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Volume 56 / Number 4 June 2017

Washington Association ofSCHOOL BUSINESS OFFICIALS

Inside This Issue

Welcome Board Members . . . . . . . .1

President’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Past-Presidential Reflections . . . . . .3

Executive Director’s Message . . . . .4

Congratulations Certification Recipients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Best Practice: Software Demo . . . . .6

Inland Empire Region . . . . . . . . . . .7

Accounting and Budgeting and Small Schools Committees . . . . . . . .8

ASB Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-10

School Cyber Security Concerns . .11

Purchasing and Warehouse Committees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Legislative Update . . . . . . . . . . 14-16

Leadership Development Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Professional Development . . . 19-20

Welcome Board Members

The WASBO membership elected three members to serve on the WASBO Board of Directors. These members are:

President-ElectRich Puryear has been in public education since 1979 when he started as a fiscal coordinator for ESD 105 data process-ing cooperative and later served as the Fiscal Officer. He has worked at North Franklin and Othello School Districts as Business Manager for both districts. Currently, he serves as the Executive Director of Financial Services in Richland – a position he has held since 2000 and is the Administrator for the Star School District since 1990. He has served on the WASBO Board of Directors from 1993-1995.

Director, Member-At-Large, Inland EmpireWendy Rimmelspacher began working in the Public K-12 Education sector at the Clarkston School District in 1991. She currently serves as the Executive Director for Financial Ser-vices and is a licensed CPA for the State of Washington. Wendy has served on the WASBO Board for the past two years as the Director for the Inland Empire Region fulfilling a mid-term vacated position.

Director, Member-At-Large Puget Sound RegionJane Murray has been working for Puget Sound ESD for 25 years and has been the Assistant Fiscal Officer since 2001. Jane is responsible for managing the operations of all areas of state reporting. Jane is very pleased to represent the Puget Sound Region and brings great enthusiasm to this new venture.

Director, Member-At-Large Southwest RegionAlso, new to the WASBO Board of Directors is Larry Mayfield, who has been appoint-ed to complete the Director, Member-at-Large positon representing the Southwest region, which became vacant with the recent retirement of Donna Gregg.

Larry Mayfield began his career in Washington Public School Districts in December of 1984 spending seven years with the Tacoma School District as the Account-ing & Treasury Manager, 12 years with the Prosser School District as Business Manager, two years with the Pasco School District as Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations, seven years with the Longview School District as Executive Director of Busi-ness, and the last two years with the Washougal School District as Director of Business Services.

The WASBO REPORTER June 2017

President’s Message

By Cal Brodie, WASBO President

Greetings from your New PresidentI am honored to be your new WASBO president. I look forward to this next year as we work with the WASBO Executive Director to meet the challenges of our changing world. It is with excitement that we bring on a new Executive Director and sadness that we will be saying goodbye to Nancy Moffatt as our Exec.

I am excited to serve the WASBO membership and encourage you to reach out to me at any time if you have ideas, suggestions, or questions about WASBO.

New Executive DirectorThe WASBO Board of Directors is happy to announce that we have selected Brianne King as our new WASBO Executive Director. Brianne will step into the ED position on July 1st. Her first priority will be to work with Nancy Moffatt to gain a deep understanding of WASBO operations, initiatives and programs.

Brianne has been a WASBO member for ten years and has served as the chair of the ASB committee as well as being a WASBO presenter. Prior to this position, Brianne served as the Client Learning and Development Strategist for In-Touch Receipting. She also brings to this position her experience from Orting School Dis-trict, Clover Park School District and University Place School District. Brianne has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Seattle University and has earned the CSBO designation.

She will be following in the footsteps of Nancy Moffatt, who has announced her retirement. Very big shoes to fill but, the Board is confident that Brianne will continue moving WASBO forward as the well-recognized state leadership organization that it has become under Nancy’s leadership.

2017 Annual ConferenceThe 2017 Annual Conference in Spokane saw just what can happen when a dedicated group of people from throughout the state combine their efforts. I once again want to extend my thanks to all that made it hap-pen starting with Nancy and the WASBO staff – Ruth Foster and Laura Blacklock. The local Spokane confer-ence group did a fantastic job, as usual, and the presenters and vendors all contributed to make this a great event. Attendance came in at 580. With our vendor participation we had a lunch count on Thursday of 750!

Next year’s annual conference will be at the Tacoma Convention Center. May 9th through the 11th

What Can You Do For WASBO?WASBO is a member driven organization. It only grows and improves as members willingly step forward to give back to our professional community. In this next year, look for opportunities to participate: volunteer to be active in a committee; be a speaker or encourage someone else to be; consider a role on the WASBO Board; or volunteer to help on the annual conference committee in Tacoma.

On behalf of the WASBO Board of Directors and staff, I wish you all a state budget soon and an enjoyable summer with some time to personally recharge before the next school year.

What you do is important for the students and staff in K-12!


Past-Presidential ReflectionsBy Doug Matson

The year as president for WASBO has flown by. Although sometimes exhausting overall it was a wonderful experience to serve as president. I don’t know if it’s just me or coincidence, but both times as president we have had to hire a new Executive Director. I choose to believe it’s a coincidence. I have truly enjoyed working with Nancy Moffatt and appreciate the leadership she has provided to our organization. She will be missed. At the same time, I am looking forward to Brianne King assuming the position of Executive Director in the upcoming year. WASBO has made great strides in being considered a representative of public school finance in the State of Washington. The public school students of this state deserve an amply funded educa-tional system.

The annual conference in Spokane provided many professional development and networking opportuni-ties. The breakout sessions were varied and provided many occasions for learning. It was great getting the chance to meet many of you at the conference. Thank you to the conference committee and WASBO staff for all their hard work in making the conference a success. I enjoyed hearing the keynote speakers and hearing from our new Superintendent of Public Instruction – Chris Reykdal.

I urge you to become more involved in WASBO and consider serving on the Board of Directors. It is a great opportunity to help set the direction and accept a leadership role in your state organization. You are an im-portant piece of the puzzle to help maintain the organization’s strength. Thank you for allowing me to serve you and I look forward to seeing you next year in Tacoma.

Oh yeah, Sam Andrews’ mom told me to say hi to everyone for her.

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Executive Director Message

By Nancy Moffatt, WASBO Executive Director

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your support and encouragement as I move into the next chapter of my story. I have truly enjoyed my time serving as your Executive Director for the past eight years and, while I had to wonder what I had done when I took this position at the height of the recession, the fact is we made it through those tough days.

While there are so many of you that I would like to recognize, to do so would take the space of this publication and I would surely miss someone whose hard work matters as well. Having said that, however, there is one person I must thank for all her loyalty and support over these eight years — that is Ruth Foster. Thank you Ruth for being my partner and working side by side with me to support the association and our members.

I am excited to have Brianne King step into this role on July 1st. She brings great experience and energy to the position and I look forward to working with her over the next month or so to ensure a smooth transition for all of you.

I wish you all the best in the future and I wish for full state funding for schools in Washington and for adequate compensation for all K-12 staff members!

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Congratulations to these certification recipients!

Certified School Business Administrator

Heather Pinkerton, Chehalis SD

Editor’s Note: The following recipients were inadvertently missed in a previous edition. We apologize for the oversight and congratulate them on their accomplishment.

Certified School Business Administrator

Wendy Howard, Bethel SD

Certified School Business Specialist - Accounting

Barbara deKruyf, Renton SD

Eva Smith, Steilacoom SD

Kristi Bell, North Thurston SD

Beverly Dolman, Steilacoom SD

Certified School Business Specialist - Payroll

Betsy Zumkeller, Sequim SD

Certified School Business Specialist - Retirement

Sonja Brown, Sequim SD

Cathy Young, Franklin Pierce SD

Debra McAllister, Yelm Community Schools

Angela Edwards, Mukilteo SD

Danese Thaidigsman, Renton SD


Best Practice: Test Software Solutions Against Everyday Reality Provided by Tyler Tech

How to Get the Most Out of Your Software Demonstration

Selecting the right software to help you run your district is one of the most critical decisions you can make in school management and administration. When evaluating software solutions, you want to be able to test the software against your everyday reality.

Here are some of the best practices for managing your demo process to ensure you are making an informed decision:

• Prepare. Before the demo, list the daily activities of the individuals in your department. Rank those ac-tivities in order of importance to your specific operation. Then request to see the demonstration in the order that follows your needs.

• Get specific. If you ask a salesperson if their software can do something, most of the time the answer is yes, but not all answers are equal. How many keystrokes does it take? Do you have to “trick” the system? Don’t take yes for an answer; make them show you.

• Move around. Ask questions that require the demonstrator to show different portions of the software. This process of shifting gears is much closer to what you must do every day.

• Watch it do what you do. Ask to go through an entire process you might encounter.

• Don’t forget about services. When you call references after the demo, ask the right questions: If some-thing breaks, what does it take to get it fixed? When you need help, what is the response time to talk to someone? Are there user group meetings for continued product training?

Taking an active part in the software demonstration will make the whole experience more rewarding and will lead you to the best possible partnership. Remember, you only want to make this decision once!

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Inland Empire RegionBy Wendy Rimmelspacher, Director for the Inland Empire Region

It was wonderful to see so many at this year’s WASBO Conference. What an amazing opportunity to network with colleagues, share our wealth of knowledge and have some fun. I hope everyone was able to connect with old friends and make some new ones, too. We were fortunate to have a plethora of classes from which to choose at the conference. Whether your focus was to learn how to be a better leader, tighten up controls surrounding ASB or hone your budgeting skills, there were classes there for you.

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One thing that still seems to be a dangling question mark in everyone’s mind is What will happen with the State budget? Some of us are trudging for-ward with budgets and some of us are waiting until there is known data. Whichever path your District chooses, I wish you good luck in pulling your numbers together so there is a clear path paved for the 2017-18 school year.

I don’t know about you, but we here in Clarkston are looking forward to the end of budget season and a restful summer before some poten-tially big changes come our way in the areas of healthcare and education legislation. I hope everyone has a great summer.


Accounting and Budgeting and Small Schools Committee ReportBy Aprel Stegman, CSBS, Committee Co-Chair

It’s already June and another school year is coming to completion. The ABC and Small Schools Committee has had a busy year in keeping committee members up to date on the latest hot topics. I would like to take a moment and thank everyone that has presented at our meetings this past year. We could not provide the information that our members need without you. I would also like to thank all the presenters and modera-tors who helped make the WASBO Annual Conference a success in Spokane this year.

The Accounting and Budgeting and Small Schools Committee will be sponsoring the Accounts Payable Work-shop on August 3, 2017 at the La Quinta Inn in Tacoma. Reserve the date, and please join us for a workshop to study hot topics in the field of Accounts Payable!

At this moment as we wait for the legislature to pass a budget, I’m grateful for the leaders that will take that budget and provide guidance to school districts on how to implement the requirements. That is no easy task with the legislature requiring more data and a quick turnaround for budget deadlines. With the ever-chang-ing obligations it is very important that our committees continue to share our practices, voice our thoughts and learn from each other the most efficient ways to meet legal requirements and provide the best resources for our students. I look forward to serving on this committee for the 2017-18 school year.

Aprel Stegman is Assistant Director of Business Services, University Place School District and Co-Chair, WASBO Accounting and Budgeting and Small Schools Committee.

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ASB Committee ReportBy Brianne King, CSBO, Co-chair ASB Committee

Thank you to the ASB Committee Members, Presenters, the ASB Manual Review Team and others who have contributed to an amazing year. We had a wide-range of meeting topics this year and we hope you found the information valuable.

Here is the 2017-18 ASB Committee meeting schedule:

Date 2017-18

Topic/Presenter

September 26 Beginning of year startup from the students’ perspective

October 24 Association of Washington Student Leaders

November 28 WA State PTA

December No Meeting

January 23 Alliance for Student Activities

February 27 ASB and Risk Management

March 27 Budgeting- the students’ perspective

April 24 State Auditor’s Office

May 22 10 Pretty Interesting Questions

We also have the 2017-18 ASB Workshops scheduled. Registration will be available this summer. Be sure to check the WASBO website for more information.

2017-18 ASB Workshops:

Date 2017-18

City

Facility

Date 2017-18

City

Facility

September 12 Bellevue Bellevue SD - Rainier Rm October 25 Spokane ESD 101

September 14 Pasco ESD 123 November 2 Tacoma PDC

September 20 Spokane Red Lion November 8 Pasco ESD 123

September 27 Vancouver ESD 112 November 15 Tumwater ESD 113

October 4 Everett Board Room A/B January 17 Central Kitsap Central Kitsap

October 12 Renton PSESD January 22 Renton PSESD

October 19 Yakima Yakima Convention

The updated ASB Manual and template forms will be available this summer. We will debut the new informa-tion at the WASBO Business Managers Conference July 24-27th. You will also find the new information posted on the WASBO ASB Committee page after the conference.

As a reminder, you should be posting annually the ASB Fund Balances on the district website. The balances should be posted on each school’s website. You can easily do this by posting a link to the shared document on each school’s site. Here is the RCW that states what must be posted.

RCW 28A .325 .050Associated student body program fund—Publication of information on school district web site .

(1) Each school district that has an associated student body program fund must publish the following infor-mation about the fund on its web site:

(a) The fund balance at the beginning of the school year;

(b) Summary data about expenditures and revenues occurring over the course of the school year; and

(c) The fund balance at the end of the school year.article continues next page


(2) The information under this section must be published for each associated student body of the district and each account within the associated student body program fund.

(3) If the school district web site contains separate web sites for schools in the district, the information un-der this section must be published on the web site of the applicable school of the associated student body.

(4) No later than August 31, 2014, school districts must publish the information under this section on their web sites for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years. School districts must add updated annual information to their web sites by each August 31st, except that school districts are only required to maintain the informa-tion on the web site from the previous five years.

We encourage participation in the monthly ASB Committee Meetings. We use GoTo Webinar, which allows members to attend the meeting remotely. Members can now watch the presentation from their desk or con-tinue to meet as a group within the district. We are also recording the meetings and you will find the record-ings at http://www .wasbo .org/?page=9

The ASB Committee encourages you to participate in the monthly meetings. It’s a great way to network with other districts and gain knowledge about various ASB topics. If you would like to be added to the ASB Com-mittee distribution list, please contact Brianne King, ASB Chair.

Contact Information:

ASB Chair: Brianne King, InTouch Receipting, CSBO (Former Business Manager at University Place and Director of Finance & Operations at Orting) [email protected] or 253.252-7588

ASB Co-Chair: Marty Fortin, AWSP [email protected] or 360.497.7131

ASB Committee Report continued from previous page

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School Cyber Security ConcernsProvided by Washington Schools Risk Management Pool

At the 2017 National PRIMA Convention in Arizona, sixty seven percent of school district superintendents across the Nation stated their number one liability concern is cyber security.

Further, The Washington State Auditor’s Office has been carrying out cyber audits of Washington State agen-cies. Peg Bodin, the Local IS Audit Program Manager with the Washington State Auditor’s Office, has been directing school districts with cyber security concerns to their website: https://auditconnectionwa .org/

With the Washington State Auditor’s Office’s permission, below is a reprint of their article regarding recent Washington State school district phishing attacks.

School district alert for phishing email attackDuring the week of January 9, 2017, malicious hackers conducted phishing attacks from multiple school district employees’ email accounts.

What happened?

Hackers gained unauthorized access to work-related email accounts belonging to employees of mul-tiple school districts, presumably by having the login name and password of the email account.

The hackers used the employees’ email accounts to send phishing emails to people with whom the employee had previous email contact. The message included instructions to click on a link to open a website. The website directed the email recipient to enter account credentials (email address / user name / password / phone number).

The hackers are also monitoring the victims’ email accounts and are responding to replies from recipients of the phishing email confirming the original request to click on the website link. In some cases, the hackers used the employees’ email signature to make the message appear more authentic.

RecommendationsBe suspicious of emails that ask you to click on a link or open an email attachment, even if you know the sender and especially if you were not expecting an email from the sender.

If it looks suspicious and the message directs you to click on a link or open an attachment, call the sender to determine if the message is valid. If the email message is not valid, consider these options: Do not respond to the email with a reply email; notify your IT department or follow any existing policy and procedures, delete the email from your Inbox and then delete it from your Deleted Items folder.

If you receive an email and click on the link, and then believe it to be suspicious, it is recommended to close the browser window immediately and delete the email as instructed above. As a recom-mended precaution, immediately change your password and notify your IT department.

To reduce the risk of compromise, consider using multi-factor or two-step verification to protect your account.

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Purchasing & Warehouse Committee ReportBy Darren S. King, Capital Projects Budget Manager, Highline Public Schools Purchasing & Warehouse Committee Chair

End of School Year NewsNew Purchasing & Warehouse Committee Co-ChairOur committee has a new co-chair, Latanya Figueroa, Purchasing Manager at Clover Park School District. Latanya has over 20 years of experience working with Washington schools and I welcome her involvement in our committee. Welcome Latanya!

Latanya is interested in looking into bringing back basic purchasing-related classes to WASBO to support those in Washington Schools that may not be directly in a purchasing position, but may support the activity, such as a school secretary or office manager.

You can reach out to Latanya at [email protected], (253) 583- 5031, and she is also available through the committee’s email list where committee members ask others in the committee purchasing and warehouse related questions. To be included in the committee, email [email protected].

Go-To Meeting ScheduleAlthough many of us are on a different schedule during the summer and monthly online meetings for the committee will not take place, we are planning on having our first online meeting for the 2017-2018 school year on our normal 3rd Tuesday of the month, September 19th From 9:30 a.m. and ending no later than 11:30. Committee members will be emailed the agenda in advance. Ensure you are part of the committee in order to be notified.

Enjoy the summer and recharge your batteries!

Darren S. King Capital Projects Budget Manager | Highline Public Schools Purchasing & Warehouse Committee Chair |WASBO [email protected] (206) 631-7507

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Legislative UpdateBy Dan Steele, Legislative Consultant and Linda McDermott, Legislative Committee Chair

On April 23, the Regular Session of the 2017 Legislature adjourned. By now, school business officials and school administrators—the entire education community, in fact—should be well on the way to fully under-standing: an updated education finance system; how levies can be raised and how those funds can be spent; and how to transition to a new compensation system. Additionally, school districts should be in the final stages of preparing budgets and staffing for the 2017-18 school year. Unfortunately, the job of adopting a Court-required Education Funding Plan to comply with the McCleary decision and adopting a new two-year Operating Budget has proven to be as difficult as most Olympia-observers believed it would be. As this newsletter goes to press, the Legislature is in the middle of its second 30-day Special Session, with continu-ing questions about how—and when—final compromises on K-12 and an overall budget will come together.

Education Funding PlansThe Education Funding Task Force (ETFF), a bi-cameral, bi-partisan group of legislators formed at the end of the 2016 Session, was charged with providing recommendations for an Education Funding Plan to the Legislature on the first day of this session, but partisan bickering prevented them from adopting any recom-mendations or even a final report detailing their work. Understanding the need to adopt a plan to ensure the state provides ample funding to assist districts in recruiting and retaining quality staff and reduce the unconstitutional over-reliance on school district levies, however, Task Force members came back together in the latter part of the Regular Session, to hammer out a compromise Education Funding Plan. The Task Force has been regularly meeting since.

Task Force members have agreed to keep their conversations and agreements confidential, so it is difficult to know exactly what they are discussing, what the “sticky” issues that are keeping them from a final com-promise may be, or what issues they have come to agreement upon. Publicly, the only thing we keep hearing is that they are regularly meeting and they are making “progress.” From occasional leaks (which may in fact be trial balloons), we understand that four key issues to WASBO, WASA and the rest of the Local Funding Workgroup continue to be debated: whether school funding should be driven out by the Prototypical School

article continues on next page

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Funding Model or via a new per pupil funding model; whether a Salary Allocation Model (and a staff mix for-mula) should be scrapped altogether, or if the SAM should simply be compressed; how to reduce levies and/or the over-reliance on levies; and whether—or how—to limit locally-funded salaries.

Funding ModelEven before this Legislative Session began, educators were arguing that the state must retain the Prototypi-cal School Funding Model. The Prototypical School Funding Model was the basis for the state’s defense in McCleary and using the Model ensures the Legislature is held accountable for funding the actual cost of basic education. Funding K-12 with a per pupil funding model is simple and easy to sell; however, there has been no explanation by sponsors or supporters of how per pupil funding is calculated. It is an arbitrary number with no basis in reality. Senate Republican sponsors argued their plan, which replaced the current Prototypical School Funding Model with per student funding was based on the Massachusetts model, which they said was a successful plan and could be replicated here. (What they failed to note was the proposed funding level in Washington would be significantly less than the per pupil funding provided in Massachu-setts, but that’s beside the point.) We continued to argue the Prototypical Model essentially drives per stu-dent funding. Sponsors vigorously argued to scrap the Prototypical Model…until just before the end of the First Special Session. Finally, sponsors acknowledged that even Massachusetts has a funding model similar to Washington’s Prototype, but uses that model to drive out per pupil funding. While a specific agreement by the EFTF is still under wraps, all indications are that a “hybrid” funding model will ultimately be accepted.

Salary Allocation ModelSince the first Education Funding Plan was released, WASBO and the Local Funding Workgroup have regu-larly and loudly advocated for the maintenance of some type of salary structure. At first, the message was falling on deaf ears in all four caucuses. It appeared the dissatisfaction with the SAM and staff mix was due to a lack of understanding about how the SAM/mix worked and why it is necessary. Task Force members generally understood that eliminating SAM/mix would be complex for a period of time; however, the general

Legislative Update continued from previous page

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Legislative Update continued from previous page

consensus was that they system would stabilize and calm down after a year or two. We argued strongly that chaos would reign without a salary structure, but more importantly, we explained that elimination of SAM and staff mix would force administrators to hire staff based on their cost, rather than hiring the best, most qualified educators they could find. After continual contacts from advocates on the Hill, but more impor-tantly from administrators and other educators in the field, the resistance to a salary structure appeared to be breaking down. It remains unclear, however, where the Task Force will ultimately land.

Levy ReformHow to end the over-reliance on school district levies continues to be one of the most difficult debates within the Task Force. Senate Republicans continue to advocate for a “levy swap,” reducing local school dis-trict levies and increasing the State Property Tax, while House and Senate Democrats continue to support a slight reduction of local levies, essentially returning to pre-2010 levels. (House Republicans have not publicly stated their position, although it appears they are resistant to a levy swap.) From all reports, there is still heavy debate and dissention over levy reform. Senate Republicans introduced legislation which would have imposed a property tax rate of $1.80 per $1,000 of assessed valuation and later amended their own proposal, reducing the rate to $1.55 per $1,000. Apparently, there has been discussion of various compromises, includ-ing: reducing the rate to $1.00 per $1,000; moving to a per-student levy rate; or maintaining the current levy structure, but lowering lids to 15% or 18% or 20% (the lid continues to be discussed).

Locally-Funded SalariesCollective bargaining reform, including “bumpers” or limits on locally-funded salaries continues to be a high priority for WASBO and the Local Funding Workgroup. The Senate Republican proposal to simply cap (at 80%) the portion of expenditures represented by salaries and benefits continues to be discussed, but it appears it may have lost some steam. The effort to limit local salaries now appears to be dependent on the discussion of specifically defining basic education (with an understanding that local levy dollars are prohib-ited from being used for basic education). Outside the room, the discussion is still a bit cloudy; however, we understand the Task Force may be approaching the basic education definition from the back end—that is, rather than specifically defining basic education, the Task Force appears to be discussing the definition of “enrichment,” for which levy dollars could be expended. Actually, this might be an easier approach, but the concern is that an assumption will be made that basic education is fully funded (whether it is or not) and everything not funded by the state is outside of basic education and defined as enrichment. The Court has already ruled the Legislature cannot simply state basic education is fully funded, they must fully fund the actual costs of basic education. This approach runs the risk of being struck down by the Court.

What Next?Educators are encouraged to continue to communicate with legislators and press for the issues discussed above. Clearly explain to your legislators what the impacts of adopting—or not adopting—these ingredients of an Education Funding Plan will be to your district. You are the education experts. Don’t be shy about shar-ing your expertise.

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Leadership Development Committee ReportBy Denise Wolff, Leadership Development Committee Chair

How Well Do You See?What do you know about the people you work with? Have you discovered that you might pigeon-hole co-workers by making assumptions of their skillsets or ambitions? Do you overlook what they have to offer? Could it be possible that you are holding someone back from achieving and contributing much more simply because you have preconceived notions? How well do you see?

Those of you zooming into the Leadership Development Committee know we have explored the pitfalls of making presumptions of people and what they have to offer. A large part of the responsibility of being a leader is to recognize and develop the leaders of tomorrow. You must be willing to step out of the spotlight and focus that light on others, while mentoring from the sidelines.

I attended both Leadership Development Workshops taught by Mike Newman this year. We spent a lot of time gaining understanding of personality types and the communication styles that go along with them. We learned about the introverts who frequently have insightful observations that never are shared because the extroverts don’t ask their opinion or pause long enough for them to speak up.

I urge you, during this upcoming year, to shine up your glasses and take a look around you. You might be surprised by what you find. I urge you to express gratitude to someone at work when they provide value. Be authentic in your conversations and tailor your expression of gratitude in a way that is comfortable for them. Encourage them to develop and share knowledge.

Be a leader. I hope to see you in the upcoming year. We meet at 9AM on the first Thursday of the month.

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Professional DevelopmentBy Laura Blacklock

As we finalized details on the Annual Conference, we were already looking ahead to what is happening for the upcoming school year. Please note your committee chairs for the 2017-2018 school year and some up-coming events. Please check the WASBO website for the most up-to-date information.

2017 – 2018 Committee ChairsAccounting and Budgeting

Aprel Stegman, CSBS – University Place SD Gretchen Russo – Bethel SD

ASB

Patty Leverenz, Highline SD Marty Fortin – AWSP

Child Nutrition

Wendy Barkley – OSPI

Facilities

Mark Prussing – ESD 112

Leadership Development

Denise Wolff, CSBA – ESD 113 Debi Holmes – Rainier SD

Legislative Affairs

Dr. Linda McDermott – Spokane SD

Payroll/Personnel/Retirement

Angie Marek, CSBS – Bethel SD Darlene Gjelsteen – ESD 113

Purchasing/Warehouse

Darren King – Highline SD Latanya Figueroa – Clover Park SD

Records Management

Aaren Purcell – Seattle SD

Risk Management

Don Ebert, CSRM – ESD 101

Small Schools

April Kaech, CSBO – Morton SD

Upcoming Trainings

2017 Business Managers’ Conference July 24th – 27th, 2017 – Vancouver, WA

Sponsored by the WASBO Leadership Development Committee

Registration is now open on the WASBO website .

Accounts Payable Workshop Sponsored by the Accounting and Budgeting Committee

August 3rd, 2017 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

La Quinta Inn & Suites – Tacoma, WA



Upcoming Trainings continued

2017 – 2018 ASB Workshops

REGISTRATION WILL BE OPEN FIRST WEEK OF JULY

Professional Development continued from previous page

Date City Facility

September 12, 2017 Bellevue Bellevue SD - Rainier Rm

September 14, 2017 Pasco ESD 123

September 20, 2017 Spokane Red Lion

September 27, 2017 Vancouver ESD 112

October 4, 2017 Everett Board Room A/B

October 12, 2017 Renton PSESD

October 19, 2017 Yakima Yakima Convention Center

October 25, 2017 Spokane ESD 101

November 2, 2017 Tacoma Professional Development Center

November 8, 2017 Pasco ESD 123

November 15, 2017 Tumwater ESD 113

January 22, 2018 Renton PSESD

January 17, 2018 Central Kitsap Central Kitsap

Annual Conference Survey FeedbackThe question surrounding why we ask for feedback is a critical one. We know it takes time but in order to better serve our members, we need to hear directly from you in order to ensure we are meeting your needs and addressing current trends in professional development overall. Here are some of the things you shared about the 2017 Annual Conference in Spokane.

“What was your favorite part of the conference?” (Top 3 answers)

1) Networking

2) Workshops

3) Keynote Speakers: Galen Emanuele Chris Reykdal Denise Ryan (Pre-Con)

“What was your least favorite part of the conference?” (Top 3 answers)

1) Food

2) Traveling between buildings

3) Length of the sessions

Thank you to everyone that took the time to fill out the survey. We appreciate the information you have pro-vided and will continue to develop outstanding professional development opportunities for the 2017 – 2018 school year. Enjoy your summer!

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