california

Reputation 2.0School leaders often held toa higher online standard

From CBO tosuperintendentSchool business pros who’ve reached the superintendent’s seat offer advice

Evaluations gointeractiveMore feedback is trendin employee reviews

California Association of School Business Officials

schoolbusinessFall 2012

2 | California School Business

Fall 2012 | 3

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Fall 2012 | 5

contents departments 9 Checking in Create a reputation based on integrity, determination, professionalism Molly McGee Hewitt

13 Bottom line It’s time to step up to the plate Michael Johnston

15 In focus CASBO member profile: Rich Buse

17 In focus CASBO associate member profile: Harold Freiman 46 Book club Living Into Leadership: A Journey in Ethics

48 Career Rx Job security vs. insecurity

51 Out & about Photos from CASBO events

54 Last words

cover story30 Reputation 2.0 School leaders often held to a higher online standard Julie Sturgeon

interview19 Columnist is an expert on the state’s politics, hot-button issues Dan Walters offers his take on Capitol politics, education issues Julie Phillips Randles

features22 From CBO to superintendent School business pros who’ve reached the superintendent’s seat offer advice Julie Phillips Randles

36 Evaluations go interactive More feedback is trend in employee reviews Linda A. Estep

Volume 77 Number 3 Fall 2012

22

15

36

6 | California School Business

publisher

editor in chief

features editor

contributors

editorial assistant

design/layout

advertising art

casbo officers

president

president-elect

vice president

immediate past president

advertising sales manager

Molly McGee Hewitt

Kevin Swartzendruber

Julie Phillips Randles

Linda A. Estep

Julie Sturgeon

Erika Sizemore

Sharon Adlis

Lori Mattas

Michael JohnstonClovis Unified School District

Rich BusePajaro Valley Unified School District

Vincent ChristakosHemet Unified School District

Gary MatsumotoHacienda La Puente Unified School District

CiCi TrinoAssociation Outsource Services, Inc. 115 Spring Water Way Folsom, CA 95630 916.990.9999

www.casbo.org

California School Business (ISSN# 1935-0716) is published quarterly by the California Association of School BusinessOfficials, 1001 K Street, 5th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814. (916) 447-3783. $2 of CASBO membership dues goes towardthe subscription to California School Business magazine. The subscription rate for each CASBO nonmember is $20. Periodicals postage paid at Sacramento and at additional mailing office. Send address changes to the CASBO membership department at 1001 K Street, 5th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814.

Articles published in California School Business are edited for style, content and space prior to publication. Views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent CASBO policies or positions. Endorsement by CASBO of products and services advertised in California School Business is not implied or expressed.

Copyright 2012 CASBO. All rights reserved. The contents of the publication may not be reproduced by any means, in wholeor in part, without the prior written consent of the publisher.

Published September 2012

ABOUT CASBO

A private, nonprofit corporation,

CASBO was founded in 1928 and

is the oldest statewide school

administrator’s organization in

California. Association members

are the voice of the industry

and oversee all areas of school

business management and

operations, including finance,

accounting, payroll, human

resources, risk management,

transportation, school nutrition,

maintenance and operations,

information technology, purchasing,

school safety and school facilities.

CASBO MISSION

The mission of CASBO, the leader

in school business management,

is to set the standard for best

business practices and policies

that support public education

through high-quality professional

development and effective advocacy,

communication and collaboration.

STRATEGIC PLAN

In April 2007, the association

adopted its new strategic plan

that will serve as a road map for

the organization’s activities for the

next several years in the areas of

administration and governance,

professional development,

advocacy and policy, marketing

and communications, and

membership and partnerships.

For more details on the strategic

plan, visit our website at www.

casbo.org. The plan can be found

under the “organization” link.

Fall 2012 | 7

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Fall 2012 | 9

checkingin

Create a reputation based on integrity, determination, professionalism

My concern for the professional growth, development and well-being of our members remains at the forefront of my CASBO priorities.

Prior to the current economic reality, the mantra for real estate was “location, location, location.” Today, the mantra for leaders in school business must be “reputation, reputation, reputation.”

Your personal life, work history, education and expertise are easier to access today than ever before. Between Google searches, LexisNexis background checks and instant access to everything from your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other social networking accounts, your entire life is literally on display.

Many of us begin to squirm at the thought of someone mining our trash, our resumes or our online posts for nuggets of information. My children would die laughing at the thought that their mom had anything remotely daring, controversial or lascivious on the Internet. Like most of my CASBO friends, I am a fairly conservative person. Yet, photos taken at social events or covertly captured and edited videos can seem to paint a differ-ent picture.

At the same time, we are all entitled to having some semblance of a private life, as well as hobbies and interests. Somewhere in all this potential scrutiny should be a place of sanity. Until we find it, being mindful of our cyber exposure and online reputations is important.

While reflecting on the concept of online reputations, I couldn’t help but notice that my magazine columns have developed a reputation – something of a pattern among the topics I discuss.

My concern for the professional growth, development and well-being of our members remains at the fore-front of my CASBO priorities. Our political landscape has shifted dramatically, and we cannot allow ourselves to be followers in any area – we must be leaders 24/7. My columns have reflected this and will continue to preach the importance of professionalism, legislative engagement, career development and leadership. I am privileged to see up close and personal the awesome capabilities and talents of our profession, and I want the rest of the education world to recognize it as well. School business officials are vital and critical educational partners.

My dad once told me to “never back up to the pay table.” This wisdom was shared when I took my first job. My dad wanted me to know that if you do a good job and earn your pay, you should proudly accept it and have a reputation that reflects who you are. Our reputations can be strained by politics and life, but our core values must always come through. Honesty, integrity and collegiality are timeless.

This edition of California School Business addresses the issues of reputation, trends in evaluation and upward mobility for CBOs and school business leaders. And don’t miss the column on Job Security vs. Insecurity in our Career Rx section. It couldn’t be more timely for all of us!

Have a wonderful school year! Create a legacy for our profession with a reputation that shows your integrity, determination, commitment and professionalism!

Molly McGee HewittExecutive Director

10 | California School Business

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bottomline

By Michael Johnston CASBO President

It’s time to step up to the plate

In my column that appeared in the

Summer 2012 issue of California School Business, I wrote that casbo members have a duty to ensure that our voices are heard and our influence is felt at both the state and national levels. I went on to say that the association would be calling upon all of its members, in every discipline, to join with us in order to achieve that goal.

At this critical moment for California public education, we have the opportuni-ty to demonstrate that casbo is a power-ful and influential voice. California voters will be making a decision in November on two school finance initiatives, and it is no exaggeration to say that the outcome of November’s vote will decide the fiscal future of our state’s public schools. Given the stakes, it is time for casbo members to step up to the plate and do their part.

The casbo Board of Directors has voted to support Proposition 30, the funding initiative sponsored by Gov. Jerry Brown. The board also voted to take no position on Proposition 38, sponsored by Molly Munger and the Advancement Project. To be clear, we are not opposed to Proposition 38 – we agree that schools need additional revenues to alleviate the financial cuts that have already been imposed. The board took its action only after a rigorous review of the details of both initiatives, including the restrictions that each would place on the use of rev-enues at the local level. We surveyed our members for their views, and took into consideration how the initiatives have been faring in public opinion polls.

Ultimately, the board decided that, while both initiatives are sincere efforts to provide a temporary solution to the school funding crisis, it was imperative that casbo direct its support toward

just one: Proposition 30. We made that decision for several reasons. Short of any unanticipated changes to the trigger language, it is only through Proposi-tion 30’s passage that $5.4 billion in automatic reductions to schools can be avoided. There were also concerns about how Proposition 38 would direct funds to local school sites, rather than school districts. Further, Proposition 30 enjoys greater support among the voters, ac-cording to recent polls. And finally, we felt that by supporting both initiatives, casbo could inadvertently weaken the public message for statewide advocacy efforts, thereby making it more likely that both initiatives fail.

Being on the front lines, school busi-ness officials are in an ideal position to educate local communities about the importance of Proposition 30, and the facts surrounding the fiscal crisis in our schools. I call upon all casbo members to do exactly that. Resources are available on our website to assist in these efforts, but we should remember that the most effective messages are those focused on local impacts.

Now is the time for us to spread the word and explain to our friends, our neighbors, our local chambers of com-merce and anyone else who will listen why the passage of Proposition 30 is so critical to the welfare of schools, students, employees, our communities and the

state. As proven by successful local bond elections, there is great local support for schools. We need to translate that support to Proposition 30. Our communities need to understand what our local schools will look like if they are forced to incur the maximum amount of the trigger reductions.

We cannot stand by and wait to see what happens. We must get in the game and make a difference. No matter how many points we are behind, we need to try to win the game. No doubt, we have our work cut out for us. But we have reached a point where failure is not an option.

California voters will be making a decision in November on two school finance initiatives, and it is no exaggeration to say that the outcome of November’s vote will decide the fiscal futureof our state’s public schools.

14 | California School Business

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Fall 2012 | 15

infocus

Fall 2012 | 15

Rich Buse

Photography by Hope Harris

An up-the-ladder business leader who gives back

Rich Buse is big on giving back. As a 20-year member of CASBO, he’s served

in nearly a dozen volunteer positions. And in 34 years working in school

business, serving has been his “modus operandi” as well. “I just like to help

people. I’m one that likes to address issues. If there are problems, I want to

help out; I try to look for a win-win in most all cases,” Buse explained.

Since 2004, Buse has been director of purchasing at Pajaro Valley Unified

School District. His role also includes directing the safety segment of risk

management. He achieved his current post by moving up through the ranks

of the industry, starting with a temporary job in the maintenance department

at Woodland Joint Unified School District. Following a promotion to district

warehouseman and serving as president for the local California School

Employees Association (CSEA), he advanced to director of purchasing.

Buse acknowledges that moving from an M&O role to purchasing isn’t the

typical path, but said working in the warehouse allowed him to see how

purchasing connects to the larger school business picture. “Purchasing is

generally rewarding and always challenging; there are many laws and guide-

lines to follow, deadlines to meet and schools to support. I like the challenge

and collaboration regarding current issues, products and services,” he said.

He also gets satisfaction from serving. Buse, currently president-elect of

CASBO, has held many volunteer posts within the association including Sac-

ramento Section president, State Purchasing chair, Sacramento Section and

Northern Section chair. He has been an avid committee member, serving on

the Legislative Committee, Strategic Planning Committee, Executive Commit-

tee, Audit Committee and Budget Committee. Buse has also been recognized

with a number of awards including the Unsung Hero Award and Sacramento

Section Member of the Year. He is a proud recent graduate of the CASBO/

FCMAT-sponsored CBO Mentor Program.

Buse joked that he “learns by error,” but, becoming serious, added that he

has in fact learned the most from other school business professionals he

has met through CASBO. “It’s the networking; when you can talk to someone

individually, you can get the details and understand the style of what they do

and how they do it. Where I fit in with CASBO is they ask ‘can you do this?’

and I say ‘yes.’”

Buse and his wife, Tamara, a special education teacher at San Jose Unified

School District, share six children and two grandsons. Buse lost his daughter,

Jordan, in a car accident four years ago. She was 19. That loss, he says, “has

made me a more sensitive, yet stronger person.”

He added, “I enjoy helping others – knowing many in CASBO would do the

same. Life is too short; ‘Carpe Diem.’”

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infocus

Fall 2012 | 17

Harold M. Freiman

Photography by Hope Harris

A lawyer by profession, an educator at heart

Harold M. Freiman didn’t intend to become a practicing attorney. His passion

was writing and teaching, and he envisioned a career as an academic. Today,

he satisfies his desire to educate as a frequent and popular speaker at

CASBO’s annual conference and various professional development programs.

His degree from Columbia Law School is put to good use in his work as an

attorney representing public education entities.

Freiman is a shareholder with Lozano Smith, where he has worked for 19

years on issues such as school facilities, property and district reorganization.

His appreciation of the complexity of education law traces back to the year

he spent as a law clerk for the Texas Supreme Court, where he helped write

a landmark court opinion on school finance.

He says his role when representing districts, county offices and community

colleges is not to find what’s wrong, but rather to find how to get to what’s

right. “When people call us, it’s because there is an obstacle. The first thing

I talk to clients about is where they want to go and what the obstacles are.

We work with districts to get over or through their hurdles,” he said.

That’s the facet of his job that he loves – creative problem solving for

schools. “I’m a big believer in public education. A large part of what I do

is keeping the doors open and enabling school officials to do their jobs

effectively. My job is to think creatively, and that’s a great job.”

Freiman was introduced to CASBO when he was asked to speak at an annual

conference in the 1990s. “I was struck that this conference had so much

good information and was not about selling services. It was about people

honestly learning about how best to do their work,” Freiman explained.

From then on, he was sold on the association’s value and on being an active

member. Freiman is serving for the third year as the Associate Member

Liaison to the Annual Conference Committee. He is also a current member

of the Associate Member Committee. He takes particular pleasure in volun-

teering for CASBO’s CBO Mentor Program.

Freiman says his respect for and dedication to CASBO are linked to his

passion for education. “The association produces one of the highest quality

conferences I have ever attended, and I am proud to be a part of pulling that

together. I love helping to bring forward the next generation of folks who will

be leaders in our schools,” Freiman described. “The educational component

is remarkable.”

18 | California School Business

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SSC-CASBOMAGAD-Fall2012.pdf 1 8/8/2012 12:31:22 PM

Fall 2012 | 19

By Julie Phillips Randles

interview

Columnist is an experton the state’s politics, hot-button issuesDan Walters offers histake on Capitol politics,education issues

Dan Walters has been a journalist for more than a

half-century, spending all but a few of those years

working for California newspapers. At one point in

his career, at age 22, he was the nation’s youngest

daily newspaper editor.

Walters joined The Sacramento Union’s Capitol bureau in 1975, just as Jerry Brown began his first governorship, and later became the Union’s Capitol bureau chief. In 1981, he began writing the state’s only daily newspaper column devoted to California political, economic and social events, and in 1984, he and the column moved to The Sacramento Bee.

He has written more than 7,500 columns about California and its politics, and his column appears in more than 50 Cali-fornia newspapers.

Walters has written for a number of additional publica-tions, including The Wall Street Journal and the Christian Science Monitor. In 1986, his book, “The New California: Facing the 21st Century,” was published in its first edition. The book addresses socioeconomic and political trends in the state and is widely used as a college text book.

He is also the founding editor of the “California Political Almanac,” the co-author of a book on lobbying entitled, “The Third House: Lobbyists, Money and Power in Sacramento,” and contributed chapters to two other books, “Remaking California” and “The New Political Geography of California.”

As a frequent guest on national television news shows, Walters is often asked to comment on California politics. He is also known for his keynote addresses for such groups as The Milken Institute, the Agricultural Council of California and the Association of Government Accountants. Additionally, Walters has served as a workshop presenter several times at casbo’s Annual Conference and School Business Expo.

20 | California School Business

Dan WaltersColumnist is an expert on the state’s politics, hot-button issues

Here are his responses to a host of questions from California School Business:

CSB: What is the last book you read?Walters: “Raylan,” by Elmore Leonard.

CSB: What is the best advice you’ve ever received? From whom?Walters: My mother said, “Don’t drink coffee.”

CSB: If you could choose a different career, what would you do? Walters: Chase tornadoes in the Midwest or deliver yachts to buyers around the world.

CSB: Name three people, living or deceased, with whom you would like to share a meal? Why? Walters: Ernest Hemingway, Richard Nixon and Elmore Leonard – so that I could ask them what makes them tick. CSB: Overall, would you say that term limits have had a positive or negative impact on the Legislature?Walters: About 50-50, or maybe 51-49 either way. They broke up the ingrained corruption that permeated the Capitol in the 1980s, but also led to a certain dumbing-down of the process.

CSB: Do you think the governor’s tax initiative will be approved in November? What about Molly Munger’s initiative?Walters: At this point, no better than a 50-50 chance. Munger’s initiative – probably less than 50-50.

CSB: How has the media’s role and relationship dealing with the Legislature changed in the years that you’ve worked in the Capitol?Walters: Like all other relationships in the Capitol, those between media and politicians have become more institutional and less personal. When I came to the Capitol in 1975, the governor had two press aides, top legislative leaders had one each and everyone else fended for himself or herself. Now everyone has a gatekeeper press aide.

CSB: You have covered several California governors. Whom to do you consider to have been the most pro-education governor? Why?Walters: This may shock readers, but it probably was Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He was actually concerned about what happened in class-rooms and the system’s outcomes, not just inputs – his efforts on

behalf of vocational education, for example. That said, Schwar-zenegger was no more successful than any other recent governor in answering the essential political question surrounding public education in California – whether it simply needs more money, or whether providing more money in the absence of structural reform or other factors would materially improve outcomes.

CSB: What is your assessment of the Education Coalition’s ability to impact the education debate in the Capitol?Walters: Its power is high, but it’s used mostly for defensive purposes, vis-à-vis Proposition 98, rather than offensively for better education outcomes. And that’s because it is no more able to answer the question posed above in regard to Schwarzenegger and is, therefore, primarily focused on money. The massive Stanford study of public education in California framed that question, but to date neither the Education Coalition nor the politicians it cultivates have been willing to deal with it – postponing it, in effect, until the money issue is settled. But since the money issue is likely to never be settled, the debate is stuck – not unlike the equally gridlocked issues of water, transportation and government finance, to name but a few others.

CSB: If you were granted three wishes that you think would improve public education in California, what would you wish for? Walters: More money, less micromanaging from Sacramento, more recognition that students’ educational needs are as individual as fingerprints and, most importantly, more parental involvement. OK, that’s four but that explains, perhaps, why I got kicked out of high school for being a pain in the butt to administrators.

CSB: Your career requires you to explain very complicated political issues to readers. How do you approach writing about something as complicated as California public school funding so that readers can quickly understand your message? Walters: I approach it by accepting that nothing so large and complicated can be comprehensively addressed in a single column, so it’s important to discipline oneself to deal with a small piece of the larger picture, and by keeping in mind that the system is supposed to serve the needs of children, not the priorities of adults. z z z

Julie Phillips Randles is a freelance writer based in Roseville, Calif.

Fall 2012 | 21

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22 | California School Business

Fall 2012 | 23

he job of a school district superintendent is frequently complex, and sometimes thankless, and yet it’s a role to which school business leaders often aspire. After all,

superintendents can help districts reach meaningful goals and move entire communities forward. But achieving the title of superintendent takes more than aspiration; it takes preparation.

Several casbo members have done the hard work required to make the transition to a seat at the superintendent’s desk. California School Business spoke to five school business leaders who were able to successfully move from cbo to superintendent, gathering recon on how they prepared, what they would do dif-ferently and what first steps should follow a job offer.

After reflecting on their careers, these school business lead-ers were able to provide some helpful advice for others seeking to make the transition.

Joel Montero, chief executive officer for the Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team (fcmat), summed it up, saying, “If you have a burning desire to be in an administrative role and

From CBO to superintendent

School business pros who’ve reachedthe superintendent’s seat offer advice

By Julie Phillips Randles

a superintendency is your fate, making that decision early on is pretty important. The earlier you start thinking about that, the better.”

CBOs IN DEMAND

Several years of tough fiscal times mean that school boards are more open than ever to hiring a superintendent from the financial side of the house. In fact, all things fiscal have been the focus of school boards for the last five years, making cbos strong candidates to lead a district.

“Everything has been budget related, so having a superin-tendent that understands it and can bring it down to an under-standable level for the community is important,” said Gordon Medd, a former cbo and casbo member who is now superin-tendent for the Loomis Union School District. “cbos are known for putting in long hours and working hard, and that’s a natural transition to superintendent.”

T

feature

24 | California School Business

cbos possess another valuable skill that makes them good superintendents – organization. The cbo role requires that all files and records be in line and that processes are well defined. “You can be so much more effective as a superintendent if you’re an expert in process and organization. That’s a quality in cbos

that’s been untapped,” Medd explained. Pair a multi-year financial crisis with the ever-increasing

public nature of the cbo role and an uptick in the selection of cbos to lead districts becomes natural. “cbos are making public presentations now, they are more involved in the overall decision making at districts and are generally more visible,” noted casbo member Bill McGuire, a former cbo who is now superintendent at St. Helena Unified School District.

But financial experience alone won’t be enough to get hired, or to be successful in the superintendent’s seat, warned Montero.

“Boards are anxious these days about the fiscal side, but unless you have pretty good knowledge of the program side, a board won’t hire just on the basis of business experience,” Montero said. “No matter how you spin it, it’s a leadership role. I’d compare it to a ceo – you have to be able to do a lot of things simultaneously, and if all you came to the job with is a fiscal background, you would struggle in the role.

“The cbo role is more technical because it has that finance aspect,” Montero added. “What’s different is that with the super-intendency, there is that ‘the buck stops here’ aspect. It can be a lonely position. There are times when it’s just you and the board and you are navigating some difficult situations.”

NOT EXACTLY PLANNED, BUT WELL-PREPARED

Two current superintendents were honest in saying that becoming a superintendent wasn’t exactly a clear career path. Steve Bolman, superintendent for Petaluma City Schools and a casbo member, planned to become a certified public accountant. Bad economic times in the early 1980s lead him to switch gears and accept a position as a chief accountant in the public sector, rather than pursuing the private industry cpa route.

Gary Thomas, San Bernardino County superintendent of schools, says his intent was to be a teacher and to coach football

and wrestling. Then, as he put it, “life just sort of took over,” and he was on a path that led to becoming the elected superintendent at sbcss.

Despite not necessarily planning to be a superintendent early in their careers, both men did set themselves up to suc-ceed in the role by continuing their professional and educa-tional development, taking on responsibilities outside of the business silo and proving themselves to be both honest and trustworthy.

Those who are intent on becoming a superintendent – and are also lucky enough to have the time and inclination to prepare for the role – should start checking off items on what could be considered a superintendency preparation to-do list.

• Get experience in areas other than the business side of the house. Get caught up on what’s happening on the instructional and human resource portions of the house. “Get out of your of-fice and away from your calculator,” suggested Medd.

• Tune in to student achievement. As a superintendent, stu-dent achievement is your key focus and responsibility. “You exist not to build a reserve, but to allocate resources to help student achievement,” reminded McGuire.

• Continue your education. This might include getting a doctoral degree or even leveraging support from your current district to participate in professional development.

• Understand all aspects of your district’s program. “Be aware of what’s happening districtwide with regard to the or-ganization’s mission and goals,” Bolman advised.

• Volunteer for roles outside of your silo. Expand your base of expertise by agreeing to work on projects or tasks that are outside of the financial arena, allowing the school board to get to know you in other roles.

• Build trusting relationships with those in your current dis-trict. Relational capital goes a long way should an interim or full superintendency become available in your current district, and will also be beneficial when seeking references for a new role.

• Get a mentor. As you prepare to move up, you’ll need someone to both point you in the right direction and act as a sounding board, said Thomas. “Have a rich group of mentors that fit your style and your mode of doing business,” he suggested.

From CBO to superintendent

The word that should be at the top of the list is “leadership,” specifically, leadership to execute.

Fall 2012 | 25

• Be visible and network. Whether there’s an opportunity to move up in your current organization or you plan to move to another district, visibility is key. “Have conversations with people throughout the district,” Thomas advised. At the same time, establish a network of colleagues that are doing similar work to get a broader sense of how others are handling things.

• Read, read, read. Keep up with education periodicals, books and news coverage of education issues. Bolman created a professional community among classified managers and encour-aged the group to simultaneously read from a list of leadership books. One selection the group chose was “Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work & in Life, One Conversation at a Time,” by Susan Scott.

THE CURRENT WISH LIST

McGuire and Medd both became superintendents relatively recently, and are thus very familiar with the short list of skills that

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From CBO to superintendent

school boards are looking for in that leadership role. It’s a question that came up in their interviews and was posed this way: “What are the top three qualities you bring to the superintendency?”

The word that should be at the top of the list is “leadership,” specifically, leadership to execute. Candidates must be viewed as a leader, and be able to explain how they have been able to drive a district’s mission and vision to reality. “They are looking for people who can get it done in the current mindset of public education,” McGuire said. “Boards want people that will listen and come up with solutions that meet the majority of the stake-holders’ needs.”

Another aspect boards asked recent candidates to weigh in on is marketing of the school district. A flat line in growth in many districts means boards want leaders who know how to draw stu-dents from outside the district, making marketing skills a must.

Being up-to-date on curriculum standards, and having ex-perience with assessments and analyzing assessment data, is a big plus and was a topic of discussion in interviews, especially with small districts which may lag in the data analysis aspect, Medd noted.

Several difficult funding years that required adjustments to staff mean boards want leaders who have the ability to evaluate administrative staff and know how to deal with furloughs, union concessions and employee evaluations.

With many saying that public education is broken, boards are also looking for leaders who can prove they are able to imple-ment change. “They want people who can say ‘I did this, and this is how you can tell it was done,’” McGuire said.

Once you’ve demonstrated your ability to lead into change, the next step is to provide references to back up your successes. Candidates should be able to direct interview panels to strong professional references who will confirm their leadership ability.

The ability to build a team to address a common set of goals, or even being part of a successful team, are additional attributes boards are seeking in candidates. McGuire explained the value of being a team builder or team player with a sports analogy. “A guy on a world-championship team goes to a new team. He’s a new leader and new to being a star, but he was part of a team that won a championship.” That connection carries forward.

ADVICE FOR A YOUNGER SELF

With some reflection, those who made the transition from cbo or another cabinet position to superintendent can now answer the question, “What advice would you give your younger self?”

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Montero warns about the politics of the job, something that he wished he would have understood better early on. “I would have spent more time trying to understand board leadership,” Montero said. “I learned all of that on the job, and having to do that, I made a lot of mistakes I could have avoided.”

McGuire offers a pragmatic tip – one that he always points out when training future cbos. “While the reputation of your pri-or district is important in the interview process, the minute you get the job, you have to forget the name of your prior district.”

Thomas noted that the stress and long hours of the super-intendent’s post creates a need for equilibrium between one’s work life and personal life. “You have to keep some balance in life. Balance family and work, and be sure that you are laughing a lot,” Thomas suggested.

POST-OFFER ADVICE

Once the proper preparation nets a job offer, there are a few steps that candidates should take before accepting a superintendency.

First up, Thomas reminds, is identifying proper fit. “Know the mission and the vision of the district, and then decide if you can live with that. Know yourself well, and try to get informa-tion from those interviewing you about how things are done in the district,” Thomas said. “Fit is important, and part of fit is understanding whether you can live in the situation and provide something valuable.”

Thomas also suggested visiting district school sites to talk to current employees, and stopping in at the local chamber of commerce to learn about local issues.

If you do accept the job, be sure to take time at the outset to learn about the district’s culture. “You have to spend the time learning about the organization and building relationships. Those relationships will be key in terms of being able to move forward,” Thomas said.

Then, establish a 100-day plan that covers how you will introduce yourself to the organization. Determine which stake-holders you need to connect with; decide what kind of informa-tion you need from which departments; look at student data; and review contracts that are in the works.

“At this level, politics are a reality and you have to pay at-tention to that with a district. There are things today that super-intendents can get fired for, having to do with lack of fit or not being politically savvy, and not necessarily the technical things,” Thomas said. z z z

Julie Phillips Randles is a freelance writer based in Roseville, Calif.

Do you have an opinion or a comment on this article? California School Business magazinewelcomes “Letters to the Editor.” Please send your letters to kevins@casbo.org. All lettersare edited for content, space and style considerations.

Know the mission and the vision of the district, and then decide if you can live with that.

28 | California School Business

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30 | California School Business

Fall 2012 | 31

D

cover

By Julie Sturgeon

During the Orange County Department of Education’s reorganization efforts late last year, Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Renee Hendrick found her name in the newspaper listing her new annual salary.

Unfortunately, it was an inaccurate figure and the error was on the high side. To pour salt on the injury, the article was posted online, where it was passed around and remains searchable today.

“It was embarrassing,” said Hendrick, a casbo past president. “I had some people say, ‘Well, now I know why you don’t want to apply for an-other job. You make a lot more money here.’”

Hendrick is not alone by a long shot. Thanks to a proliferation of “rate my [fill-in-the-blank]” websites, thousands of school administrators, lead-ers, teachers and staff have found their name attached to damaging mis-information and opinions. Others bring the bad news down on their own heads, like the case of the John F. Kennedy High School assistant baseball coach in Granada Hills who was arrested for smoking marijuana with students. News reports say a staff member alerted law enforcement after overhearing students talk about it in the halls.

It could have just as easily been from teens – or even the adult involved – posting about the incident on their Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. Indeed, Michael Dodge, a technology consultant and former chief business

REPUTATION 2.0 School leaders often held

to a higher online standard

32 | California School Business

The older generations have a cultural understanding of how to sidestep politics, religious opinions, derogatory remarks and other sticky conversations, but fail to conquer the technology that can help ensure their innocuous statements don’t fall in the wrong hands.

“Because other sites pick up your statements and pictures, folks bookmark them, etc., they don’t go away. What you do online follows you around through your career,” Dodge added.

STEP ONE:KNOW THE LAW

If a parent in your district posts “Principal Jones is a jerk. He’s cheating on his wife and he treats my kid like crap” on her wall, laws governing defamation and libel apply, assured Chris Fernandes, a partner at casbo associate member Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost who previously worked with the San

Diego County Office of Education. Still, that only covers inaccurate statements of fact – administrators at the butt end of distorted opinions can only hope to accurately pick the right battles to respond to.

However, the freedom of speech argument won’t necessar-ily apply to those on the school district payroll who follow that same “I can vent whatever I want” philosophy. Although the situation has not been challenged in California courts yet, educa-tors throughout the United States have lost cases, and thus their jobs on these grounds, Dodge assured. The courts have ruled that while it’s your right to say what you want, the district has the right to bring consequences if your remarks tarnish its image or the profession you represent.

It doesn’t matter if you’re using private equipment on your own time, according to Fernandes. “Teachers and administrators can be held to a higher standard than students and parents in these arenas,” he said.

official in multiple California school districts, brings up a range of troublesome situations in his casbo workshops on protecting online reputations: photos of teachers toasting with margaritas at a local restaurant; mentions of buying a new Mercedes or va-cationing in Italy in July; check-ins at stores, salons or services steeped in specific connotations. They need not be nefarious to raise eyebrows – an assistant superintendent at an attorney’s of-fice, for example, could start several different rumors.

“Parents who believe school leaders should be a role model and set a good image for young students are saying, ‘Wait a min-ute, I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that,’” Dodge noted. And with budgets squarely in the headlines, taxpayers pounce on any perceived sign that a district is over-paying its staff.

The educational audiences Dodge fields questions from usually exasperate the problem by being too young or too old. Generations who grew up with technology, for instance, know all the tricks to protect their posts from the wrong eyes, but they often lack a filter for what to discuss in these still-public settings.

The courts have ruled that while it’s your right to say what you want, the district has the right to bring consequences if your

remarks tarnish its image or the profession you represent.

REPUTATION 2.0

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Fall 2012 | 33

Likewise, future employers are not crossing any free speech lines by scouring social media channels to drop in on your posts as long as it’s a public site and they aren’t using an alias to gather the information. So a site like Pinterest, for example, which has no privacy settings to date, is fair game for folks to build judg-ments about your personality and skills, as long as they don’t fail to hire you based on legally protected statuses like race, sexual orientation, gender or disabilities.

On the other hand, Facebook and Twitter are wonderful ways to get the word out about test dates, extracurricular activi-ties, sports scores and accomplishments, as well as to highlight

Nearly every online expert gives the same advice: Don’t say anything you don’t want your mother to read.

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REPUTATION 2.0

new findings and research in the industry, so Fernandes doesn’t discourage educators from jumping in. His compromise is to keep professional and not to mix personal with professional.

“Make the purpose of your blog or account very clear, and whether it’s a school-related activity the day you create it,” said Fernandes.

STEP TWO:PICK YOUR FRIENDS

Facebook, Pinterest and location programs like FourSquare were developed as social media, and you can hardly blame them for being just that: a social place where participants share their life experiences. Those, more than the résumé you post at LinkedIn, can come back to haunt you, Dodge warned, despite the fact that privacy settings allow only friends to see your activity.

Nearly every online expert gives the same advice: Don’t say anything you don’t want your mother to read. But Dodge takes it a step further: Be selective in which friends you give permission to join your circles at these sites, too. It’s not only what you post that forms a public reputation – what a tattooed biker buddy from college who loves to drop the f-bomb might type on your page counts, too. For that matter, your fun-loving brother-in-law who wants to share his photo of you wearing a Santa hat and trying to knock your nephew off the inner tube while vacationing on the lake last summer could also damage your carefully crafted image.

Hendrick makes sure she’s never photographed with al-cohol in her hand as a way to head off potential backlash. And some venues like Facebook now have settings that require your permission before friends can tag your name on any photo. But just because you didn’t allow someone to write “Joe Blow” on the picture doesn’t mean people in the community won’t recog-nize your face when they flip through the album.

That’s why Dodge suggests school business leaders take a more aggressive initiative and tell friends what they’re up against. Spell out in polite but clear terms that they need to respect your job limitations when interacting on social media

accounts. Be prepared to sever online contact if they don’t abide by your rules, and absolutely use social media’s power to tell your own side of a story if parents and community groups that you can’t control begin plastering their opinions of you at their pages during a particular situation.

STEP THREE:GET THE DROP

It’s not enough to set your privacy limits when you first enroll with a social media site. “Facebook has really been bad about changing their security settings, and I’ve had people say ‘I locked this down, and now the whole world can read it,’” said Dodge. “Facebook tries to warn you in advance, but I don’t think the warnings have been good enough.” So if you do nothing else, make it a habit to check your settings at all of your accounts, including private email hosts, at least once a month.

But that’s not enough for the educators who seek out Polly Wood, the special projects team manager at Reputation.com. Her experts wield a range of tools and strategies to protect individu-als’ online reputations.

“So many white collar professionals say ‘I don’t want to be online. I’d rather have nothing come up when you search for me,’ but the reality is that the Internet will say something about

Be selective in which friends you give permission to join your circles at these sites.

The reality is that the Internet will say something about you

whether you want that or not.

Fall 2012 | 35

Four quick ways toprotect your good name

Google your name and set alerts to notify you

when someone mentions you anywhere in

cyberspace. Also, check the whitepages.com,

intelius.com and spokeo.com to see what information

these online databases are storing on you. You may not

be comfortable with the public finding out your address,

age, spouse’s name and occupation, and other family

member connections.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Don’t use the obvious suspects for a password.

(And never use the word “password” itself;

security hackers love to try that first.) Michael

Dodge recommends choosing a word that contains a

combination of letters and numbers. For instance, pick

an ordinary noun, type the first letter of your object,

then complete it using the corresponding numbers on

a telephone keypad. “Make sure you have an upper

and lower case letter and a symbol in there and you’ll

have a tight enough security to protect yourself from

a majority of hacking,” he said.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Choose three positive adjectives that describe

yourself, such as professional, loyal, enthusiastic,

encouraging, happy, resilient, hopeful, energetic.

Use these themes to frame what you write about yourself

at social media sites in the update boxes, keeping in mind

that the finished product – typos and all – can still be

around in 100 years.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Lather, rinse, repeat. Sure, most database sites

comply with removal requests you made in

step one. But they glean data daily from public

records and online forms, so something as common

and simple as enrolling in a store’s frequent buyer

program can land you right back in the mix. If checking

constantly is too much of a burden, look into software

solutions like Reputation.com’s My Privacy package at

$99 a year to do that grunt work for you.

you whether you want that or not,” she noted. “It’s up to indi-viduals to make sure it’s something they like.”

Addresses like ratemyteacher.com tend to have very high domain strength and rank highly in Google search results, so one heinous (even if it’s bogus) review can wipe out a professional reputation indefinitely, as parents vetting their child’s future continue to see this opinion year after year. Erasing these post-ings is nearly impossible, so Wood instead works to shove them down the results ladder. According to their research, 90 percent of people never click to Google’s second page on a search; 99 percent never see pages three and beyond.

So she recommends setting up Facebook pages, LinkedIn accounts, You Tube membership and Twitter feeds, along with a blog to build a positive image associated with a specific name. One of her clients even has a private and professional Facebook page, the latter for colleagues and community members to fol-low. “Google likes diversity, so we want to use different sites, dif-ferent content and media to take up the first 10 slots on a search page.” She encourages photos, videos and writing – as long as the content is positive, and you are in control of the content.

And most importantly, make sure you get the draw on any nasty remarks.

“Too much of people’s online responses are reactive, and we’d prefer clients to be proactive because the Internet works on a first-come, first-served basis. Google does not work chrono-logically, and old content can be quite sticky, so if someone writes something negative about you before we do any work, it’s much harder to shove that down,” she noted.

Consider that your invitation to join the online world and keep your terms at the same time. z z z

Julie Sturgeon is a freelance writer based in Indianapolis, Ind.

Do you have an opinion or a comment on this article? California School Business magazinewelcomes “Letters to the Editor.” Please send your letters to kevins@casbo.org. All lettersare edited for content, space and style considerations.

And most importantly, make sure you get the draw on any nasty remarks. 1

2

3

4

36 | California School Business

Fall 2012 | 37

feature

By Linda A. Estep

After years of checking the boxes

of a standard employee evaluation

form to deem the assessed worker’s performance as either satisfactory or needing improvement, supervisors and managers are restocking their tool boxes to give subordinates a more honest appraisal in what some believe is a cultural shift.

This is not your Daddy’s evaluation.In both the public and private sector, the process of evaluating job performance is widening into a two-way conversation where open communication fuels the engine of success and the employee takes

Evaluationsgo interactive

part in the assessment. Falling by the wayside is the annual report-card style of evaluation where the employee gets little feedback other than a nod to good work or a warning to shape up.

“More and more districts are dialog-ing about evaluation tools. There have been many who have expressed frustra-tion with dated documents,” explained Nina Boyd, assistant superintendent of alternative education in the Orange County Office of Education and a mem-ber of casbo. She has extensive experi-ence on the human resources side of the shop, and is convinced that employees

are better served by frequent feedback to foster professional growth and success in their jobs.

“We need to converse to a person, not just about the person,” she described. Boyd feels a written evaluation should be provided at least every two years, but that during those years the employee should receive verbal feedback peri-odically on good work and immediate feedback if performance or behavior is unsatisfactory.

“There should be no surprises in a review,” she stressed. “In the past, em-ployees might read something (in their

More frequent feedback is trendin employee reviews

38 | California School Business

written evaluation) that they were hear-ing for the first time. Good communica-tion and feedback are more helpful and will later feed into the written evaluation. It is more meaningful to the employee and the employer.”

Boyd believes the decline of the checkbox style might be due to younger employees being more accustomed to immediacy of communication. “They come from systems where they get feedback quicker. The more senior em-ployees feel ‘I’ve still got a job so I must be doing OK.’”

casbo member Alicia Schlehuber, director of classified personnel in the Escondido Union Elementary School District, agrees. “The younger genera-tion expects more feedback and getting strokes. The expectations are different today than they were years ago.”

Honesty best policy

A key component in performance eval-uations is honesty, according to both Boyd and Schlehuber. And it is that very component that often strikes dread in the evaluator, as well as the employee being reviewed. Supervisors fear the evaluation could become confrontational and the employee fears the unknown. That old sentiment could subside as

both parties come face-to-face in an environment that offers insight, guidance and mutual respect.

“It is meaningless when an evalua-tion is not honest,” Boyd said.

Schlehuber concurred. “One of the challenges, from my perspective, is when accurate evaluations are not given. Fre-quently, managers within education are compassionate and some find it hard to be critical and point out areas that need improvement. It takes a strong leader to do that. We do not do our employees any favors by being too nice. It’s not fair to the employee, the supervisor or the school district.”

She also cautions supervisors that telling an employee what he or she is not doing is insufficient. The employee needs to hear what should be done as well, and with as much detail as possible.

To assist supervisors in providing effective evaluations, Schlehuber con-ducts annual refresher workshops for both principals and managers in her district.

One model of performance evalu-ation that is getting attention is the 360 Degree Model for Evaluation. Districts study the model and often adopt varia-tions where components that are con-sistent with the district’s needs or goals are used. This model involves input from constituencies other than just the supervisor.

Piedmont pilot

Piedmont Unified School District, with an enrollment of 2,500, is piloting a variation of this model. Limited to certificated employees, the pilot was developed by district educators and administrators in collaboration with the local and state bargaining units, and has

an emphasis on goal setting and student performance.

“The inspiration came from teach-ers and administrators who agreed that the current system was not working,” explained Randall Booker, assistant su-perintendent, education services.

“It did not promote growth and improvements. The evaluation process was simply a procedure that needed to

Evaluations go interactive

The direction of performance appraisals now is managing and motivating versus documenting and terminating.

Fall 2012 | 39

get done. When the focus is just getting through the process, who wants to do that?” he asked. “What we built then was a system that encourages growth and col-laboration, not just (an appraisal) of good and bad,” he said.

Booker said the new approach builds camaraderie, and that veteran teachers have embraced the pilot. “Education has come around to where people want to grow into their practice and want others to know they want to grow.”

This plan includes a self-assessment component, as well as an option to ob-serve and learn from a fellow teacher having success in a particular area. The suggestion to observe a specific teacher, if necessary, could come from the evaluator

in an observation conference to develop an improvement plan. While sharing materials and ideas between teachers is not new, under this plan, teacher and principal are working together toward an established goal with an accountability component built in.

Developing the pilot was a two-year process involving a committee of 20 and an outside consultant. Booker said the Piedmont Educational Foundation has provided support in funding for materi-als and other expenses.

In the works

Michele Fort-Merrill is a 40-year veteran in the field of human resources, a longtime

casbo member and the executive director, human resources, in the San Diego County Office of Education. She currently is chairing a committee of managers and support staff to build a new model for personnel evaluation

The current trend is to focus a more positive spin on the evaluation tool, with an emphasis on helping the employee.

40 | California School Business

incorporating interactive practices to replace the decades-old checkbox form.

“In the old days, performance evalu-ation was a check-off, but modern think-ing is to ‘grow’ the employee so that (he or she) is a part of the organization, and wants to be a part of it. The evaluation should not just be an opportunity to note what isn’t working. The direction of performance appraisals now is managing and motivating versus documenting and terminating.”

She added that the current trend is to focus a more positive spin on the evalu-ation tool, with an emphasis on helping the employee.

“The best use of a performance evaluation is to document successes an employee has had during the evalu-ation cycle (usually one year) and to set goals for enhancing or, if necessary, improving performance in the com-ing cycle,” she said. “It has evolved into an interactive process during which the employee and supervisor work together to define expectations for future performance and engage in conversation throughout the year about the employee’s achievements and the manager’s support of the employee’s

efforts. Employees want to be involved in setting goals and want to get regular and frequent feedback and support for achieving those goals.”

Fort-Merrill believes an effective evaluation must include the manager’s expectations during the evaluation period so that the employee has a clear target and will receive frequent feedback on progress.

“Performance appraisal is not an event,” she said. “It is a process built on a relationship of open and honest com-munication between the manager and the employee.”

The personnel evaluation of old is fading in favor of a more thoughtful, empowering assessment intended to strengthen the whole organization. It requires a greater investment of time and effort, but if properly utilized, pays a dividend of fulfillment and goals met, according to experts in the field. The ex-pediency of an annual report card form now takes a backseat to the ongoing performance evaluation that engages instead of grades. The shift from an an-nual review to more frequent assessment allows managers to identify problems and propose or explore solutions more readily, instead of months later.

Training a must The Society for Human Resource Man-agement (shrm) is an international organization with more than 575 affiliate chapters. A survey conducted in 2011 by shrm on workplace practices indicated 98 percent of those organizations surveyed have a formal employee performance evaluation process in place, and that nearly half of those required training of their managers. Of the remaining organizations, voluntary training was provided.

When considering altering or aban-doning the way business has been con-ducted for decades, it is only natural to expect training for those responsible for delivery. Many districts and county of-fices provide in-house training, including the San Diego County Office of Educa-tion, for both certificated and classified employees.

“There is lots of attention regarding evaluations for certificated personnel. It just makes sense that classified should get similar attention,” Fort-Merrill said.

Fort-Merrill will conduct the classi-fied trainings at San Diego coe, and a hu-man resources department staffer will be in charge of training principals. The new evaluation system is expected to be fully implemented by the end of the 2012-13 school year. z z z

Linda A. Estep is a freelance writer based in Fresno, Calif.

Do you have an opinion or a comment on this article? California School Business magazine welcomes “Letters to the Editor.” Please send your letters to kevins@casbo.org. All lettersare edited for content, space and style considerations.

Evaluations go interactive

Employees want to be involved in setting goals and want to get regular and frequent feedback and support for achieving those goals.

Fall 2012 | 41

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CASBO book club

Bookselectionaddressesethicalleadership

As staff and students head back to

campus this fall, please join your

CASBO colleagues in reading, “Living

Into Leadership: A Journey in Ethics,”

by Bowen H. “Buzz” McCoy. The book

is particularly timely as CASBO prepares

to launch its ethics course.

Written by a former

partner at Morgan

Stanley, this book is

based on McCoy’s

life experiences,

personal ethical

dilemmas and

moral concerns.

With inspiration

from the likes

of the poet Dante,

philosopher Immanuel Kant and

management consultant Peter Drucker,

McCoy shows that ethical business

leadership is not only possible, but

is the most desirable approach to

management.

The book examines just how business

leaders, and those seeking to become

leaders, can flourish in an organization

without disavowing their personal values

or compromising their integrity. The text

incorporates classroom materials devel-

oped by the author for ethics programs

at Stanford, the University of California,

Berkeley, USC, UCLA and Notre Dame.

“Living Into Leadership” also addresses

how to pursue and engaged business

career while living a balanced life and

continuing one’s personal growth. Along

the way, McCoy mentors readers in de-

veloping a personal business plan for life.

By the book’s conclusion, readers under-

stand that the answer to the question,

“Is business success synonymous with a

lack of morality?” is a resounding “no.”

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Fall 2012 | 47

answers on page 53

sudoku2 8 94 7 13 5 67 9 45 6 31 2 88 1 29 4 76 3 5

1 5 46 2 38 9 72 1 87 4 93 6 54 7 65 3 19 8 2 1 7 4

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48 | California School Business

CASBO Career RxJob security vs. insecurity

By Molly McGee Hewitt Executive Director

There’s simply no denying that the school

business profession is undergoing a period of

transition. The job titles, divisions, departments

and organizational structures of the past have

become obsolete. Departments, divisions and

positions have been consolidated or eliminated;

or, in many districts, outsourced. As people retire

or change roles, their prior positions are left

unfilled. And when a job is advertised, hundreds

of candidates apply.

Despite the financial crisis schools have experi-

enced in the past several years, employment in

public education is still desirable. The competition

for positions and the vast number of applicants

mean veteran school business officials are finding

themselves in a time of flux. The job game is

changing, and the rules we knew so well have

been rewritten.

All of this leads to a sense that job insecurity

is more prevalent than job security. As public

management employees, business leaders are

vulnerable to cutbacks and changes. Overnight,

your position can be eliminated – or duties added

– without advance knowledge or preparation.

Today, I am in charge of purchasing and procure-

ment; tomorrow, they add risk management.

Today, I am in the director of facilities; tomorrow,

my division was changed to maintenance, opera-

tions, facilities and transportation. Or, my position

was eliminated. The sense of insecurity is nearly

impossible to dismiss.

How does one prepare for this new reality? As-

sumptions from the past and prior practices have

changed. There is no game plan for the future.

So the question becomes “How does one survive

today, and thrive in the future?”

While no one has all the answers or can guaran-

tee a particular road map, there are some career

tips on which veterans of downsizing and change

all agree. While what is happening today is tough

to handle, you are not alone in your sense of

insecurity. The changes in schools mirror those in

our society.

Here are the top five ways you can enhance your

personal job security:

Harness your attitude, your words and your demeanor. How you handle change speaks

volumes about your leadership qualities. Be posi-

tive in your thoughts, words and actions. Do not

let fear or emotion cause you to speak or act in a

way that will be detrimental to your career.

Get your professional portfolio ready to compete. If it has been a long time since you

have written a resume, gathered work samples or

updated your references, now is the time to ad-

dress these tasks. Resumes have changed in look

and content in the last few years; nothing says

“obsolete” more than an antiquated resume. And,

prepare yourself for the technology changes in the

application process. Online applications are the

standard. Spend time today familiarizing yourself

with how to handle electronic applications.

Evaluate your skill set. What expertise or

experience do you have that makes you a proven

winner for your employer? Is there a certification

or specialized training that can make you even

more valuable? If so, sign up today!

Know your competition. Today, all levels of

management jobs in school business are attract-

ing unprecedented numbers of applicants. Many

have graduate degrees and advanced certifica-

tions. They are ready to go to work tomorrow.

Coming from the corporate world, they have a

different approach or look. Don’t underestimate

the competition. Instead, make yourself as nimble

and prepared as the other potential candidates.

Alert your superintendents or supervisors to your interest in expanding your duties and your willingness to take on additional responsibilities. Don’t assume they know what

you are willing to take on. While an updated role

may be out of your comfort zone or require ad-

ditional training or work hours, a job is a precious

commodity.

Remember, these incredibly challenging times will

not last forever. In the meantime, true job security

will require you to do more.

Fall 2012 | 49

50 | California School Business

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Fall 2012 | 51

out&about

Fall 2012 | 51

Please send in your Out & About photos from CASBO events along with the names of the people in the photos and the event where the photo was taken. Digital photos may be sent to kevins@casbo.org.

CASBO board members, section presidents and staff enjoyed the Mission Impossible theme during the board retreat on June 8, 2012.

CASBO by Design Action Team leaders include Teri Adkins, Membership Action Team; Sharon Ketcherside, Professional Development Action Team; Sandie Thompson Nobile, Leadership Action Team; Nina Boyd, Legislative Advocacy Action Team; and Pearl Iizuka, Communications Action Team.

Attending the Purchasing Professional Council meeting in Sacramento on Aug. 3were (l-r) Ruth Ann Hall; Chair Deborah Harris; Sacramento Section Chair Peggy Beller; Central Section Chair Peggy Edwards; San Diego-Imperial Section Chair Guiselle Carreon; Eastern Section Chair PatMcCaughey; and Immediate Past Chair Mary Cox.

CASBO section presidents or representatives attending the CASBO board meeting in June were (l-r) Monique Benjamin, Southern Section president; Donna (Barber) Klementz, Eastern Section president elect; Brad Rohrbach, Central Section president; Tina Tuning, San Diego-Imperial Section president; and Aida Santillana, Northern Section president.

52 | California School Business

advertiserindex

Accounting, Auditing and Financial ServicesVavrinek, Trine, Day & Co LLP(909) 466-4410www.vtdcpa.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Vicenti, Lloyd & Stutzman LLP(626) 857-7300www.vlsllp.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

ArchitectsWLC Architects(909) 987-0909www.wlc-architects.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

California Solar InitiativeCalifornia Solar Initiative(310) 319-3639

www.WaterHeatedByTheSun.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Consulting ServicesDecisionInsite(877) 204-1392www.decisioninsite.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

GASB 45 Solutions(916) 371-4691www.csba.orgPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

School Services of California(916) 446-7517www.sscal.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Contractors / Construction ManagementBernards(818) 336-3619www.bernards.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Emergency 24 Hour ServicesAmerican Technologies, Inc.(800) 400-9353www.amer-tech.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Facility Permit AutomationCivic Permits (800) 555-0431www.civicpermits.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Financial & Retirement PlanningVALIC(916) 780-6051www.valic.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Financial and Human Resource SoftwareSmartetools(760) 242-8890www.smartetools.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Financial and Human ResourcesSungard K-12 Education(866) 905-8989www.sungard.com/K-12Please see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Financial ServicesCalifornia Financial Services(707) 544-7800www.calschools.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Piper Jaffray & Co.(800) 876-1854www.PJC.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Security Benefit(866) 330-8879www.securitybenefit.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Stone & Youngberg(800) 447-8663www.syllc.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Fire & Water Damage RestorationAmerican Technologies, Inc.(800) 400-9353www.amer-tech.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Fraud Prevention, Detection & InvestigationVicenti, Lloyd & Stutzman LLP(626) 857-7300www.vlsllp.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

FurnitureVirco Manufacturing Corp.(800) 813-4150www.virco.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Back Cover

VS America(310) 384-9553www.thethirdteacher.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Healthcare Services/InsuranceCalifornia’s Valued Trust(559) 437-2960www.cvtrust.orgPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Insurance ServicesAmerican Fidelity Assurance Co.(866) 523-1857www.afgroup.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

ASCIP(562) 403-4640www.ascip.orgPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Horace Mann Companies(800) 999-1030www.horacemann.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Keenan & Associates(310) 212-0363www.keenan.comPlease see their ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Schools Excess Liability Fund (SELF)(916) 321-5300www.selfjpa.orgPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Self Insured Schools of CA (SISC)(800) 972-1727www.sisc.kern.orgPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Investment BankingDe La Rosa Co.(415) 217-3389www.ejdelarosa.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Law FirmAtkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo(562) 653-3428www.aalrr.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Dannis Wolver and Kelly(562) 366-8500www.dwkesq.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz AFC(619) 232-3122www.stutzartiano.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Network Solutions & Servers & PC SolutionsSehi Computer Products, Inc.(800) 346-6315www.sehi.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Professional ConsultingVanir CM(916) 575-8888www.vanir.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Fall 2012 | 53

advertiserindex

sudoku from page 47

2 8 94 7 13 5 67 9 45 6 31 2 88 1 29 4 76 3 5

1 5 46 2 38 9 72 1 87 4 93 6 54 7 65 3 19 8 2 1 7 4

6 8 23 9 59 4 72 1 85 6 34 2 18 5 97 3 6

AD INDEX

American Fidelity Assurance Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

American Technologies, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

ASCIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo . . . . . . . . . 16

Bernards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

California Financial Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

California Solar Initiative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

California’s Valued Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Civic Permits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Creative Bus Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Dannis Wolver and Kelly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

De La Rosa Co.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

DecisionInsite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Eagle Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Edupoint Educational Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

GASB 45 Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Horace Mann Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Keenan & Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Mobile Modular . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Piper Jaffray & Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Public Agency Retirement Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

RBC Capital Markets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Schools Excess Liability Fund (SELF) . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

School Services of California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Security Benefit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Sehi Computer Products, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Self Insured Schools of CA (SISC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Seville Construction Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Smartetools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Stone & Youngberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz AFC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Sungard K-12 Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Tyler Technologies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

VALIC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Vanir CM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Vavrinek, Trine, Day & Co LLP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Vicenti, Lloyd & Stutzman LLP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

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Stone & Youngberg(800) 447-8663www.syllc.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

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TransportationTyler Technologies(800) 431-5776www.tylertech.comPlease see our ad on page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

54 | California School Business

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A study that examined the retirement patterns of California educators from 1995/96 to 2009/10 found that the percentage of educators over age 60 doubled, educators were more likely to retire when a school district’s local revenue decreased, and the percentage of retired educators returning to work increased.

Source: Institute of Education Services

60%

Do you have an inspirational quote or interesting statistic to share with your colleagues?

Send your favorites to kevins@casbo.org.

An analysis of Gov. Jerry Brown’s May budget revisefound that the proposed changes to education funding would lead to less funding for disadvantaged students and reduce the differences in funding gains among districts.

Source: Public Policy Institute of California

1995-96to 2009-10

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five

minutes to ruin it. If you

think about that, you’ll

do things differently.

~ Warren Buffett

Think not of yourself as the

architect of your career

but as the sculptor.

Expect to have to do a lot of

hard hammering and

chiseling and scraping

and polishing.

~ B.C. Forbes

We’re here for a reason. I believe

a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead

people through the dark.

~ Whoopi Goldberg

Asked what changes they’ve seen at their children’s and grandchildren’s schools as a result of budget cuts, 60 percent pointed to higher class sizes; large numbers also said they had been asked to purchase more school supplies on their own, and many said they’ve seen a loss of arts and after-school programs.

Source: Fiscal Survey of the States

$$$ EDUCATIONBUDGET $$$

Fall 2012 | 55

56 | California School Business

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