Doing with Less—Creative and Innovative Ways to Manage Scarce Resources
Doing With Less
Creative and Innovative Ways to Manage Scarce Resources
Presented by:
Maureen Evans, Vice President
School Services of California, Inc.
Suzanne Speck, Director, Management Consulting
School Services of California, Inc.
Eva Lueck, Chief Business and Financial Officer
Glendale Unified School District
Christine Walters, Board President
Glendale Unified School District
Dr. Audrey Yamagata-Noji, Board Member
Santa Ana Unified School District
Joe Dixon, Assistant Superintendent
Facilities & Governmental Relations
Santa Ana Unified School District
Overview
• Resource Management
• Resource Management and the Governing Board
• Doing With Less
• Resource Management Challenges and Successes
• Q&A
1
© 2012 School Services of California, Inc.
Doing with Less—Creative and Innovative Ways to Manage Scarce Resources
Why Is Resource Management Important?
• The effects of the recession are still with us
• Education funding in California has been highly volatile
and our new reality is one of legislatively induced
funding uncertainty
• California is less financially committed to public
education than other state, but has equal or higher
expectations in terms of student outcomes
• Californians expect more for less
2
California’s Education Spending
© 2012 School Services of California, Inc.
K-12 Education Expenditures per Average Daily Attendance
2010-11
$18,660
$11,305
Top
Five
States*
$9,524
California
National
Average
*Average of the five states with the highest expenditures per average daily attendance
Source: National Education Association
© 2012 School Services of California, Inc.
3
Doing with Less—Creative and Innovative Ways to Manage Scarce Resources
The Outlook for Education
Absent an economic recovery that
outpaces the current forecast or a
more adequate level of funding for
schools in California, we will be
expected to continue doing with less
– less than the national average,
and far less than the top five states !
4
Notes
© 2012 School Services of California, Inc.
Doing with Less—Creative and Innovative Ways to Manage Scarce Resources
Resource Management and the
Governing Board
Board Responsibilities
• The Governance team
– Sets direction
– Established the structure
– Provides support
– Ensures accountability
– Acts as community leaders
• Job Areas
– Student Learning and Achievement
– Finance and Facilities
– Human Resources
– Policy and Judicial Review
– Collective Bargaining
– Community Relations and Advocacy
7
© 2012 School Services of California, Inc.
Doing with Less—Creative and Innovative Ways to Manage Scarce Resources
Resource Management and the Board
• The Board is responsible for adopting the district’s
spending plan – ultimately, the Board is responsible for
the fiscal solvency of the district
• The spending plan should align with board and district
goals and priorities
– How do proposed budget reductions affect the
Board’s vision or strategic plan?
• Most districts have cut to bare bones but may still need
to reduce expenditures to remain fiscally solvent
• The Board should expect the district to establish a
timeline and process for making reductions and
provide a reduction chronology
• Where have you been, where are you now, and where
are you going?
8
Have a Plan and Plan to be Flexible
• Make sure that you have implemented everything that
is considered industry standard
• Double back every year and check – you may be
surprised at what you have missed
• Not all of your cuts will materialize
• Be flexible – adapt
• Always distinguish between cuts that are one time and
cuts that are ongoing, and explain the rationale for both
9
© 2012 School Services of California, Inc.
Doing with Less—Creative and Innovative Ways to Manage Scarce Resources
Doing With Less
Purpose and Practice
What is Doing With Less?
• Doing With Less is a compilation of resource
management ideas and strategies for educational
leaders of all experience levels
• In other words, it is a book chock full of ideas to stretch
the educational dollar just a bit more, by doing things
better, more efficiently by, and more effectively
• The ideas in the book vary in complexity and in the
amount of savings they might produce, and should
provide a platform for thought, discussion, and action
for local educational agencies
11
© 2012 School Services of California, Inc.
Doing with Less—Creative and Innovative Ways to Manage Scarce Resources
Where Did the Ideas Come From?
• The ideas and strategies contained in the 2010 Edition
of Doing With Less came directly from the innovative
and inventive minds of actual educational practitioners
• The creative group that contributed the ideas included:
– Chief Business Officials
– Superintendents
– Personnel Officers
– Board Members
12
How Do I Use the Book?
• The ideas are arranged in chapters that represent major
organizational areas:
– Central Office
– Human Resource Services
– Benefits and Risk Management
– Revenues and Average Daily Attendance
– Instructional Programs
– Interagency Communication
– Facilities and Facility Financing
– Grounds, Maintenance, and Operation
13
© 2012 School Services of California, Inc.
Doing with Less—Creative and Innovative Ways to Manage Scarce Resources
How Do I Use the Book?
• Contained within each chapter are sections containing
effective ideas specific to an operational area
• Each idea has a description, as well as an assessment
of the impact of the strategy that answers questions
such as:
– How much savings will the idea generate?
– How difficult is the idea to implement?
– How long will it be until savings are captured?
– Does the idea necessitate collective bargaining?
14
Cleaning Crews Are More Efficient
Consider a “team cleaning” approach for most custodial services. Use a single foreman for each team and task
assignments for each team member. Avoid assigning custodians to specific sites. Caution: Losing “pride of
ownership” has sometimes been a problem for custodians. Crews, however, are more closely supervised,
especially at night. An alternative to year-round crews would be summer team cleaning.
Implementation Difficulty:
Basic
Intermediate
Implementation Period:
Quick Fix
Complex
Collective Bargaining Required:
Next Year
Long Term
Other Fund
Ongoing
Yes
No
Savings:
Fund
General
One Time
Savings Impact Rating: (Scale 1 through 4)
15
© 2012 School Services of California, Inc.
Doing with Less—Creative and Innovative Ways to Manage Scarce Resources
Resource Management Challenges
and Successes
Operational Area: Facilities
Resource Management Idea
•
Evaluate how much a General Obligation Bond can assist the General Fund.
For Glendale Unified School District (GUSD), solar projects will save
$800,000/year in energy costs; technology projects, capital expenditures,
deferred maintenance and related staff were shifted to bond.
Implementation Period
•
Next year
Savings
•
$800,000 energy savings
•
$20 million shifted to in facility and debt service reserves to general fund
Implementation Difficulty
•
Complex – will take at least 12 months to implement
Collective Bargaining
•
Implementation did not require negotiations with employee groups
17
© 2012 School Services of California, Inc.
Doing with Less—Creative and Innovative Ways to Manage Scarce Resources
Operational Area: Human Resources
Resource Management Idea
•
Negotiate furlough days for the second and/or third year of the multiyear
budget. Annually review the need for the furlough days with the plan to defer
them if possible.
Implementation Period
•
Next year
Savings
•
From 0.25% to 1.0% of budgeted personnel expenditures
Implementation Difficulty
•
Intermediate – implementation requires significant level of effort
Collective Bargaining
•
Implementation requires negotiations with employee groups
18
Operational Area: Risk Management
Resource Management Idea
•
Market your Workers’ Compensation program to determine if you have a
competitive rate.
Implementation Period
•
Next year
Savings
•
0.25% to 1.0% of budget Workers’ Compensation expenditures
Implementation Difficulty
•
Basic – required minimal effort to implement
Collective Bargaining
•
Implementation did not require negotiations with employee groups
19
© 2012 School Services of California, Inc.
Doing with Less—Creative and Innovative Ways to Manage Scarce Resources
Operational Area: Benefits
Resource Management Idea
•
One of the top five cost drivers for schools within the total compensation
area is health benefits (medical, RX, dental, vision, and life). There are
several ways to address cost containment, all of which are negotiable:
1. Put the entire district contribution on the salary schedule and let the
employee deal with it.
2. Cap the district contribution (with or without a reasonable annual
increase).
3. Cover the employee only.
4. Offer cash-in-lieu where both spouses are employees of the same district.
5. Develop incentives to increase employee ownership, responsibility, and
problem solving.
•
Santa Ana USD negotiated a Health Benefits Authority (HBA) with one of its
then two employees groups. The District now has four employee groups.
After two years in the HBA, the District has experienced less than a
2% increase each year, significantly lower than the expected 10%-12%.
20
Operational Area: Benefits
Implementation Period
•
Next fiscal year
Savings
•
For Santa Ana USD, 10% points ($5-$6 million annually)
Implementation Difficulty
•
Some resistance – changing behavior, developing trust, and the willingness
to take a risk can be difficult
Collective Bargaining
•
Implementation requires participating employee group support
21
© 2012 School Services of California, Inc.
Doing with Less—Creative and Innovative Ways to Manage Scarce Resources
Operational Area: Energy/Utility Savings
Resource Management Idea
•
Before you go solar, make sure you have taken advantage of the “low
hanging fruit” available in your utility budget through creativity and
efficiency. Utility costs are generally the 2nd largest cost after personnel in
the general fund budget – save 10% - 20% per year.
Implementation Period
•
Next fiscal year
Savings
•
For Santa Ana USD – $700,000 to $1,400,000 per year
Implementation Difficulty
•
Some resistance – changing behavior can be difficult
Collective Bargaining
•
Implementation does not require negotiation; rather, buy-in to the program is
essential
22
Operational Area: Grounds, Maintenance, and
Operations
Resource Management Idea
•
Move from a reactive maintenance system to a planned maintenance system
Implementation Period
•
Three years
Savings
•
Work performed in a planned fashion such as preventive, predictive, or
planned corrective maintenance will cost $1.00 per cost unit
•
Work performed in an unplanned, unscheduled fashion will cost $1.50 per
cost unit
Implementation Difficulty
•
Setting up the program is time consuming and difficult. A plan will have to be
implemented in steps for the next three years.
Collective Bargaining
•
Full implementation may require classified union support
23
© 2012 School Services of California, Inc.
Doing with Less—Creative and Innovative Ways to Manage Scarce Resources
Operational Area: Facilities and Facility Financing
Resource Management Idea
•
Utilize Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZABs) for energy savings
Implementation Period
•
18 months
Savings
•
$25 million over 30 years
Implementation Difficulty
•
Depends on internal capacity – consultants for financial, contractual, and
design are recommended.
Collective Bargaining
•
Implementation did not require negotiations with employee groups
24
Notes
© 2012 School Services of California, Inc.
Doing with Less—Creative and Innovative Ways to Manage Scarce Resources
Q&A
Thank You!
This presentation and the publication flyer
are available at www.sscal.com
In the spirit of Doing With Less –
copy, copy, copy!
© 2012 School Services of California, Inc.