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GREENE COUNTY SCHOOLS SHARED SERVICE DELIVERY INITIATIVE UPDATES December 3, 2009 TASK FORCE MEETINGS Four task force meetings are currently scheduled:
The Transportation and Information Technology Task Forces will be scheduled for January 2010 (just waiting on a couple of return calls) Members of the AP/Curriculum Task Force provided very positive feedback about how the first webinar turned out. (Let me know if you’d like the meeting summary. We will get those summaries on the GCSS website soon.) We are delving deeper into the details of the dual credit program issues based on feedback we’ve received from the Superintendents meetings we’ve held (see below). We’ve read an evaluative report based on the Stark County Ohio ESC’s experience and we have a meeting scheduled with Greg Bernhardt on December 7 th to learn the background as to why dual credit programs in our region are not growing like those in Stark County. We’ve also noted that "the Ohio Board of Regents is currently in the process of formulating draft recommendations for dual credit programs and those recommendations are expected by November 2009." Paul Marshall of OBM is tracking down those recommendations for us. Thank you, Paul!Along with sharing promising practices in advance of each webinar, we are arranging "guest speakers" for each of the 1 st and possibly 2nd webinars. We have confirmed guest speakers for the December 10th and 11th webinars. Having guest speakers advances the conversation quickly toward specifics rather than spending the first webinars in generalities.
GCSSD Update 12/3/09 2 For Special Education there is a non-profit in the Northeast (Maine) that is licensed by the DOE and DHHS to provide special education in school districts and it can act as a mental health facility as well. Please help us identify guest speakers to address the special education task force. BEST AND PROMISING PRACTICE REVIEW CONTINUES Three Graduate Students—Annie, Bruce, and John—are still researching best practices. For the AP, we are currently targeting efforts to investigate best practices of Dual-Credit programs. November 24 th: The organization called Greater Ohio, a statewide network promoting policies that encourage redevelopment of Ohio's cities and towns and conservation of farmland and open space, interviewed me to learn about the Greene County Schools Shared Service Delivery Initiative. They would like to include the project in a statewide inventory they are providing to the State legislature and administration in mid January. They would like a summary of our project from me in the next week. And if our project fits with their interests, they would like a summary of promising practices we’ve found in Ohio and beyond.SUPERINTENDENT AND BOARD OF EDUCATION VISITS At superintendent meetings, we asked Superintendents to fill out an inventory of their top 5 or so best shared service examples, beyond MVECA/MDECA, the EPC, and the ESC. During these meetings the superintendents provided feedback on the document and helped us retool it to better serve our needs. We have now re-sent the finalized document to superintendents and have received 1 back. John and I have interviewed: November 12 th: Greene County ESC’s Board (Terry Thomas of the ESC and Ken Swink of the EPC were interviewed in July 2009)November 17 th: Yellow Springs School District Superintendent Tony ArmocidaNovember 18 th: Beavercreek City School District Superintendent Dr. Gale MabryNovember 19 th: Sugarcreek Local School District Superintendent Dr. Keith St. Pierre along with Betsy Chadd and Kevin LimingNovember 23 rd: Xenia Community School District Superintendent Dr. Jeff Lewis along with soon to be President of the School Board, Dr. DillaplainNovember 23 rd: Cedar Cliff Local School District Superintendent Dr. David F. BaitsMarsh Leonard is out of the office for now, but we will gladly interview her upon her return. We are certainly happy to interview the Fairborn and Greeneview Superintendents. GCSSD Update 12/3/09 3 MEETINGS WITH POTENTIAL SUPPORTING AGENTS November 23 rd and December 2nd: Mr. Charlie Irish met to discuss the Santa Rita Collaborative and its mission of improving community and school relationships. Communications with the community regarding the initiative is something to put on our radar. (http://www.santaritacollaborative.com/)December 17 th (scheduled): Susan Miller of the YSI Foundation to consider her offer of administrative expert assistanceDecember 18 th: Linda Sanders, consultant working with Ohio Education Matters, a subsidiary of KnowledgeWorks Foundation, will accept an essay from us on the Greene County Schools Shared Service Delivery Initiative to be printed in the Primer. She says, "*The Primer is] a journal that explores innovative and interesting education issues in Ohio. Each month, a different expert or practitioner writes about an area that's in the news, and the essay is distributed electronically to some 4,000 education and policy leaders across the state."FINANCE SURVEY The finance survey is almost ready to be launched. We are determining what questions can be answered in the Transportation section by schools uploading their T-1 and T-2 documents. We are also trying to reduce the special education oriented questions on the finance survey by using the ESC’s "Actual Cost of Services for 2008-2009 School Year," which breaks down by district the costs of the Special Education programs and therapies offered by the ESC.
GREENE COUNTY SCHOOLS SHARED SERVICE DELIVERY INITIATIVE TASK FORCE UPDATES December 31, 2009
TASK FORCE MEETINGS Four task force meetings are currently scheduled:
The Transportation and Information Technology first Task Force meetings will be scheduled in January AP/Curriculum Task Force Update This Task Force’s key focus is dual enrollment programs. They are developing a ppt to communicate an approach to further engaging Wright State. They are on the Superintendent’s agenda for January 6th. They are working with the Wright State Office of Ohio CORE and PK-12 Outreach (working on scheduling a meeting the week of January 4th with that Office), and after that will establish a meeting with interested Superintendents, members of the Task Force, and the Administration from Wright State. The AP/Curriculum Task Force has also requested support from Wright State to conduct research on Ohio Credit Flexibility. Wright State has a graduate student who is looking into the major school districts in Ohio around Columbus and Cincinnati, and identifying those that have end-of-semester or end-of-year exams, as a potential pool from which we may interview curriculum directors and ascertain that school district's plans for determining competence and mastery. Contracted Services Task Force Update This Task Force identified the following topics that they may pursue. The members would like Superintendent feedback before proceeding.
Administrative and Financial Services Task Force Update This Task Force’s key focal areas include pooled banking services, shared purchase of administrative software/application packages, and investigating the use of a shared business manager to manage the construction projects at the three school districts that will be building new facilities (Xenia Community Schools, Greeneview Local School District and Cedar Cliff Local School District). The Task Force invited a bank to present ideas and to provide feedback on the potential for managing banking fees and negotiating a better rate on combined investments. The bank’s response was very encouraging. The next step is for the treasurers to use their next meeting to compare bank statements and assess services received and fees charged. And to also estimate the dollar amount of combined investments (that are still maintained as separate accounts). Rosalie Townsend has agreed to convene this meeting of the treasurers. Administrative software as a resource savings idea was also discussed, including email archival software to enable public record requests, document storage, time clock system, and managing VOIP. The next steps are for MVECA to survey the districts to find out interest levels and compatibility issues with existing systems. Shared Business Manager Concept: Wright State will identify districts, in and outside of Ohio, that share a Business Manager especially when undergoing a series of construction projects, and obtain information about how that partnership was established and managed. What formal agreements were put in place, what those agreements consisted of, did one school district pay the salary and they charge back the other districts, etc. Special Education Task Force Update The Special Education Task Force identified three areas that each need research support and investigation by Wright State. One idea that the Task Force had was to inventory and then lend or lease-to-purchase expensive special education equipment purchased by one school district and now needed by another. Another idea is to develop a shared pool of funds for purchasing equipment to serve students with special needs. Wright State will research other school districts that have already done this and how they went about it. Investigate quality programming for those in the middle--students with lower learning functionality and borderline IQs who don't qualify for MRDD funding. Wright State will look for school districts that have shared programming for special education students in the middle. Identify promising programs that serve special needs students as they approach 9-12th grade to transition them and prepare them for the world of work. There is a lack of work skills programs, and there are additional concerns as CTCs in Ohio align their mission with the Ohio Board of Regents’ mission which is more about preparing students to meet the demands of a knowledge economy than about traditional trades that had been taught by CTCs. Wright State will research this paradigm and responses to it by Ohio school districts and in other states. Task Force Updates Administrative & Financial Services Graduate Student: Bruce HawkeyBeavercreek - Steve Maag ESC - Chip Arledge Fairborn - Tammy Emrick MVECA - Dean Reineke Sugarcreek - Keith St. Pierre Xenia – Rosalie Townsend
Investigating into shared project manager for districts building new schools. Treasurers discussing possibility of shared banking at next treasurers meeting. Contacting Gregg Gascon to discuss medical insurance plans.
AP/Curriculum Graduate Student: John OwenCedar Cliff - David Baits GCCC - Kerri Matheny MVECA - Thor Sage Sugarcreek - Betsy Chadd Xenia - Randy Overbeck WPAFB - Nicole Stompor WSU - Jim Uphoff Met with Superintendents on January 6th to discuss Dual Enrollment. Joined by Nicole Stompor from WPAFB. Met with Dr. Lillie Howard, Senior VP for Curriculum & Instruction, on January 7th to discuss Dual Enrollment & Credit Flexibility. Creating a Dual Enrollment proposal. Contracted Services Graduate Student: John OwenBeavercreek - Steve Maag GCCC - Judy Geers MVECA - Thor Sage Southwest Ohio EPC - Ken Swink Sugarcreek - Kevin Liming WSU - Bob Hickey Yellow Springs - Eva Anderson Identified Superintendent support for IT, Custodial Services, Transportation, and Specialized Maintenance. Established separate Transportation Task Force. Investigating costs of custodial service providers and specialized maintenance providers. Special Education Graduate Student: Annie O’ NeillClark ESC - Mike Verlingo ESC - Terry Thomas ESC - Mary Lou Shafer Fairborn - Vicki Hudepohl Greeneview - Dale Struble Sugarcreek - Elizabeth Betz Xenia - Zita Gibbs Exploring into lending/leasing of special education equipment to other schools/ shared pool for purchasing of special education equipment. Studying shared special education programming for students who don’t qualify for MRDD funding but still have learning impediments. Researching special education workforce and college transition opportunities. Transportation Graduate Student: John OwenCedar Cliff - Joy Kitzmiller GCCC - Bill Spahr Sugarcreek - Bev Wetzel Xenia - Laura Smith Transportation will be having its first webinar the 26th of January. Greene County Shared Service Delivery Initiative Project Task Force Updates January 29, 2010 Administrative & Financial Services Graduate Student: Bruce HawkeyBeavercreek - Steve Maag Greene ESC- Chip Arledge Fairborn- Tammy Emrick MVECA- Dean Reineke Sugarcreek- Keith St. Pierre Xenia –Rosalie Townsend AP/Curriculum Cedar Cliff- David Baits GCCC- Kerri Matheny MVECA- Thor Sage Sugarcreek- Betsy Chadd Xenia- Randy Overbeck Beavercreek – Gale Mabry WSU- Jim Uphoff Graduate Student: John OwenContracted Services Beavercreek - Steve Maag GCCC- Judy Geers MVECA- Thor Sage Southwest Ohio EPC- Ken Swink Sugarcreek- Kevin Liming WSU- Bob Hickey Yellow Springs- Eva Anderson Graduate Student: John OwenSpecial Education Clark ESC- Mike Verlingo Greene ESC- Terry Thomas Greene ESC- Mary Lou Shafer Fairborn- Vicki Hudepohl Greeneview- Dale Struble Sugarcreek- Elizabeth Betz Xenia- Zita Gibbs Graduate Student: Annie O’ NeillTransportation Cedar Cliff- Joy Kitzmiller GCCC- Bill Spahr Sugarcreek- Bev Wetzel Xenia- Laura Smith Graduate Student: John OwenSugarcreek Local School District articulated creative partnerships they have developed to produce cost savings in shared transportation initiatives. Using that as a guide or framework, additional opportunities will be explored.
Greene County Shared Service Delivery InitiativeProject Task Force UpdatesFebruary 12, 2010
Administrative & Financial ServicesGraduate Student: Bruce Hawkey Beavercreek - Steve Maag Greene ESC- Chip Arledge Fairborn- Tammy Emrick MVECA- Dean Reineke Sugarcreek- Keith St. Pierre Xenia –Rosalie Townsend
ü Greatest focus is on a combined banking services program to reduce fees. ü All district Treasurers submitted Bank Analysis statements and Wright State will compile an analysis under the direction of Rosalie Townsend. ü CUPA is continuing to summarize the status of school employee medical insurance plans in Ohio. AP/Curriculum Graduate Student: John Owen Cedar Cliff- David Baits GCCC- Kerri Matheny MVECA- Thor Sage Sugarcreek- Betsy Chadd Xenia- Randy Overbeck Beavercreek – Gale Mabry WSU- Jim Uphoff
ü The task force is creating a Dual Enrollment proposal to present to Wright State. ü Wright State agreed to support a consortium of higher education institutions engaged in Dual Enrollment Programs. ü The Greene ESC is heading up a countywide effort to aid credit flexibility policy development under another venue. So this Task Force will hand off the results of its research to that group. Contracted Services
Graduate Student: John Owen Beavercreek - Steve Maag GCCC- Judy Geers MVECA- Thor Sage Southwest Ohio EPC- Ken Swink Sugarcreek- Kevin Liming WSU- Bob Hickey Yellow Springs- Eva Anderson
ü The task force is focusing on addressing barriers to shared contracted services, local best practices that have broken through barriers, and testimonials. ü Thor Sage of MVECA provided an analysis and testimonial of IP telephony. ü CUPA worked with Judy Geers of GCCC and completed a preliminary analysis and testimonial of GCCC’s food service contract with Sodexho. ü CUPA is investigating costs of custodial service providers. Jim Baker of Alpha & Omega Building Services, Inc is being invited to join the next webinar. Special Education
Graduate Student: Annie O’ Neill Clark ESC- Mike Verlingo Greene ESC- Terry Thomas Greene ESC- Mary Lou Shafer Fairborn- Vicki Hudepohl Greeneview- Dale Struble Sugarcreek- Elizabeth Betz Xenia- Zita Gibbs
ü Graduate student identified a statewide website in Nebraska for lending/ leasing special education equipment to other schools. Task Force energy is building behind this opportunity. ü Greeneview has offered to refine research of special education student workforce transition opportunities. Transportation
Graduate Student: John Owen Cedar Cliff- Joy Kitzmiller GCCC- Bill Spahr Sugarcreek- Bev Wetzel Xenia- Laura Smith Beavercreek – Todd Scott
ü Sugarcreek Local School District articulated creative partnerships they have developed to produce cost savings in shared transportation initiatives. Using that as a guide or framework, additional opportunities will be explored. Greene County Shared Service Delivery Initiative Project Task Force Updates February 26, 2010 Administrative & Financial Services Graduate Student: Bruce HawkeyBeavercreek - Steve Maag Greene ESC- Chip Arledge Fairborn- Tammy Emrick MVECA- Dean Reineke Sugarcreek- Keith St. Pierre Xenia –Rosalie Townsend Curriculum Graduate Student: John OwenCedar Cliff- David Baits GCCC- Kerri Matheny MVECA- Thor Sage Sugarcreek- Betsy Chadd Beavercreek – Gale Mabry WSU- Jim Uphoff Contracted Services Graduate Student: John OwenBeavercreek - Steve Maag GCCC- Judy Geers MVECA- Thor Sage Southwest Ohio EPC- Ken Swink Sugarcreek- Kevin Liming WSU- Bob Hickey Yellow Springs- Eva Anderson Special Education Graduate Student: Annie O’ NeillClark ESC- Mike Verlingo Greene ESC- Terry Thomas Greene ESC- Mary Lou Shafer Fairborn- Vicki Hudepohl Greeneview- Dale Struble Sugarcreek- Elizabeth Betz Xenia- Zita Gibbs Transportation Graduate Student: John OwenCedar Cliff- Joy Kitzmiller GCCC- Bill Spahr Sugarcreek- Bev Wetzel Xenia- Laura Smith Beavercreek – Todd Scott
Greene County Shared Service Delivery InitiativeProject Task Force UpdatesMarch 12th, 2010Administrative & Financial ServicesGraduate Student: Bruce Hawkeyü Greatest focus is on a combined banking services program to reduce fees. ü All district Treasurers submitted Bank Analysis statements and CUPA is compiling an analysis under the direction of Rosalie Townsend. ü Barb Coriell of the EPC is invited to the meeting on April 15th. A representative from Butler County is also being recruited for a discussion on healthcare. AP/Curriculum Graduate Student: John Owen ü The task force created a Dual Enrollment proposal to present to Wright State. It is currently being edited by task force members and will be reviewed at the March 18th webinar. ü Wendy Hanasky, of the Jefferson County ESC is joining the March 18th webinar to discuss how the Virtual Learning Academy teaches online foreign language courses. ü CUPA is researching best practices of Video Teleconferencing, specifically the CILC in Indiana and Butler Tech in Ohio with guidance from Thor Sage at MVECA. Contracted Services Graduate Student: John Owen ü The task force is focusing on addressing barriers to shared contracted services, local best practices that have broken through barriers, and testimonials. ü Jim Baker of Alpha & Omega Building Services, Inc joined the webinar on March 12th and discussed contracting janitorial services. ü The task force is sharing the policy framework with their leadership teams to create options for program sustainability. They are also interested in joining the policy planning webinar w/ state associations. Special Education Graduate Student: Annie O’ Neill ü Greene County ESC is doing an inventory of the counties special needs equipment to determine if there is enough equipment to open a countywide lend-lease or if the concept needs to be operated regionally. ü CUPA is researching Partners in Transition and Project Search to determine if there are any shared service opportunities with transitioning special needs students into the workforce. TransportationGraduate Student: John Owen ü The Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation Conference is the week of the 15th. Bev Wetzel of Sugarcreek will be talking to her colleagues at the conference to schedule a webinar.
Greene County Schools Shared ServicesProject UpdateWinter 2010Initial Update Since Governor Strickland launched the Greene County Schools Shared Services Initiative in October 2009, much work has been accomplished by over 30 active school district personnel. Task forces comprised of superintendents, treasurers, regional consortia, board members, and school specialists have been established to look into five areas, displayed to the right. In November 2009, the project manager was interviewed at length by executives at Greater Ohio regarding shared service delivery in education. They requested our best practice research, both local and national, to help them formulate strategies. On February 22, 2010 the Brookings Institution & Greater Ohio released their policy recommendations on how to restore prosperity to Ohio, which included state and federal policies to boost shared service delivery among school districts. Cincinnati Enquirer – Editorial: State Can’t Ignore Good Cost-Saving Ideas A project website has been established to provide updates to all task force members. For instance, the Committee Calendar provides meeting agendas, summaries, presentations, and best practice research. Task Force Progress Some examples of current task force initiatives include: Some examples of current task force initiatives include:Administrative & Financial Services Task Force Conducting an analysis of bank statements to determine if pooling money at one bank can increase interest rates and decrease banking fees. In New Jersey, 23 school districts negotiated a joint interest rate based upon the total of all 23 accounts. This netted the districts a combined $1 million dollars in increased revenue in the first year. AP/Curriculum Task Force Creating a dual-enrollment proposal to take to Wright State University to expand dual-enrollment options at WSU. One meeting with the WSU Sr. Vice President has been held thus far. Dual enrollment allows students to take courses for college credit in their high school. A similar program, currently run in Stark & Wayne County, Ohio, awarded 5,000 hours of college credit to students in 2008-2009, and saved ~$2.1 million. Researching virtual learning opportunities via video conferencing and other modalities to increase student access to courses that may otherwise be unavailable and/or as a credit recovery strategy to enhance on-time graduation. Contracted Services Task Force Investigating barriers to potential shared services, and opportunities to overcome these barriers. For example, shared IP Telephony managed by a regional Information Technology Center could be considerably cheaper due to e-rate discounts available (20% discounts at minimum). However, barriers exist to using state funding for such purchases which some organizations consider to be sole sourcing. Creating a catalog of best practices in Greene County. The catalog will include contracted and non-contracted options for food service, custodial services, information technology, and specialized maintenance. A main focus will be identifying how barriers were overcome, measuring the cost savings, and sharing cost savings ideas. Special Education Task Force Analyzing the feasibility of creating an online tool for districts to lend, lease, demo, or purchase special education equipment. A similar project is currently being carried out in Nebraska. Researching shared workforce transition and college entrance opportunities for special education students. Excellent example via NSF funding to WSU was presented to the task force. Transportation Task Force Sugarcreek Local School District articulated creative partnerships they have developed to produce cost savings in shared transportation initiatives. Using that as a guide or framework, additional opportunities are being explored. Baseline of Financial Data To report cost savings we will use activity based accounting. To establish a baseline we are currently collecting financial data from school districts through an online financial survey. Sustainability A sustainability committee is being formed to ensure that these efforts will continue and to help formulate a sustainability plan. This framework will: · Address structural issues such as a championing organization to facilitate and help implement shared service ideas · Develop policy recommendations regarding shared and negotiated agreements · Establish benchmarks, variables to measure, and accountability · Define issue-resolution guidelines
Sugarcreek Local School District articulated creative partnerships they have developed to produce cost savings in shared transportation initiatives. Using that as a guide or framework, additional opportunities are being explored.Investigating barriers potential services, and overcome these barriers. For example, IP Telephony managed by regional Information Technology Center could be considerably cheaper due e-rate discounts available (20% at minimum). However, exist state funding such purchases which some organizations consider sole sourcing.
Greene County Shared Service Delivery InitiativeProject Task Force UpdatesApril 16th, 2010
Administrative & Financial ServicesGraduate Student: Bruce HawkeyBeavercreek- Steve Maag Greene ESC- Chip Arledge Fairborn- Tammy Emrick MVECA- Dean Reineke Sugarcreek- Keith St. Pierre Xenia –Rosalie Townsend ü Greatest focus is on a combined banking services program to reduce fees. ü All district Treasurers submitted Bank Analysis statements and CUPA is compiling an analysis under the direction of Rosalie Townsend. ü Jim Dustin Healthcare Consultant with Employee Benefits International joined the April 15th webinar to discuss shared health care opportunities & described his work in 3 Northeast Ohio counties.
AP/Curriculum
Graduate
Student: John Owen ü The task force created a Dual Enrollment proposal to present to Wright State. ü Teresa Silvestri of the Virtual Learning Academy demonstrated an online Spanish language course to the task force. ü The group is exploring the feasibility of a science lending library where districts could share science equipment and chemicals. Contracted Services Graduate
Student: John Owen ü This task force has provided the grassroots direction for building an SSD model that can be shared with other school districts statewide. ü The task force is sharing the draft model framework with their institution’s leadership team to determine how their board or institution may need to change to enable an SSD culture. Special Education Graduate
Student: Annie O’ Neill ü Greene County ESC is conducting an inventory of districts’ special needs equipment to determine if there is enough equipment to open a countywide lend-lease program or if the program needs to be operated regionally. ü CUPA is researching Partners in Transition and Project Search to determine if there are any shared service opportunities with transitioning special needs students into the workforce. Transportation
Graduate Student: John Owen ü The Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation Conference is the week of the 15th. Bev Wetzel of Sugarcreek will be talking to her colleagues at the conference to schedule a webinar. |
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