens up to and after the proposition dollars stop flowing in seven years will tell us what the future holds for education.”
Williams added, “If the economy’s soft, education will be back where it was in the past. The overall challenge will be managing education through the ups and downs of economic cycles.”
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School district autonomy
School districts aren’t designed to be nimble – able to alter course quickly to meet large changes in how they operate, but, said Cabral, the state has given districts more autonomy, has streamlined the funding process and “districts are now more aware of the challenges they’ll face.”
Control that urge!
Another important hurdle to overcome will be the urge to over-commit revenue in the good years. Brown’s budget proposal gives local school districts the flexibility to spend Proposition 30 funds as they see fit, which should help districts become fiscally stable.
“Local control will give districts needed flexibility in how to allocate the funds they get,” said Miyashiro. “With funds becoming tighter over time, dis-tricts that adapt to the new way of doing business will be successful.”
Governor, Legislature decide
A major issue concerning Proposition 30
is how much funding the governor and Legislature will decide to provide over the next decade, which will determine the courses districts will be able to navigate.
“We’ll find out if the Legislature feels k-12 education is their top priority, or at least among their top priorities,” Miyas-hiro said. “The Legislature declares edu-cation is important, but funding it year in and year out will be the test.”
Tracking the money’s use
And the lao will be tracking the financial details as they develop, keeping an eye on how Proposition 30 is being implemented. Prior to this change in
approach, the state’s monitoring of school spending focused on whether or not school districts were in compliance with categorical programs, Cabral said.
The revenue won’t be used to resur-rect old programs that were cut. “It will be good to move away from the current sys-tem to allow districts to create their own ways of using the revenue,” Cabral said.
The governor’s plan gives individu-al school districts a significant say in how Proposition 30 revenues are used locally, and will require streamlining the state’s compliance programs so the state gov-ernment can make sure the governor’s trust in school districts to do the right thing is justified.
“Brown said, in effect, ‘I don’t care. Here are the funds. I trust you [local districts] to decide what to do with it,’” said Cabral. At this point in the process of implementing the assorted procedures, regulations and mandates for the new and improved k-12 system, items such as base grants and supplemental funds must be defined, but who will be doing the defining? The governor? The Legis-lature? The lao? “It’s reasonably certain most, if not all of them, will be involved in the definition process,” Cabral said.
Defined or not, the passage of Propo-sition 30 doesn’t really solve the ongoing funding issue, said Birdsall. “It’s a short-term solution that changes the spending practices, stabilizes education funding and has education moving in the right direction. Now, local districts can make better use of their funds and can make spending adjustments at the local level,” and thus be ready to continue their pro-grams after Proposition 30 revenues stop.
Superintendents a cog
Birdsall’s organization, ccsesa , can aid superintendents, a vital cog in this
entire funding/spending machine, to understand and maintain a grip on how school districts will operate as mandated by the governor’s plan. “The system has to be efficient, transparent and accurate; and superintendents are a driving force in keeping the train on the tracks,” Birdsall said.
It’s vital that train not be derailed, but rather fine-tuned and polished dur-ing the seven years the income and sales taxes are in effect. When the stream of proposition money eventually stops, districts will be, hopefully, leaner, more aware of how to allocate their funds and prepared fiscally to continue with a normal revenue flow supplied by an improved economic climate in a locally oriented system.
“Of course, the state of the economy building up to the end of Proposition 30 will have a significant effect on how districts will function,” the lao’s Cabral said. “Over this period, revenues will be used in good ways, districts will establish programs that will help them be even more efficient as the state rebounds and additional revenues arrive.”
However halcyon this seems, it is inevitable that the economy will change, he said. “It’s not if, but when there will be another economic downturn, and when it happens, hopefully, the school systems and the state will be prepared for the challenge.” z z z
Craig W. Anderson is a freelance writer based in Stockton, Calif.
Do you have an opinion or a comment on this article?California School Business magazine welcomes “Letters to the Editor.” Please send your letters to [email protected]. All lettersare edited for content, space and style considerations.
Prop. 30 – just the facts
Spring 2013 | 29
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Happy workers,happy workplaceImprove performance, productivityby addressing workplace happiness
By Julie Phillips Randles
Spring 2013 | 33
anagers might think that the level of happiness – or the lack thereof – that employees bring to the workplace is a feature of personality, mood or habit. It seems logical that one’s temperament is somewhat fixed, allowing for some ups and downs based on life circumstance. But research into subjective well-being, the scientific term for happiness, shows that an employee’s joy quotient can be influenced, leading to an increase in positive emotions, and by extension, increased workplace success and productivity.
Statistics from studies of happiness are encouraging – and perhaps surprising. Research indicates that roughly 50 percent of happiness is determined by our genes. Another 10 percent is determined by life circumstance. But 40 percent depends on our daily activities, according to Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside, and author of “The How of Happiness.” That means individuals and orga-nizations can work to cultivate happiness by focusing on that daily activity portion of the equation. The take-home message, Lyubomirsky says, is that a large portion of happiness is under our control.
There’s more. Research shows that 90 percent of long-term happiness is predicted by the way your brain processes the world, not by the external world itself, according to reports by Shawn Achor, positive psychology researcher, founder of Good Think Inc. and author of “The Happiness Advantage.” And while 25 percent of job successes are determined by iq, 75 per-cent of success is predicted by optimism levels, social support and one’s ability to see stress as a challenge instead of a threat, Achor found.
After five tumultuous years of funding cuts and employ-ment challenges, what school business leader wouldn’t want to increase the joy factor in the office?
You’ll be happy to know that you can. Here’s how.
Positive psychology
Positive psychology is a relatively new branch of science which emerged in the late 1980s after University of Pennsylvania
cover
psychologist Martin Seligman kick-started the field and identified it as the theme for his term as president of the American Psychological Association. While many branches of psychology focus on dysfunction, abnormal behavior and disorders, positive psychology focuses on assisting people to become happier.
Achor tells audiences that the core of his interest in positive psychology research is the finding that individual happiness and organizational success are inextricably linked. As he noted in a popular Ted Talk, “If we study what is merely average, we will remain merely average.” Achor prefers to study how to move people beyond average.
In his talk and book, Achor asserts that the generally ac-cepted formula for success – work harder and you’ll be more successful – is scientifically backward. The problem with the approach is that people are always working to meet benchmarks, only to have higher goals set once those are met. This creates a never-ending cycle where employees are constantly stressed as they chase a moving target.
Alternatively, organizations could employ positive psy-chology to improve workplace performance by stepping away from this pattern. Achor’s research shows that career success isn’t determined by how hard you work as much as your level of optimism, having a strong social network and your ability to view stress as a positive force that can help you achieve your goals.
“Raise positivity in the present and the brain experiences a happiness advantage,” Achors tells video viewers. Intelligence rises, creativity rises and energy rises.
What we know for sure
Happy workers are more productive than miserable ones. Makes sense. But research into happiness shows there are additional benefits to subjective well-being, benefits proven by science.
Create a positive atmosphere at work and years of studies show employees will benefit from more enjoyment on the job, fewer negative emotions (sadness, anger, anxiety) and increased
M
34 | California School Business
job satisfaction, according to Ed Diener, a psychologist, professor and author renowned for his 25 years of research on happiness. This leads to:
• Increased productivity• Better organizational citizenship • Lower employee turnover• Customer satisfaction• Healthier employees• Lower healthcare costs• Reduced absenteeism• Increased creativity
In a recent report for the United Nation’s General Assem-bly, Diener summarized how subjective well-being increases workplace success. “When workers are happy, they tend to enjoy their jobs, they tend to work harder and better. Businesses with high work satisfaction are more productive. Happier workers are more energetic, creative and cooperative. It is not surprising then that happy people tend to earn higher incomes in their lives.”
Diener also pointed to research that shows there are several workplace aspects on which leaders have influence that can literally predict an employee’s overall job satisfaction. Step one: “They need to get workers working in areas where they can use their strength and skills – worker-job fit,” Diener explained by email. After that, be sure employees have:
• Some control over their work• Varied work• The opportunity to learn new things• A sense of being respected• A sense of being needed • Access to the right resources to do one’s job well“Of course, some part of it is the workers’, too. One negative
worker can create a toxic atmosphere in the work unit if he or she is negative enough,” Diener said.
The how of happiness
Now that the benefits of happiness are clear, perhaps you’re wondering what steps an organization can take to influence
employee happiness levels. Film director Roko Belic got the answer to that question, and several other happiness queries, during the making of his 2011 film “Happy.”
The film takes on questions including: Does money make people happy? Does your work make you happy? Do you live in a world that values and promotes happiness and well-being?
Are we in the midst of a happiness revolution?
The experts Belic interviewed for his documentary extended Diener’s list of benefits of a happy workforce. “They (employees)
do better under pressure. They are more likely to find a creative solution to a problem. They work better with their colleagues. They are kinder,” Belic learned.
He noted that many have been experimenting with how to teach employees to be happier, or at least nudge them in that direction. Belic described some of the steps.
“The most powerful thing you can do is express your gratitude. If you appreciate what someone has done at work, and express that appreciation, that makes you happier,” Belic explained. A side benefit, showing gratitude strengthens col-legial relationships.
Step two, add exercise or play to your day. Belic shared the story of a business leader he met who spends two hours a day with staff doing something fun – yoga, basketball, volleyball. “That seems like a radical shift, but we have seen that effectively working. The benefits outweigh the loss of time sitting at your desk. When you come back, you are refreshed and more creative, so that two hours is a positive investment rather than a net loss,” Belic said.
Next, share something inspiring as a group. Research shows that inspiring stories boost happiness and increase people’s sense of engagement. After having an inspiring mo-ment as a staff – through a keynote speaker, motivating media event or even bringing in clients or students who share what the district’s work has meant to them – open up a frank conversa-tion that bonds people, inspires them and shows them that their job is important. “They may be disconnected from that truth,” Belic explained.
Happy workers, happy workplace
Create a positive atmosphere at work and years of studies show employees will benefit from more enjoyment on the job, fewer negative emotions (sadness, anger, anxiety) and increased job satisfaction.
Spring 2013 | 35
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Another trick to stimulate happiness – novelty. Do some-thing different. Shake up the work day. Have a meeting on the lawn or at the beach. “Wake people up and remind them that work isn’t just about offices and paperwork,” Belic said.
All of these ideas are what Belic called “pathways to stimulat-ing connectedness,” and ultimately happiness. “That’s really the ultimate challenge in the work scenario. The most productive goal should be to build a sense of connectedness among that group.”
At the individual level, an employee can engage in the same techniques to get an added dose of happy. Express gratitude by sending a note or email to someone you appreciate. Introduce novelty by taking a different route to work or trying something new on the weekend. Make time to exercise or play.
Finally, increase your happiness by serving others. “A leader who has done service work, volunteer work or has in some way helped others is more likely to be a compassionate leader and breed a culture of happiness,” Belic described. Better yet, organize an event where employees and managers experience the act of service together. “That experience will edify and bond people,” Belic said.
After interviewing Diener for his film, Belic couldn’t help but ask the key question: What’s the singular trait of happy people? He expected a vague answer, but what he got was con-cise. “He said ‘good relationships.’ They have somebody they love and somebody loves them. You have to love and be loved,” Belic explained.
Beyond happy. Positive emotions.
Sociologist Christine Carter says influencing workplace culture is not only about happiness, it’s also about working to foster additional positive emotions that improve the office community. That means in addition to happiness, don’t dismiss feelings like gratitude, hope and confidence, all part of the pantheon of positive emotions.
“When we talk about happiness, we want to think about positive emotions in general,” said Carter, a sociologist at the University of California, Berkeley, Greater Good Science Center and author of “Raising Happiness.”
“A feeling of contentment at work is present-based. We want to broaden from happiness to engagement, and include positive emotions like gratitude, and gratitude can practically be equated with happiness.”
And, as is the case with happiness, there are ways for lead-ers to increase positive emotions; and the benefits are parallel – higher productivity, lower turnover and a sense of connected-ness among employees. “It feeds on itself. It becomes a snowball
effect in that positivity in one realm leads to positive effects in other realms,” Carter said.
So how can an organization begin to form that snowball? Carter says that leaders can start by addressing the basics known to impact mood management – things like sleep, exercise and nutrition. Managers should be sure employees know the orga-nization values staff’s physical and mental health. “If what you want is a happy workplace, you have to go after the stress and exhaustion factors first. I don’t think if you’re working at 11 p.m. it’s healthy in general.”
Simple steps include suggesting that employees disconnect from their smartphones and computers by a certain time in theevening, offering fitness classes at work and encouraging em-ployees to take lunch away from their desks.
Happy workers, happy workplace
The most powerful thing you can do is express your gratitude. If you appreciate what someone has done at work, and express that appreciation, that makes you happier.
Spring 2013 | 37
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38 | California School Business
“We operate under a perception that productivity is 24/7. As humans, we are built to sprint, not marathon. We’re built to work for 90 minutes to two hours at a time,” Carter described.
As with happiness, there’s science behind Carter’s recom-mendations. “Our blood flow patterns are dramatically different when we are feeling positive emotions than when we are feeling anxious or a little bit angry. Our prefrontal cortex, that part of the brain that makes us human, is really fuel inefficient. It takes a lot of blood sugar to run it, so if we’re stressed out, our body conserves fuel and sends blood to the primitive parts of the brain and our muscles,” Carter explained.
Continually feel stressed and exhausted or constantly re-main in fight-or-flight mode and the prefrontal cortex can’t do its best work. “The creative, productive part of your brain that you need to direct your behavior, solve a problem, articulate a problem, the part that makes us creative or inspired, sort of shuts down. Just being exhausted will trigger a slight alarm system in the brain and the brain will begin to conserve fuel and become more inefficient,” Carter said.
The workplace outcome – lower productivity and work of reduced quality. “And when it comes to problem solving and leading ability, you’ll have a harder time doing those as well,” she added. In contrast, take a walk at lunch and come across something beautiful and feel awe or gratitude and the physi-ological effect of those positive emotions is to shut down the fight-or-flight impulse and direct blood to the prefrontal cortex.
An insider’s experience
casbo’s Bill McGuire, superintendent at St. Helena Unified School District, is considered a happy guy by his colleagues in the association. He’s generally jovial, has a positive outlook and has a successful school business career. So does he know something others in the industry don’t about heightening the happy factor at districts?
He doesn’t claim to be an expert on happiness, but he does have some thoughts, and suggestions, about what works.
“We have a high expectation that people are going to work very hard (in schools), and you have to balance that with some-thing,” McGuire said. “Many times in the business office, you
Happy workers, happy workplace
don’t take opportunities to celebrate or play. We are way too serious, and my philosophy is work hard, play hard.” Part two of his philosophy: “Nothing is such a crisis that we can’t have a good time doing it.”
McGuire acknowledges that he is not always anxiety-free and that everyone has bad days; but in his experience, being happy is about how you look at life every day. And that outlook, he finds, can be influenced by “self talk.”
Here’s what plays on the soundtrack in his head: “We really do have a wonderful life. It’s a great profession, in a great district. We are blessed to have what we have, and I am blessed as an
individual.” By repeating that regularly, and applying his other philosophies, McGuire is able to maintain a high happiness scale.
McGuire said the key is having an outlook that says “we’ll get through this; that no matter what, we will be better off in the future. In public education, the issue is that you’re only as good as the last good thing you did, so we are constantly moving forward and trying to be better.”
While he’s never employed a systematic happiness program at a district, McGuire does have a few suggestions for boosting employee happiness levels:
• Take steps to set a positive tone at the district office.• Host celebratory events when employees complete a grueling task. • Provide opportunities to vent; a way for employees to blow off steam and then start over the next day. “In education, we have a higher purpose in what we do. It’s
built into public schools that a great good comes from the work we do,” McGuire explained.
Now that’s a happy thought. z z z
Julie Phillips Randles is a freelance writer based in Roseville, Calif.
Do you have an opinion or a comment on this article? California School Business magazinewelcomes “Letters to the Editor.” Please send your letters to [email protected]. All lettersare edited for content, space and style considerations.
Businesses with high work satisfaction are more productive. Happier workers are more energetic, creative and cooperative.
Spring 2013 | 39
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feature
Digging into dataMeasuring district operations, efficiency
at core of new data system
By Lisa Maria Boyles
When it comes to quantitatively measuring student
learning, we hear a lot about standardized testing and the tracking of student performance results to assess the success – or failure – of school districts.
But while teaching students is the primary objective of school districts, there are many other measures of a district’s overall success, especially when taking business efficiency into consideration.
“We’re pretty good about collecting student-achievement data, and in California we’ve certainly gotten much better at that in recent years,” said casbo member Sheila G. Vickers, a vice president with School Services of California, “but data regarding the other operations, the non-instructional operations of school districts, we have not been good at gathering or having access to them. We don’t have data on custodial services, food services and other non-instructional operations to use as benchmarks for school districts to improve their efficiency.”
That is changing, as more California school districts are able to access the new ActPoint® kpi Performance Management System, a collaboration between The Council of Great City Schools (cgcs) and Transact Communications. The ActPoint kpi system gives districts access to benchmarking and business intelligence tools used to improve non-instructional efficiency. The system is supported by a new partnership between casbo and School Services of California, a Premier Plus associate mem-ber of casbo. The partnership will provide strategic support and professional development for school district users.
The ActPoint kpi system allows districts to determine how they are performing compared to other districts within a county, state and nationally. ActPoint kpi helps districts measure perfor-mance in the following areas: finance, operations, maintenance, safety and security, transportation, food services, information systems and human resources/personnel.
The system has three subscription levels: Standard (50 kpis), which is recommended for districts with fewer than 2,500 stu-dents; Plus (100 kpis), for districts of 2,500 to 10,000 students; and Pro (350+ kpis), for larger districts with more than 10,000 students.
Ensuring greater efficiency
Enrique “Rick” Boull’t is the chief operating officer for Los Angeles Unified School District, a casbo institutional member that serves 660,000 k-12 students. Boull’t said his district has been actively involved with the Council’s kpi work since its development began in 2004, and has been using the ActPoint kpi system for three years.
“As the business service providers in support of schools,” Boull’t said, “it’s paramount that we’re able to strategically project, track and monitor operating expenses. Food, transporta-tion and procurement are three areas that are vitally dependent on kpi performance data. Cost per student, cost per meal and material cycle times are just a few of the metrics that enable us to ensure efficiencies.”
44 | California School Business
as the business service providers in support of schools, it’s paramount that we’re able to strategically project, track and monitor operating expenses.
Digging into data
Ruth F. Quinto is a deputy superintendent and the chief financial officer for the Fresno Unified School District, which serves about 72,000 students. Quinto, a member of casbo, de-scribed one way that district has improved its operations with data from the ActPoint kpi system, which it has been using since 2008.
“A specific example of how we have incorporated the mea-sures into our daily work,” Quinto said, “is the targets set annu-ally for the average days to fill a vacancy. As part of our board-adopted data dashboard policy, human resources established the average days to fill vacancies as a key measurement toward their operational effectiveness. At that time, Fresno Unified was in the bottom quartile for the cgcs districts reported. We set our target based on best practices as described by the highest performing districts, and improved our average days to fill a vacancy from 70 days to 24 days.”
New set of lenses
The information the ActPoint kpi system will provide isn’t something that has been easily accessible to school business leaders in the past.
“Right now, a school district doesn’t really know for sure whether it’s high-performing or low-performing in a county, state or nationally because non-instructional benchmarking data isn’t available to see how your district compares to oth-ers,” said Rick Passovoy, president and ceo of Transact, the company that automates the data. “The system is going to iden-tify performance measurement blind spots and opportunities. It might be that a district finds out for the first time that what it thought was efficient really isn’t, or vice versa. So this system operates like a diagnostic set of data and business intelligence lenses that give a district a chance to do a self-assessment. This will hopefully illuminate where the opportunities for improve-ment are.”
The ActPoint system allows school business officials to narrow their benchmark results to include just the criteria that matter the most to them. Officials can filter criteria from district enrollment size, labor status (union or right-to-work), poverty level, geographic county, region, census region or state. When showing district comparisons, other districts aren’t named, only the district number and demographic data is visible. Districts may choose to share their number with peers to create a unique “peer group” for comparison purposes.
Michael Bishop, deputy superintendent of operations with Santa Ana Unified School District and a member of casbo, likes that aspect of the system’s benchmarking.
“The good thing about the system is you don’t know who you’re being measured against,” Bishop said. “So there’s no reason not to be honest in the data inputting because you’re a number – you know what your number is, but no one else knows what your number is. All they know is that you rate well on a particular metric or you don’t.”
Inputting the data
After the close of each fiscal year, participating districts input raw data into the ActPoint kpi system. To assist districts with this process, approximately 40 percent of the raw data required by the system will have been imported into the system. Then, after the data is input and processed, subscribers will have access to the new kpi data and benchmarks. For school districts in California, that will be in March, said Vickers.
“The ability to benchmark against like-size districts, in real time, is a tremendous asset,” said Boull’t of lausd. “We’re able to either validate or, if necessary, follow up with peers to im-prove/gauge performance.”
Hard data about what works and what doesn’t will also give school district leaders something concrete and quantitative to justify spending decisions and budget requests.
“On a political level, this is like a gold mine,” Passovoy said. “If you’re asking the board for an investment in a particular area, and it turns out that the benchmarking results support that
the ability to benchmark against like-size districts, in real time, is a tremendous asset.
Spring 2013 | 45
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Digging into data
investment to save money, improve efficiency and effectiveness, the superintendent and executive leaders now can use the Act-Point kpi business tools to support business positions proposed to the board.”
Making sound decisions
In times of economic uncertainty, like those the nation has been experiencing in recent years, every dollar counts.
“The political pressure up to this point has been to cut non-instructional budgets as deeply as possible from the cen-tral office because that’s not classroom money,” Passovoy said. “And sometimes severe budget cuts in finance, operations and information technology are a little short-sighted because you still have a business to run, and service-level promises to honor.”
Ron Bennett, ceo of School Services of California, said the data gained from ActPoint kpi will allow business officers to run school districts more like businesses.
“What this system allows is you can look at a national benchmark, you can establish a group of districts that are going
to be your benchmark, you can measure against yourself over time, you can measure against the benchmark groups over time, and you can go into these business areas,” Bennett said. “Private business and industries, they run on data. They go and they look at it and they look at these efficiency ratios and they make decisions differently as a result of that. We want our schools to be able to be run more like a business. This is a tool that helps them to do that.”
Quinto, the Fresno Unified cfo, said, “One of the best as-pects of the kpi system is not only the ability to gauge where we compare in these important measurements, but also being able to target our outreach for best practices.”
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Digging into data
Planning for the future
The ActPoint kpi system also allows districts to plug in “what-if” scenarios that could occur in the future through its data modeling feature. This tool is helpful for strategic planning, forecasting and budgeting purposes.
Bishop, of Santa Ana Unified, said his district is just begin-ning to use the ActPoint kpi system.
“We’re not used to measuring ourselves this way,” Bishop said. “In school districts, we’re used to measuring ourselves in some very simplistic ways – fund balance, expenditures, per ada, per enrollment, per fte – but not looking at our operational activities as private industry might do. Participating in this kind of project forces you to ask yourself, ‘Are you doing business in the most efficient way?’”
Bishop expects it will take some time for his district to see the results of the data, but once there is a history for comparison, he expects the information to be useful at streamlining efficiency.
“More awareness and understanding of what it is we’re measuring will make the measurements more accurate and more
meaningful to look at how effectively we’re using the resources that we’re allocating,” Bishop said.
A new way of thinking
Getting staff to consider the data behind efficient school operations will require a certain shift in the way people look at things.
“You’ve got to build up the capacity of the organization to be data analysts because that’s not a natural activity,” Bishop said. “We also probably have to learn to be more self-evaluative, self-critical and accepting of constructive criticism. That’s not a way that most school districts operate. I see this certainly as a step in the right direction. This will take our data collection and data reporting to a much different level.”
But ultimately, this improved business efficiency of school district operations will be felt at every level, including in how much money is available for classroom instruction.
“What you would see as a parent is that fewer decisions about programs that affect your child’s schooling would be made based on how people feel about them,” Bennett said. “And more decisions would be made by someone with data in front of them determining what they think about those decisions.”
Vickers said even school districts that are already operating efficiently could benefit from the increased access to data that ActPoint kpi would give them.
“If we were to give school districts in California a letter grade in terms of their operations, many of them would be A’s already,” Vickers said. “This kind of data can help school districts examine the way they’re doing things now, and it will help them identify more effective ways so they can become more of an A+ and provide better service, save money and drive more resources to classrooms. That’s the whole idea. Even districts that are op-erating well and efficiently can still gain by using this data. And they have. The districts that are using this have proven that.” z z z
Lisa Maria Boyles, a freelance writer based in Fresno, Calif.,was a journalist with The Fresno Bee for almost 19 years.
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50 | California School Business
CASBO book club
Book provides blueprint for professionalism
The CASBO Book Club selection for spring is “The Power of Professional-ism: The Seven Mind-Sets that Drive Performance and Build Trust,” by Bill Wiersma. The book is described as a blueprint for individuals and organiza-tions seeking to foster a culture of professionalism.
In the course of the text, Wiersma outlines seven key mindsets of those who are held as “trusted professionals.” Examples in the book show how uncompromising professional standards led to success for folks including FBI agent George Piro during his interrogation of Saddam Hussein, supermodel Kathy Ireland in leading her design enterprise and the renowned Dave Matthews Band in its quest for music fame.
Also weighing in are John Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Group; Gen. Richard B. Meyers, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Paul Orfalea, founder of Kinkos.
The writer argues that professionalism is the ladder upon which all orga-nizational virtues rest and says that organizations whose members view themselves as true professionals in their field will outperform, outsmart and outlast organizations that don’t leverage the power of professionalism, according to recent reviews of the book.
Join your colleagues in reading this book, and unwrap steps to making your organization more professional, and thus more successful.
Spring 2013 | 51
sudoku9 1 35 8 62 4 77 6 98 5 21 3 43 9 14 2 56 7 8
2 7 61 9 45 8 33 2 16 4 79 5 88 6 27 3 94 1 5 2 3 9
8 6 17 5 46 2 79 1 35 4 81 9 63 7 24 8 5
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52 | California School Business
CASBO Career Rx
Ask yourself the dreaded question…
By Molly McGee Hewitt Executive Director
Would I hire me? Now that’s an interesting
question to ponder. Are you the kind of employee
that you would want to hire to support your unit,
division, site or organization? Do you truly embody
the values and professionalism that are needed to
not only survive in challenging times, but to thrive?
Would you look forward to being a colleague,
superior or subordinate of yourself? Would you
accept from someone else your work ethic, skill
set, behavior and attitudes? Taking the time to take
stock of yourself may be one of the most powerful
career advancement activities you can undertake.
Author John Maxwell’s book, “The 360 Degree
Leader,” provides a great framework for taking
a personal inventory to assess your strengths
and weaknesses, and to determine how you can
grow and improve. Asking those around you for
honest feedback may be threatening at first. We
all prefer to hear kudos – criticism or suggestions
are sometimes harder to hear. Being able to hear
the hard parts enables us to get honest feedback
and to see how others really see us.
The higher your management or leadership posi-
tion, the less likely people often are to give you
direct feedback. There is a fear that by sharing
with you, they may put their jobs or future success
at risk. Sometimes people tell us what we want
to hear, rather than what we need to hear. Motiva-
tional guru Zig Ziglar used to say that you need to
do a “check up from the neck up.” Our attitudes,
behaviors and actions are directly related to
career success.
Have you ever been passed over for a promotion
or position? Fear of litigation or policy often prohib-
its organizations from sharing candid informa-
tion on why this happened. Have you ever truly
examined why things played out the way they did?
Our egos will often turn to comments like: “It was
an inside position already promised to someone.”
“It was all about politics.” Or, “I was the wrong
gender, age, race, etc.” Do not waste your time
making excuses or creating a rationale for why
you did not get the job. Set your focus on how
you can be better prepared for the next job.
Here are three ways to guarantee that you be-
come the leader that someone wants to hire:
Be authentic and positive. When people are
authentic, they have a clear understanding of
who they are and what they offer. They are real,
and admit their areas of excellence and those
areas in need of ongoing training. Be positive
about your life, your current job and the job you
can do for others. Positive people bring that
positivity to the organization.
Be a life-long learner. Do something every
week, month and year to expand your skills and
training. Taking action shows your employer or
potential employer that you want to improve and
be the best. Advance yourself by reading books,
attending classes, registering for graduate school,
tackling certifications or attending professional
conferences.
Embrace the culture of the organization
you are a part of, or wish to become a part
of, and get enthusiastic. Do your homework
on potential organizations to find out if they truly
fit your core values. In your own organization,
become a valued asset that works collaboratively
and cooperatively to succeed.
While this has been a tough economy and schools
have experienced layoffs and changes, the future
of job opportunities looks tremendous. Hiring the
right people to propel school districts and LEAs
forward is going to be crucial to our future. There
has never been a better time to prepare and to
seek a career in school business. Become the
leader you want to hire and the professional you
want to work with every day!
CASBO Career Headquarters is the premier electronic recruitment resource for the industry. Job seekers can click on Career HQ to view a host of career opportunities; employers can visit the HQ to both post available jobs and to track qualified candidates.
Visit www.casbo.org and look for the Career HQ tab.
Spring 2013 | 53
School Services of California, Inc., (SSC) is the leading provider of consulting, lobbying, and information services for K-14 educational agencies in California.Since its inception in 1975, SSC has served nearly every educational agencyin the state. Management Consulting Services Legislative Advocacy Collective Bargaining and Factfinding Services Executive Search and Recruitment Training, Conferences, and Workshops Books and Software The Fiscal Report and Specialized Publications The Community College Update and Community College Services
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Spring 2013 | 55
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Spring 2013 | 57
out&about
Spring 2013 | 57
Please send in your Out & About photos from CASBO events along with the names of the people in the photos and the event where the photo was taken. Digital photos may be sent to [email protected].
Enjoying the Sacramento Section Holiday Luncheon are (l-r) CASBO President-elect Rich Buse, director, purchasing, Pajaro Valley Unified School District; Sacramento Section Director Sharon Ketcherside, director, purchasing and contract services, Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District; and Michael Dodge, regional director, California Financial Services.
Lisa Ryker (left), director of planning, WLC Architects, receives the Northern Section Associate Member of the Year Award from Northern Section President Aida Santillana, manager, member services, Santa Clara County Schools Insurance Group, during the Northern Section Holiday Luncheon in December.
Northern Section President Aida Santillana (left), manager, member services, SantaClara County Schools Insurance Group, and CASBO President-elect Rich Buse, director,purchasing, Pajaro Valley Unified School District, present the Magnificent Seven Awardfor Payroll Services to Linda Davis, payroll manager, Oakland Unified School District.
The CASBO Human Resources Professional Council met at the CASBO office in December. Pictured (l-r) are San Diego/Imperial County Section Chair Debby Wulff, director of classified personnel, Poway Unified School District; Eastern Section Chair Lafaye Platter, deputy superintendent of human resources, Hemet Unified School District; Northern Section Chair Norma Gonzales, director of human resources, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District; Sacramento Section Chair Henry Tran, human resources intern, Davis Joint Unified School District; CASBO Human Resources Professional Council Chair Alicia Schlehuber, director of classified personnel, Escondido Unified School District; Central Section Chair Elizabeth “Liz” Stanko, coordinator of personnel, Calaveras Unified School District; and former Southern Section Chair Sherry Manley, manager of certificated human resources, Ventura Unified School District.
Volunteering at the Sacramento Section Holiday Luncheon are (l-r) Kimberly Riley-Oliver, account clerk II, Folsom Cordova Unified School District; Kristi Blandford, director of fiscal services, Folsom Cordova Unified School District; Henry Tran, human resources intern, Davis Joint Unified School District; and Sheryl Bailey, business manager, Colusa Unified School District.
58 | California School Business
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Spring 2013 | 59
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60 | California School Business
advertiserindex
For more than thirty years, we have been keeping our promise to provide quality construction management services specifically tailored toward each client.
We will do the same for you.
Program Management | Project Management | Construction Management | Master Planning | Constructability Review | Scheduling | Cost Estimating | Energy | General Contracting | Building Information Modeling
Vanir Construction Management, Inc. | 888.912.1201 | www.vanir.com
Solutions for Success
Accounting, Auditing and Financial ServicesChristy White Accountancy Corporation(619) 270-8222 • www.cwacpa.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Vavrinek, Trine, Day & Co LLP(909) 466-4410 • www.vtdcpa.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Vicenti, Lloyd & Stutzman LLP(626) 857-7300 • www.vlsllp.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
California Retired Teachers AssociationCalRTA(916) 923-2200 • www.calrta.orgPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
California Solar InitiativeCalifornia Solar Initiative(310) 319-3639 • www.WaterHeatedByTheSun.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Consulting ServicesDecisionInsite(877) 204-1392 • www.decisioninsite.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
GASB 45 Solutions(916) 371-4691 • www.csba.orgPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
School Services of California, Inc.(916) 446-7517 • www.sscal.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Contractors/Construction ManagementVanir CM(916) 575-8888 • www.vanir.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Cooperative Purchasing ProgramsThe Cooperative Purchasing Network(713) 744-8133 • www.tcpn.orgPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
U.S. Communities(866) 472-7467 • www.uscommunities.orgPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Emergency 24 Hour ServicesAmerican Technologies, Inc.(800) 400-9353 • www.amer-tech.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Enhancing EducationCalifornia Lottery(916) 822-8113 • www.calottery.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Endpoint Security and Management SolutionsAbsolute Software(800) 400-9353 • www.absolute.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Facility Permit AutomationCivic Permits(800) 555-0431 • www.civicpermits.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Financial and Facility PlannersCalifornia Financial Services(707) 544-7800 • www.calschools.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Financial and Human Resource SoftwareSmartetools(760) 242-8890 • www.smartetools.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Financial ServicesPiper Jaffray & Co.(800) 876-1854 • www.PJC.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Security Benefit(866) 330-8879 • www.securitybenefit.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Stone & Youngberg, A Division of Stifel Nicolaus(800) 447-8663 • www.syllc.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Financial/Human ResourcesSungard K-12 Education(866) 905-8989 • www.sungard.com/K-12Please see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Fire & Water Damage RestorationAmerican Technologies, Inc.(800) 400-9353 • www.amer-tech.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Fraud Prevention, Detection & InvestigationVicenti, Lloyd & Stutzman LLP(626) 857-7300 • www.vlsllp.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
FurnitureVirco Manufacturing Corp.(800) 813-4150 • www.virco.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Back Cover
VS America(310) 384-9553 • www.thethirdteacher.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Healthcare Services/InsuranceCalifornia’s Valued Trust(559) 437-2960 • www.cvtrust.orgPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Insurance Benefits/ServicesAmerican Fidelity Assurance Company(800) 365-9180 • www.afadvantage.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
ASCIP(562) 404-8029 • www.ascip.orgPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
AXA Equitable(415) 276-2151 • www.axa-equitable.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Keenan & Associates(310) 212-0363 • www.keenan.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Regional Liability Excess Fund (ReLiEF)(310) 212-3344 • www.keenan.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Schools Excess Liability Fund (SELF)(866) 453-5300 • www.selfjpa.orgPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Self Insured Schools of CA (SISC)(800) 972-1727 • www.sisc.kern.orgPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
The Horace Mann Companies(402) 290-3116 • www.horacemann.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Investment BankingDe La Rosa Co.(415) 217-3389 • www.ejdelarosa.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Legal ServicesAtkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo(562) 653-3428 • www.aalrr.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Dannis Woliver Kelley(562) 366-8500 • www.dwkesq.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Spring 2013 | 61
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sudoku from page 51
9 1 35 8 62 4 77 6 98 5 21 3 43 9 14 2 56 7 8
2 7 61 9 45 8 33 2 16 4 79 5 88 6 27 3 94 1 5 2 3 9
8 6 17 5 46 2 79 1 35 4 81 9 63 7 24 8 5
Representing over 400 California school districts.
Cerritos · Fresno · Irvine · Pleasanton · Riverside · Sacramento · San Diego www.aalrr.com
With over 30 years of uncompromising commitment, Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo
is a leader in providing legal services to California school districts in the areas of:
Business and Facilities Services
Governance
Labor and Employee Relations
Litigation
Personnel Management
Special Education
Staff Development
Student Services
Technology
Training
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www.aalrreducationlaw.com
AD INDEX
Absolute Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24American Fidelity Assurance Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11American Technologies, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46ASCIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61AXA Equitable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37California Financial Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49California Lottery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31California Solar Initiative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4California’s Valued Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45CalRTA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Christy White Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35Civic Permits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8Creative Bus Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Dannis Woliver Kelley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59De La Rosa Co.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51DecisionInsite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21Eagle Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Edupoint Educational Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7GASB 45 Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60Heartland School Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Keenan & Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12Lozano Smith, LLP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55Office DEPOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39Piper Jaffray & Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14Public Agency Retirement Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51Regional Liability Excess Fund (ReLiEF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56School Innovations & Achievement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47School Services of California, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53Schools Excess Liability Fund (SELF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59Security Benefit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30Sehi Computer Products, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30Self Insured Schools of CA (SISC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30Seville Construction Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48Smartetools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Stone & Youngberg, A Division of Stifel Nicolaus . . . . . . . . . . . . .23Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50Sungard K-12 Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63The Cooperative Purchasing Network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18The Horace Mann Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40U.S. Communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54VALIC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41Vanir CM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60Vavrinek, Trine, Day & Co LLP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29Vicenti, Lloyd & Stutzman LLP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27Virco Manufacturing Corp.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Back CoverVS America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Lozano Smith, LLP(559) 431-5600 • www.lozanosmith.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz(800) 399-3122 • www.stutzartiano.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Mandate ReimbursementSchool Innovations & Achievement(877) 954-4357 • www.sia-us.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Network Solutions & Servers & PC SolutionsSehi Computer Products, Inc.(800) 346-6315 • www.sehi.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Office SuppliesOffice DEPOT(562) 490-9218 • www.officedepot.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
On Demand Operations Management SoftwareSchool Innovations & Achievement(877) 954-4357 • www.sia-us.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Professional ConsultingVanir CM(916) 575-8888 • www.vanir.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Program/Project/Construction ManagementSeville Construction Services(626) 204-0800www.sevillecs.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Public FinanceStone & Youngberg, A Division of Stifel Nicolaus(800) 447-8663 • www.syllc.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Retirement Benefits/ProgramsPublic Agency Retirement Service(800) 540-6369 #127 • www.pars.orgPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
VALIC(916) 780-6051 • www.valic.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Risk Management ServicesSchools Excess Liability Fund (SELF)(866) 453-5300 • www.selfjpa.orgPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
School Bus Sales Service & PartsCreative Bus Sales(909) 465-5528 • www.creativebussales.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Secure Online School Payment SolutionsHeartland School Solutions(800) 256-8224 • www.heartlandschoolsolutions.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Student Information Services/SystemsEagle Software(888) 487-7555 • www.aeries.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Edupoint Educational Systems(800) 338-7646 • www.edupoint.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Sungard K-12 Education(866) 905-8989 • www.sungard.com/K-12Please see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
62 | California School Business
lastwords
Do you have an inspirational quote or interesting statistic to share with your colleagues?
Send your favorites to [email protected].
Getting just one more hour of sleep each night might have a greater effect on happiness than a $60,000 raise.
Source: Psychologist Daniel Kahneman
A study of 2,178 work units in 10 large companies found that engaged and satisfied workers led to greater revenue, sales and profits.
Source: Jim Harter, Gallup’s chief scientist of workplace management and well-being.
We shall never know
all the good that a
simple smile can do.
~ Mother Teresa
Character is like a
tree and reputation
like a shadow. The shadow
is what we think of it; the
tree is the real thing.
~ Abraham Lincoln
I began learning long
ago that those who are
happiest are those
who do the most for others.
~ Booker T. Washington
Statistics on happiness show: Starbucks regulars are2 percent happier than McDonald’s regulars; older people are 18 percent happier than young folk; if you live within a half-mile of a happy friend, you are 42 percent more likely to be happy, too.
Source: The Daily Beast
$60,000
2,178
2%
Spring 2013 | 63
SunGard
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SunGard K-12 Education, visit sungard.com/K12
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866.905.8989
64 | California School Business
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