Briefs August/September, 2012
President’s Message In This Issue
A few thoughts from Rick Belden, CASBO’s President
President’s Message
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Unified Chart of Accts
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Red Tape Reduction
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Legislative Liaison
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Small School District
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Institute ‘13
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Try to Remember
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District Staff Changes
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Calendar
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I recently attended a charity golf tournament and one of my playing partners wanted to know if I was enjoying my summer vacation and playing a lot of golf. He was under the impression that I was off for the summer because school was not in session! I proceeded to explain to him that the summer is probably the busiest time of year for all of us in the Business Manager profession. Whether it is year end closing, preparation of the ED001report, updating bus routes, or overseeing the repairs and maintenance to our facilities, we are very busy people. I admit that the office is a bit quieter with no teachers or students in session, but there is plenty of work to do. However, I do look forward to the return of the students each year, and took the opportunity to be at each of our schools in Seymour on opening day. I wish I could bottle the energy and enthusiasm in evidence as the students got off the buses and got dropped off by their parents (especially the kindergartners). I guess it is the sense of renewal at the start of each school year that I enjoy – the sense that there is a clean slate to draw upon and the opportunity to do some new things. With this in mind, our Board of Directors has already held its first meeting and the upcoming year promises to be challenging. The web site has been updated, and I encourage you to take a look. We will be looking for a legislative liaison to assist us as we continue to work with the educational community and legislature in addressing the challenges facing public education in our communities. Our mentorship program is establishing another year of pertinent topics to assist both new and “seasoned” members, and our first professional development workshop (scheduled for September 28th at the Aqua Turf) has a number of timely topics to assist us in our professional growth. In closing, I look forward to seeing you at the professional development workshop on September 28th, hope that you have clean opinions on your audits and no exceptions on the ED001, and wish you a Happy New School Year!
A Publication of the Connecticut Association of School Business Officials
CASBO 11 High Gate Lane West Hartford, CT 06107
Unified Chart of Accounts—Coming Soon The 2012 legislative session brought many changes to education with the passage of Senate Bill #458. Of particular note to school business officials, are sections 15 & 16 – Uniform system of accounting and chart of accounts. The bill requires SDE to develop and implement a uniform system of accounting for school revenues and expenditures that includes a chart of accounts for use at the school and school district level. The chart of accounts must include (1) all amounts and sources of revenue that a board of education, regional education service center (RESC), charter school, or charter management organization receives and (2) cash or real property donations to a school district or school totaling an aggregate of $ 500 or more. The bill also requires SDE to impose “select measures,” which the bill allows SDE to define, on individual schools. Starting with FY 15, the bill requires each board of education, RESC, and state charter school to implement the system by filing annual financial reports using a chart of accounts that meets the requirements of an existing statute requiring boards of education to (1) annually submit receipts, expenditures, and statistics to the education commissioner and (2) have the information certified by an independent public accountant selected to audit municipal accounts. The existing law imposes penalties of between $ 1,000 and $ 10,000 for failing to submit the information on time (CGS § 10-227). The bill permits OPM to audit the annual financial reports for any board of education, RESC, or state charter school. The bill also requires SDE to (1) make the chart of accounts available on its website and (2) submit the chart of accounts to the Education and Appropriations committees by July 1, 2013. It also makes a conforming change by deleting an existing provision that requires the education commissioner to develop a financial information system for boards of education to provide the state with budget and year-end expenditure data (CGS § 10-222(b)).
In June, representatives from CASBO, CABE and CAPSS participated in a meeting with OPM Secretary Ben Barnes to discuss the unified chart of accounts issue. Subsequently, several meetings have been held with SDE staff (Eugene Croce is SDE project manager); along with representatives from CASBO, OPM, CABE, CAPSS, and GFOA. CASBO wishes to thank our representatives: Nancy Cole, Maureen Colman, Bob Giesen, Nancy Harris, and Jane Neel. OPM has allocated $6,000,000 for the project which includes an RFP for a vendor and the retrofitting of accounting systems. After final selection of a vendor (11/1/2012), the project will be done in the following phases: ♦ Development of a uniform chart of accounts – by 5/31/2013 ♦ Develop an Accounting Manual and Data Warehouse – by 9/1/2013 ♦ Implementation and Training – by 4/30/2014 ♦ Use of uniform chart of accounts (UCOA) – 7/1/2014 Continued on page 3
#1 Amodio #2 East River
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Red Tape Reduction Taskforce Governor Dannel P. Malloy appointed the Red Tape Review and Removal Task Force in June 2012 to study ways that the State of Connecticut can remove bureaucratic barriers to academic excellence. The Governor first announced the creation of the Task Force in January 2012 as part of his overall plan to reform education statewide. The Task Force will work with the administration to find concrete ways to unleash educational innovation and support the state's educators by reducing unnecessarily burdensome regulations and mandates. By partnering the SDE and key stakeholder to identify problems and potential solutions, they plan to: •”Examine key areas of regulated activity •Determine specific areas for comprehensive or surgical improvements •Report to the Governor and Commissioner of Education with initial recommendations by December 15, 2012 – with additional recommendations to follow in the subsequent year” Chuck Zettergren, Rocky Hill Public Schools, has agreed to serve as CASBO’s representative to this taskforce. He and Les Koziara, Windsor Locks Public Schools, are working to update the list of under and unfunded mandates to determine the cost to district both in money and staff time expenditures. Once finalized, this will be available on the CASBO website. As the taskforce continues to meet, we will keep you informed of their progress.
Have you checked out CASBO’s NEW website?
www.ct-asbo.org 3
UCOA The statutory deadlines that must be met are: ♦ 7/1/2013 – present uniform chart of accounts (UCOA) to the General Assembly; ♦ 7/1/2014 – implementation of UCOA SDE is partnering with OPM to develop a UCOA on the town-side with the goal to better coordinate town and board of education finances. There is an expectation of a streamlined collection of data with the probably elimination or reduction of some current required reports. The intent of the UCOA is to establish some type of state and local benchmarking to provide for comparisons of schools, district to district, and within district. We will continue to keep you apprised of the progress of this taskforce.
Legislative Liaison—Help Wanted CASBO leadership recognized the importance of monitoring, analyzing, and at time, taking a position on, pertinent legislation as it relates to education in the State. At their planning meeting in March ’12, they made a commitment to developing and engaging a legislative liaison. Funds were allocated in the 2012-13 budget and a committee was charged with the task. The committee met over the summer and develop a list of qualifications, program of work, timeline, etc. which was approved by the Board of Directors at the September 13 meeting. Below is the posting for the position: School Business Legislative Liaison Program of Work An independent contractor to monitor, report and represent on legislative and regulatory issues of interest to CASBO. Qualifications: • • • • • • •
Baccalaureate degree, Masters preferred Experience in collection, compilation and analysis of data, including numerical Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing Experience in education, school finance, school law and labor issues Knowledge of government relations and legislative process Good judgment and tact in dealing with people If representing other clients, willingness to provide the list of clients
Program of Work • Respond to information requests from members • Provide regular updates on legislative and regulatory changes/issues to the Board of Directors and membership as necessary or requested • Research, write and produce reports and position papers, as necessary or requested • Provide input on legislative language • Work with related organizations and coalitions • Assist in representing CASBO’s interests in State government • Research and maintain status of all bills affecting education during the period the legislature is in session • Provide information to the membership on legislative changes • Attend and report on meetings and hearings in the legislature and State agencies • Lobby and testify on behalf of CASBO on public education issues • Represent CASBO on State committees and related organizations having an impact on public education • If deemed appropriate, register as a lobbyist with the State Ethics Committee and file reports as necessary • Perform such other tasks as may be assigned by the Executive Committee Compensation: $12,000 – November 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013 4
Engagement Timeline: Applications/proposals Deadline10/5/12 Conduct interviews - Week of 10/22/12 Recommend candidate for BOD approval - 11/1/12 Application/Proposal Process All submissions must be made electronically to
[email protected] by October 5, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. Executive Director, Sharon Bruce, will confirm receipt of submission within 24 hours of receipt. Individuals: • Cover letter • Resume; • 3 professional letters of reference Lobbying Firms: Cover letter Complete client list 3 professional letters of reference
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Small School Dist ict St dy
ASBO Annual Meeting &
The State Department of Education asked CASBO for 2 representatives to the Small School District Study Work Group. These individuals were to be from school districts with a student population of 1000 or less. Janice Thurlow from Canterbury Public Schools and Ed Drapp from Regional School District #6 agreed to serve as CASBO representatives. The group, which represents small districts along with some RESC's, CABE, CCM, COST, met with Brian Mahoney of SDE in August and then again on September 11th. The charge of the work group was discussed as it pertains to “Public Act 12116 Sec 17: (a) The Department of Education shall study issues relating to small school districts. The department shall consider (1) financial disincentives for any small district in which the per pupil cost of the prior fiscal year exceeds the state average per pupil costs of the prior fiscal year, such as a small district reduction percentage, (2) financial incentives for small district consolidation, (3) the regional bonus provisions described in section 10262f of the general statutes, (4) the effect of regional districts and cooperative arrangements, as described in section 10-158a of the general statutes, on bonus provisions as they relate to state reimbursement, and (5) the minimum budget requirement, described in subsection of section (f) of section 10-262i of the general statues, as amended by this act.” This group will continue to meet over the next few months; with their report due to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly on or before January 1, 2013.
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Exhibits October 12‐15, 2012 Phoenix, AZ www.asbointl.org
Institute ‘13
Mark Your Calendar
Plans for Institute ‘13 are coming together—May 16-17, 2013 at Ocean Edge in Brewster, Massachusetts. CASBO President-Elect, Rich Carmelich, MASBO President-Elect, Brian Allan, and Executive Directors, Sharon Bruce and John Crafton, have been meeting and conferring on the schedule, speaker offerings, and topics to ensure a successful Institute for all Connecticut and Massachusetts attendees. While MASBO will start their conference on Tuesday, May 14, we will come together for joint general sessions on Thursday and Friday mornings. We are excited to announce the general session speakers: Michael McMillan, author of Pink Bat, Turning Problems into Solutions. Mr. McMillan’s session will focus on his belief that “You can live each day in a world filled with ‘problems,’ or rise each morning and embrace a world filled with unseen solutions...Pink Bats...eager for you to find them. The decision is yours...both worlds exist. The one you choose is the one you will create.” Bob Gray, Memory Edge. Funny, unique and interactive in his entertaining keynotes and workshops, Bob reveals the untapped potential in each of us. His empowering systems and their many applications in the business world give participants immediate ‘walk away’ value – increase your recall for names by 400%, attain peak performance, and tap into your “business brain app”. See the article on the next page for a glimpse at his tips and techniques. For Thursday afternoon, there will be a selection of pertinent breakout sessions from which to choose, which will be attended by CASBO and MASBO members; including a hands-on computer lab. On Friday afternoon, the breakout sessions will be for CASBO members only as MASBO’s conference ends before lunch. The President’s Dinner will be held on Thursday evening and a fun casual event is planned for Friday evening. The room block will open for room reservations later in October. We have rooms blocked on both the “mansion” side and across the street. Shuttle busses will be running frequently so either location is desirable. Watch your email for more details.!
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Institute—May 16-17, 2013 Ocean Edge, Brewster, MA We are combining our resources with Massachusetts ASBO to provide an outstanding learning opportunity. More info to come!
Try to Remember Have you ever had a great idea strike you in the middle of the night and you tell yourself, "I must remember that in the morning" only to have it disappear once you wake up? Well the next time this happens, take something from your bedside table and place it on the floor beside your bed and associate it in a strange way with the thing you wish to remember.
CASBO Briefs is published and copyrighted by CASBO. Opinions and claims expressed within are that of those making statement and do not necessarily represent CASBO. For additional information, please contact Executive Director Sharon Bruce, to CASBO, 11 High Gate Lane, West Hartford, CT 06107-1010, phone/fax (860 5190023),
[email protected] You must remember to take a particular file to work with you. Take the glass of water from your bedside table and place it on the floor. As you do this, imagine picking up the glass and throwing the water over the file completely soaking and ruining it. When you wake in the morning, the glass on the floor will remind you of the thought. For more tips or information on enhancing your memory, visit Bob Gray’s website at www.memoryedge.com
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What’s Your Emergency Response Plan? What Do Over 500 Schools Know? Become a “Tier One Client” and Find Out! Emergencies: 877-JPMAGUIRE Office: 800-233-8220 www.jpmaguire.com
District Staff Changes The following members have recently accepted positions in districts listed or are new members to CASBO: Pat Buccitelli
Watertown Public Schools
Kristine Carling
North Haven Public Schools
Meg Devlin
Ellington Public Schools
Jerry Domanico
Stafford Public Schools
Gary Franzi
Bristol Public Schools
Chris Johnson
Hartford Public Schools
Sally Lehoux
Hampton Public School
Lynda MacPherson
Middletown Public Schools
Sean O’Keefe
Trumbull Public Schools
Anna Robbins
Canton Public Schools
Gary Wilcox
Thompson Public Schools
CASBO Calendar
Briefs
Workshops—Aqua Turf, Plantsville September 28, 2012 January 4, 2013 March 1, 2013 Board of Director —CREC November 1, 2012 February 7, 2013 May 2, 2013 (Aqua Turf) Strategic Planning Meeting March 22, 2013 Vendor Day—Aqua Turf April 25, 2013 Institute ‘13—Brewster MA May 16-17
Congratulations to Beverly Caparco, who has recently retired from Thompson Public Schools. Congratulations to all!
For more information, please go to www.ct-asbo.org
If I missed anyone, I do apologize. Please send an email to
[email protected].
CASBO 11 High Gate Lane West Hartford, CT 06107
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A Publication of the Connecticut Association of School Business Officials