EDLD 5342 Competency 8

Competency 8 Area:

The superintendent knows how to apply principles of effective leadership and management in relation to district budgeting, personnel, resource utilization, financial management, and technology application.

The superintendent knows how to:

___C__ apply procedures for effective budget planning and management.

___S__ work collaboratively with board of trustees and appropriate personnel to develop district budgets.

____C_ facilitate and evaluate effective account auditing and monitoring that complies with legal requirements and local district policy.

___C__ establish district procedures for accurate, effective, ethical purchasing and financial record keeping and reporting.

___C__ acquire, allocate, and manage resources according to district vision and priorities, including obtaining and using funding from various sources.

____C_ use district and staff evaluation data for personnel policy development and decision making.

___S__ apply knowledge associated with personnel management, including requirements related to certifying, recruiting, screening, selecting, evaluating, disciplining, reassigning, and dismissing personnel.

___C__ manage one's own time and the time of others to enhance district operations.

___S__ develop and implement plans for using technology and information systems to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of school district operations.

____S_ apply legal concepts, regulations, and codes as required.

__C___use revenue forecasting and enrollment forecasting to address personnel and budgetary needs accurately.

In reflecting upon my strengths and competencies, I am confident in my ability to build relations with the Board of Trustees.  I might struggle at first with management issues.  This does not reflect upon my management of personnel, but rather my management of time and resources.  As a future superintendent, I believe that I understand the procedures for accurate, effective and ethical purchases and record keeping. I would want to make sure I have a very capable CFO who understands the intricacies of accounting and upon whom I feel has the highest of ethics and standards.  As one superintendent once stated to me, “my job is to hire the best people and make the ones I’ve got better.”  This makes sense to me.

The parts of this course that have made the greatest impact on me include a variety of resources.  From week one lecture notes, I am reminded that operating school districts with fewer resources than needed is not a new concept.  Given the current budget crisis in education, this gives me hope that we will overcome!  I agree with Dr. Arterbury’s statement in the video:  “It is not likely that we could maintain a democracy or a world class work force without an educated society.”  His statement reminds me of the importance of taking on this challenge of educating all students.  The Worksheets for Establishing Foundation School Program Aid used in week three from Texas Education Agency was helpful to me in that it solidified the importance of the ADA number for every district.  Without this number, no one could complete the assignment. 

Week #5 EDLD 5342 Final Reflection

EDLD 5342 Week 5 Final Reflection

     In reflecting upon my strengths and competencies, I am confident in my ability to build relations with the Board of Trustees.  I might struggle at first with management issues.  This does not reflect upon my management of personnel, but rather my management of time and resources.  As a future superintendent, I believe that I understand the procedures for accurate, effective and ethical purchases and record keeping. I would want to make sure I have a very capable CFO who understands the intricacies of accounting and upon whom I feel has the highest of ethics and standards.  As one superintendent once stated to me, “my job is to hire the best people and make the ones I’ve got better.”  This makes sense to me.

The parts of this course that have made the greatest impact on me include a variety of resources.  From week one lecture notes, I am reminded that operating school districts with fewer resources than needed is not a new concept.  Given the current budget crisis in education, this gives me hope that we will overcome!  I agree with Dr. Arterbury’s statement in the video:  “It is not likely that we could maintain a democracy or a world class work force without an educated society.”  His statement reminds me of the importance of taking on this challenge of educating all students.  The Worksheets for Establishing Foundation School Program Aid used in week three from Texas Education Agency was helpful to me in that it solidified the importance of the ADA number for every district.  Without this number, no one could complete the assignment. 

     I learned the importance of networking with others.  Without the assistance and willingness of my small group to make sure we “got to the bottom” of the assignment, I would have been lost.  We were persistent and professional in researching all options.  In addition, I was reminded of the importance of reaching out to others in time of frustration and crisis.  I think resourcefulness of everyone in the class and the vast amount of experience and knowledge only helped enhance my knowledge and ability to reason through the data.  My insight from the interviews with my superintendent affirms the importance of finding a very capable and ethic-minded CFO.  The intricacies of school finance continue to challenge me, but I am confident that finding and partnering with the right CFO will help me navigate through the school funding nightmare.  I also learned that while having a strong opinion is important, it is equally important to remember that patience and kindness pay off.  Instead of getting too frustrated about the assignment, I was reminded that by using the resources of other professionals and continuing to pursue options, a solution is imminent.  I believe this lesson will be most important as superintendents continue to face budget challenges and frustrations of working with the legislators.    I have no doubt there are times when a superintendent feels the information provided is lacking and that there are no solutions to the challenges he/she faces.  The experiences in this class provided me with a small exposure to those feelings and the processes we pursued as a cohort in this class and what a resourceful superintendent should do in these situations. 

5342 Week #5 Part 1-Code Of Ethics

EDLD 5342 Week 5-Code Of Ethics

     While I am not aware of many situations where the ethics of finance have been violated, I am aware of one incident.  A well-respected district employee had access to many pieces of equipment.  This employee had been a member of the district for many years and was often the “go-to” person for construction and maintenance solutions.  Obviously, as equipment becomes old and obsolete, there is still a process to follow to liquate assets. This employee allegedly took some of these old and obsolete pieces of equipment and placed them on their own land, perhaps even to another state.   Somehow, someone found out about it and reported this violation, as is always the case.  My understanding is that the equipment was valued at less than $5000 and was no longer usable by the district. Since the employee did not accurately follow the process for liquidation, there was an employment consequence and legal proceedings ensued.  This is an unfortunate situation that essentially tarnished the fine reputation this employee had established and gave people cause to question the district’s asset liquidation process.  As a result, that district now utilizes a much more tedious process for asset accountability with much tighter guidelines on equipment usage.  The ethical conflicts involved in this situation violated TAC Standard 1.4:  “the educator shall not use institutional or professional privileges for personal or partisan advantage.”

      I conducted an internet search and learned about another district, which discovered a missing escrow account, which violates TAC Standards 1.3 and 1.6.  Standard 1.3 states, “The educator shall not submit fraudulent requests for reimbursement, expenses or pay” and Standard 1.6 states “The educator shall not falsify records, or direct or coerce others to do so.”   Apparently, the district’s former Chief Financial Officer informed the board that he established an escrow account to help pay for the district’s Chapter 41 payments.  Not only was the account not established, but also the funds were allocated to other district expenses.  In addition, the district did not follow Texas Education Agency guidelines.  As a result, the CFO was fired and the Superintendent ‘s integrity came into question by the board and community.

     Other examples of ethics violation include one district where the employees used district credit cards to purchase personal items.  This violates standard 1.2 (The educator shall not knowingly misappropriate, divert or use monies, personnel, property, or equipment committed to his or her charge for personal gain or advantage.) and 1.1. (The educator shall not intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly engage in deceptive practices regarding official policies of the school district, educational institution, educator preparation program, the Texas Education Agency, or the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) and its certification process.) The superintendent’s failure to disclose connections or personal gains from professional affiliations such as consulting fees, etc. violate Standards 1.7 “The educator shall comply with state regulations, written local school board policies, and other state and federal laws.”  A fifth and final example of an ethics violation would be a superintendent who claimed they had the appropriate certifications for which they truly did not.  This would violate standard 1.8 “The educator shall apply for, accept, offer, or assign a position or a responsibility on the basis of professional qualifications.”

     The short and long-range consequences of any of the violations always include deterioration of trust in the public education system.  For example, in the district where employees inappropriately used the district credit card, the short -term results are that the district needed to pay for the debt.  In addition, the public lost confidence in the fiduciary procedures for the district.  When the superintendent does not appropriately disclose business or personal relationships, there is potential for a conflict of interest.  The short-term consequence is that the Board of Trustees, as well as the community, questions the integrity of the superintendent, which could develop into long-term consequences due to the lack of trust, confidence and belief in the integrity of the superintendent and the system.  In the example involving obsolete district equipment, the short-term consequence was that the public and the board questioned district procedures.  A long-term consequence is that these valued employees of the district lost their jobs, the district lost a valuable employee resource and the employees faced possible legal consequences. 

     In order to avoid the above-mentioned violations, there are several pro-active plans that can be used.  To avoid a credit card nightmare, a district could either eliminate the use of credit cards or create a monitoring system that prevents unauthorized use of the cards.  This would show that the superintendent is following a quality indicator similar to Superintendent competency that “models and promotes the highest standard or conduct, ethical principles, and integrity in decision making, actions and behaviors” as well as illustrating that he/she “apply laws, policies, and procedures in a fair and reasonable manner.” To prevent a superintendent and district from being embarrassed about a business or personal relationship, full disclosure of any questionable relationship should be expected.  A form allowing for this full disclosure by the superintendent would help alleviate any questions and protect him/her from future allegations.  Again, this illustrates the modeling of highest standards as well as “exhibiting understanding and implementing policies and procedures that promote personnel compliance with The Code of Ethics and Standard Practices for Texas Educators.” Lastly, by implementing procedures that require a paper trail for any asset liquidation and verification by an outside source of the receipt of those assets, the superintendent not only shows that he/she is implementing policies and procedures stated above, but is again modeling and promoting highest standards.   

Week #4 EDLD 5342 Part 5

     Our school district has developed a relationship with the same auditing firm for several years, and when I interviewed our Interim Superintendent, he described the process that they use to review thoroughly the finances of the district. He explained the timeline of the budget process and the steps that we take in order to select an external auditor. Although, our school board has chosen the same external auditing firm for several years, we still go through the process of accepting bids for others. He also mentioned that while it may be a more efficient use of time and that it is advantageous to have a strong relationship with the auditors; it is still a best practice to gain the perspective from different external auditors. He discussed the timeline when the external auditors come in to the district of when they come in and the documents that they review.

     In the fall, the auditors come on site and review several documents. After an initial review, they request in writing very specific documentation. Often this is for clarification of items about which they have questions. Items that they have requested to review have been anything pertaining to fund balances, accrued interest, fixed asset inventories, ledgers for maintenance and food service, payroll quarterly reports, reports submitted regarding federal monies, lists of legal expenditures, copies of budget for current fiscal year, insurance coverage documents, and copies of un-liquidated encumbrances/purchase orders.

     According to the guidance document published by the Texas Education Agency, there are some considerations listed for school districts in order to prepare for the audit. Auditors review various aspects of the school’s financial dealings such as, cash, investments, accounts receivable, inventories, capital assets, accounts payable, liabilities, fund balances, earnings, revenues, expenditures, property taxes, insurance, and budget. Being aware that the audit is comprehensive, school personnel can prepare documents for the auditors before they arrive. While they review all pertinent documentation, they are also very informed on compliance and changes that may have occurred in the law. They also are able to conduct interviews, but often they will send out anonymous questionnaires to various staff members with specific procedures to maintain confidentiality.

     I was also allowed to review the report from the fall of 2010, and then he explained that results are communicated to him in the form of a comprehensive report. For each indicator, a summary is offered followed by a page that may or may not have ‘findings’ listed. A finding is something that you do not want to see. This would be an area of concern, perhaps a guideline of compliance component that was not followed appropriately. Guidance is offered to the district for corrective action. The school board reviews the report, and a response to the finding is given the following year. In other words, progress towards the corrective action must be attained so that the district is in compliance with that particular aspect of the finding.

Week #4 EDLD 5342 Part 4

When interviewing our school district’s business and operations manager, I found that approximately 85% of our total budget is dedicated to personnel costs. It is interesting to be studying School Finance now, especially with the current financial condition of the state and what a mess it is. It seems that every day we learn or hear of new house and senate bills and how our current lawmakers propose to decrease the potential impact to Texas public schools. From a budgetary standpoint, public education is the “largest piece of the pie,” and perhaps that is why we are experiencing such hefty cuts. These are times of unprecedented budget shortfalls, and just as the most efficient method for the state to balance its budget may be to cut funds to public schools, those very districts are left with little choice but to explore methods of furloughs, layoffs, or other methods of reductions in force. Yet school district officials must be aware of how they fare in comparison to surrounding districts with regard to average teacher salaries. In order to attract the most effective and highly qualified teachers, it is important to be mindful of competition and that it may be necessary to offer salary increases as often as possible to help with retention and continuity of the organization as a whole. The negative impact of a salary increase other than an obvious reduction in the overall budget is that setting a precedent for periodic increases may not be feasible every year.