Shifting Gears – District Teacher Recruiting and Investment

There is a lot to be said for incredible teachers. And unfortunately, it has been hard to recruit and retain teachers for some of our toughest schools in the county. And unfortunately, we have had to use outside groups to close some of the gaps.(TFA, etc.)

Now, I think I have had enough of outsourcing our county jobs and I really would like to see us create a sustainable, effective, well-paid teaching core.

For me that starts with effective recruiting. And I believe our most logical pool of candidates resides in the 130K+ students that we teach everyday.

• I would like to see us develop and district wide instructional path for students who want to have a career in teaching in the SCS.(including dual credit)
• I would like for SCS to develop a strategic partnership with our university partners to develop a reduced cost path to licensure.
• I would like to see SCS help fund the needed college costs for the student.(avoiding       the need for student loans) The teacher will repay the cost by committing a minimum level of service to the district. If they leave sooner, they will repay a pro-rated share of the cost back to the district.
• I would like to see the district pay for advanced degrees for a committed level of service to the district.

Why go out and recruit an outside contract teacher(TFA, etc.), when we can organically grow effective teachers in-house, help them meet their educational goals, and funnel them back into our district for the same price?

We should invest in our core and not divest. Our return on investment would be tremendous.

For Goodness Sake – Let’s put the school buildings issue to bed

It has been a long almost 2 years living as one of 23 board members. Now, that the merger of the districts are complete, I would really like to focus on BETTER education for all of Shelby County. I think there are lots of great ideas to be explored that focuses less on reform and more on redesigning some of our educational programs.

However, we have this continual cloud hanging over our heads in terms of buildings and how they are dealt with municipal school districts.Yesterday, the news(by way of Melvin Burgess) brought up some stink over OPEB and if the liability should be broken up over the district.

There are a couple of statements to be made here because I have heard Martavious Jones use this mine vs. yours language before.

There are some who believe that this process should be treated like a divorce. In a divorce settlement a judge and attorneys mediate who gets what. I have heard over and over again a desire from some leaders in Memphis that you split the baby. Muni-districts buy buildings and take their share of accumulated opeb liability.

However, the unfortunate fallacy of that argument rears its head in go-forward funding for the SCS district. If you make an MSD pay for buildings and assume liability for opeb, you have created a pretty good case for them to no longer pay into the county tax rate for county education. This would be a disaster for county school funding.

Then there are some(like me) who believes that collaborative government rules the day. That means that we agree that all of the taxpayers up to this point have invested tax dollars for the good of all children. And that going forward, we will continue to do so. Maximizing idle resources and infrastructure makes the most sense to get the most out of a county tax dollar. That means that we share things like IT, Nutrition, SPED services, and BUILDINGS..

The reality is that we should work together. We have not done that with charter schools by not allowing access to the buildings for free and now they are going to the ASD (achievement school district) and getting them for nothing. In the near future, we will deal with buildings for charter, ASD, and whether we like it or not municipals. I do not believe that we can split them.

It really is about putting the politics of education behind and quit squabbling about money. Theses solutions are not hard. There are just many hard heads.

Tuesday Night Board Policies

Attached is an overview of the policies being approved Tuesday night and a copy of my resolution, and Whalum’s resolution.

RESOLUTION David Reaves (2)

REVISED-June 2013 Bd Mtg Instructional Policy Summaries

MODIFIEDThe Whalum Twelve

Preparing the Way

It has been a while since I have blogged. Lots of graduations. Lots of excessed employees. Lots of emotions.. Budget hearings.. etc..

July 1st, the SCS will be officially merged into one district. Now that the hard merger work for the board is almost complete, we turn our attention to the future. That would involve strategic planning for the short and long-term for the district. Number 1 on the list are:

Municipal Districts

Most of the banter surrounding municipal districts really has been about buildings and their transfer. However, there is a broader issue that we must deal with in relation to buildings and that involves ASD, Charter, and Municipal districts.

The other piece of the solution resides in fixed infrastructure and capital investments the SCS has made into services. Examples are transportation, nutrition, custodial, IT, special ed… Many of these areas do not scale easily and result in a net operating loss to the district if we do not recoup some money when new schools come on-line.

The reality is that a win-win exists for all for these situations. I brought these up last night at the facilities meeting and seemed to get good support.

1) The SCS creates a portfolio of services to offer ASD, Charter and Municipal schools. It is very much like the Fedex model with Fedex Services providing back-end office solutions to each of the Fedex operating companies and billing back for those services. It is the perfect example of shared collaboration and capital infrastructure. It creates a turn-key solution for new schools and it helps the SCS off-set fixed cost at a revenue neutral position.

2) Buildings would be nothing more than a piece of infrastructure that will be used by these new schools. The use of the property should create no cost to the SCS. So that means all deferred maintenance would get passed on to the new schools but since an entire school is transferred, the cost of maintaining the building will no longer reside with the SCS.

 

 

No matter what the final solution, I believe an important driver is for the SCS to strike a revenue/cost neutral deal. We should not profiteer from these solutions but we should also not take a bath over them either.

In preparation, I have asked business operations and innovation department to begin running models to create a portfolio of services as a turn-key solution for these districts and distill it down to a cost per child. That analysis will not begin in earnest until August but we have at lease started the discussion.

2013-2014 School Start Times

For those interested in school start times.. Just received this a couple of hours ago..

 

SCS Unified District Bell Times_2013-14 FINAL (2)

Notes from the April 30th Board Meeting

Here is a brief recap of our monthly meeting from last night.. Lots of things happened..

1) The SCS voted to suspend the superintendent search until later next school year. Proact group who was conducting the search stated that interested candidates were concerned about board stability, salary, muni districts, etc.. and it was impacting quality of candidates applying. Pushing this out until later would give everyone an understanding of the landscape.

2) The BOE approved a new facilities charter for our facilities committee. This committee will be composed of 5 board members and 2 external members(if needed). The goal will be to holistically review policies as it pertains to use of SCS property. I am currently on this committee and expect to remain. I also expect the committee to closely look at how we deal with property as it pertains to ASD, Charter, and Municipal Schools.

3) Kevin Woods made a motion to reconsider pay for performance model for teachers instead of just a step/ladder program based upon degree and experience. This model is under development and will eventually lead the way for statewide compensation reform. The motion to reconsider passed and ultimately was approved.

4) Rev Whalum’s resolution to put off the merger for a year was defeated 6-14. I supported Whalum but only after I tried to amend the motion to ask Judge Mays to immediately shrink the board to 7. My motion was defeated 8-14. But it was a key discussion point on the effectiveness of our board.

5) School Closures – The board voted to begin the process of engaging t he community over school closures. We did not vote to close anything. This new list includes 10 schools. Among those schools are EA Harrold. Harrold is a good schools at capacity. However, Jeter and Millington ES are very underutilized and there buildings are in great shape. Harrold’s building is in real bad shape. At this point, I don’t support closing it but we need to discuss as a community if any of the options are of any benefit.

6) Custodial Services – We voted last night to outsource all custodial services to GCA (current SCS contractor) at a cost savings of 12 million dollars.

7) Transportation – We voted last night to adopt a hybrid transportation model using our existing  bus capacity which means SCS drivers will keep their jobs and smaller contract with Durham to service the NW and SW portions of the county. Savings to the district was around 6.5 million.

8) The BOE approved a full inventory and forensic audit of both districts prior to the merger to account for assets.

9) Dorsey Hopson presented an update that alll TPC recommendations have been addressed. So the district is almost at 100% complete in terms of TPC recommendations and t heir review and consideration although not all will be implemented at this time.

So what’s next? Budget

The SCS administration plans to present a budget within the next week or two. This budget will then go to the county commission for funding. My expectation is that by the time it gets to them, we will have cut all that we can. It will then be up to us to lobby the cc for an increase to fund the gap.

The resolution to put off consolidation for one year – some fiscal implications

Many of you have asked for some feedback regarding the asking Judge Mays to put off the consolidation for one year. I have some that I would like to provide. Basically, I took the following budget(that I created from a power point  document that I attached in February and created a view for me to study. I had two views: One was if we merged and one was if we did not. Here is a link to the documents I used:

school budget if not consolidated

SCS budget consolidated

Here is what I found and this is an order of magnitude since these numbers may have shifted a little but but it will reflect the impacts. But it is for comparison purposes only.

If we consolidate the system in July, based upon the original numbers(updated for cuts,etc) the district shows a 40 million dollar deficit. Since we have not received transportation plan yet, I cannot include those numbers but we could be down to around 35 million.

If we do not consolidate in July and postpone a year and if we roll back all staffing adjustments,custodial, transportation, central office inefficiencies  etc.  we would be at a total deficit of 124 million based upon the original numbers.

That is a difference of 84 million.

If the county commission, funded a 40 million increase, that would cost .25 on the tax rate. If the county commission funded, 124 million increase, that would cost .78 on the tax rate.

So how does this impact the suburbs?

If the county commission raises our taxes .78 then the entire county will pay a maintenance of effort of .78 going forward to the new SCS schools which cannot go down. This is called Maintenance of Effort.

If we consolidate in July, we have a good chance at a minimal county tax increase which could be better spent on your municipal tax rate than the county tax rate.

If the cc does not give any increase, then we will have to cut. Mostly staff cuts in the SCS and more huge cuts in the old MCS. So there is NO guarantee that we will preserve staffing if we wait a year.

Now, we can try and goad the Memphis City Council into settling on 57 million but I firmly believe that will only happen if we allow consolidation finish this year.

Things for me to consider when considering this resolution. I am looking to get more updated view but this gives me a place to start..

 

 

Pruning the Vine

Central Office

Over the past several days, our district has begun to work on what we would term the “bureaucracy” of the school district: the Central Office. The central office cost itself is around 75 million dollars which is about 5% of the overall school budget. The original recommendation is 26% cut of about 18 million.

BCG(one of our professional consultants) helped create a new central office model based upon the TPC recommendation of the new administrative model. They also helped create the new pay bands based upon school districts of comparable size. As a result, the SCS posted a list of new positions. And like many companies it was a fairly hierarchical model creating silos and multiple managerial levels.

But creating the new model based upon industry practices without applying fiscal realities was a mistake. As a result, Superintendent Hopson began to flatten the org structure and reflect the real targeted salaries. He also eliminated auto allowances for many folks as well. This will result in more savings.

There is also an effort to look at particular job types and determine whether or not they really need to be a 12 month contract, 11 month contract, or 10 month contract. Moving some positions from 11 to 10 month could result in significant savings as well.

Lastly, I believe that our audit committee could order a full forensic audit of the district to wring out money that is somewhere in the pipeline of the district. Hopefully, we can find money to help drive this deficit down.

Salary Modifications

There has been lots of discussion lately about how we best make sure salaries are equitable across the district. That would not only include principals and teachers but any other support personnel in the district. Principals in the SCS make more, Teachers in the MCS make more. The cost to level up to the higher salary ranges would cost 11 million dollars per year. State law gives the board 3 years to level the salaries. I have to say that I empathize with any employees who feels like they are being treated differently. And we will remedy the salary issues within our statutory time frame. But I have to say, to level up these salaries year 1 would cost:

Significantly more teacher cuts across the county

So I cannot support a change in pay year 1. Also in parallel, our board is looking at a new compensation model for the entire district which could include school performance, size of the school, etc.. I cannot reconcile a principal running a high performing high school of 2200 students vs. a low performing school of 300 and paying them the same salary. It is not logical for me in any sense. So I do believe we owe an explanation of the process to our principals and a plan with a timeline for complete resolution of this issue. I think it is only fair that if teacher pay is going to be tied to performance then so should the principals.

What is next?

We have our board working session next week at the TLA at 5:30. The slate of discussion does not seem to be too over the top except we will begin the discussion about looking at more school closures next year. We have a special called meeting as well to consider our bussing solution, custodial, etc.. That meeting is scheduled for Thursday at 5:30 but I suspect it may get moved to Tuesday. either way, we will let you know.

Also, members of the Memphis City Council have reached out to me ready to mediate the 57 million to a conclusion.I fully expect for final negotiations to begin soon to close that chapter. We need some of that this year and I think some are willing to help some

Current projected funding gap places the district around 35 million in the red which means we have cut out another 33 million. We continue to look for savings, inefficiencies, funding sources, etc.. Tough job…

Have a good weekend!

 

The Next Round of Bruises

I thought it would be a good time to inform the faithful on what is getting ready to hit the board and I don’t think you will be surprised.

1) Central Office Positions – out of control with the number of Director and exec Director Positions. We are getting ready to battle.

2) School Closures – the original list of school closures is about to come back and we may see the push to significantly close more schools this year before school starts to push teachers back into the classroom. Originally I opposed large amounts of school closures, but now that the pain is reaching the classroom. It’s time to talk.

3) Athletics Funding – heavy discussion on what we are spending outside of the classroom. This is a sacred cow in Memphis. We must discuss.

4) I would be very surprised to see non-critical policies come before the board before the merger. These sidetrack major business of delivering out budget..

5) Many MCS principals are demanding a pay increase to level with SCS principals. They believe it is an equity issue and could result in litigation. I disagree. I don’t support leveling up this year.

6) I have asked for an opinion on staff level augmentation for those schools that are losing resources. Can a PTA or a Foundation(or both) fund or volunteer staff some of the positions for some of those schools that are losing resources? Can school based personnel voluntarily contribute % of their pay to help keep some of the positions that are key? If the answer is yes, then we have some options. If not, I may need to change a policy if it is not in conflict with state or federal law.

7) And last but not least, there is a very real possibility that we may have a special election this year to fill the expanded SCS board. Although not perfect, as long as it is done by voters and not appointments, it works for me. There will be two suburban seats added. One in the south and one in the North. Get ready.. Wild ride coming..

School Based Cuts… Just Painful…

I have received numerous calls and communications over the past week in regards to school based cuts. And all of our schools are being impacted. Many have opinions on whom is to blame and hate Memphis among other things. And yes, the charter surrender contributed to the pain. However, I want to make sure that we are all educated on what has been going on the past few years.

On April 10th, I received the following message from David Stephens, Chief of Staff:

“The annual process of staffing schools has started for the 2013-14 school year. School-based staffing is driven every year by projected student enrollment and the budget. Given the significant budgetary constraints we face heading into the unified district, the staffing formula for all schools had to be adjusted. Principals have been receiving their staffing information over the last week and are making faculty and staff aware of the adjustments for the coming year.

Importantly, the staffing reductions are not solely the result of the merger. Legacy Shelby County Schools implemented an abundant staffing model over the years, supporting additional teachers with its fund balance. However, the fund balance would not have been available for the 2013-14 school year, so modifications to school-based staffing could not be avoided.

Although the revised formula will require some administrators to do more with less, we are confident that even with the adjusted formula, we will still be able to provide a quality educational experience in all of our schools.”

Several years ago, as part of the Race to the Top(First to the top) effort to improve education in Tennessee, Shelby County Schools received a substantial amount to improve education in Shelby County. This money was to support efforts to get school districts compliant with No child Left Behind Standards. As a result, the Shelby County Administration used these funds to better staff school teacher ratios and investing in school support personnel(clerical, ed assistants, etc). These positions were key to driving educational outcomes in the county schools as standards got tougher.

Unfortunately, those funds (known ans ARRA funds) had a finite life and expired the year before last. At that point, the SCS had to fund the increased number of school based employees by funding out of our fund balance(savings account). With no annual increases from the county commission over the past 7 years, the SCS had already begun to deplete its savings. This is the reason why we have had a reduction in force effort over the past year when we back fill positions. Both John Aitken and the Board knew without more state or local funding, that we were facing cuts as early as last year.

Then we had the charter surrender. The charter surrender brought with it a financial gap generated from the loss of Memphis contribution to education of about 60 million dollars.

However the school based cuts were opportunistic as there was a gap in the school staffing models. The administration (led by Aitken) developed the staffing model that we have today to help balance the budget. However, school staffing is not the only area that will fill the pain. Custodial workers are being outsourced. Bussing could be outsourced. Athletics could be taken down. Arts could be cut.

Charter schools and the ASD are draining resources out of the district.(money and teachers). It almost seems like a perfect storm generated to put the county district out of business and we all happen to still be a part of it. I believe that the goal of this state administration is to dismantle the educational system in Shelby County. The municipalities will come back as municipal districts and the old Memphis City School system will be a system of ASD and Charter Schools.

If there is anything that the best charter schools(like Soulsville) is beginning to prove, its that smaller is better.

So the 2013-2014 will be a tough year on our schools and I believe before it is over, it will be tough our the MCS schools.. My mom is a SPED assistant in Shelby County. I can’t tell you whether or not she will have a job. My kids and their schools are all impacted by this shift. So I have some skin in the game. I wish that there was more that I could legally do.

In an effort for better transparency, I will request an update from the administration on the process for the reduction in force because I don’t understand how the came up with the “excessing” requirements.