Golden Plains Unified School District Report

Golden Plains Unified School District Organizational and Staffing Review July 13, 2016 Joel D. Montero Chief Executive Officer Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM July 13, 2016 Martín Macías, Superintendent Golden Plains Unified School District 22000 Nevada Street San Joaquin, CA 93660 Dear Superintendent Macías: In December 2015, the Golden Plains Unified School District entered into an agreement with the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) to conduct an efficiency review of the district’s Food Service, Human Resources, Maintenance, Operations and Transportation departments that will consist of the following: 1. The objective of this portion of the study is to assess the efficiency of the Food Service Department’s procedures and practices for managing all operations. The department is responsible for establishing the framework for overall operations, allocating resources, providing functional guidance and assessing districtwide opportunities to provide improved service. The team will evaluate the current workflow and distribution of management and leadership functions in the department. This will include but not be limited to food preparation, ordering, inventory, cash and resource management, staffing, policies and procedures, federal and state compliance, menu planning, warehousing and food storage, purchasing and facilities, and provide recommendations for improved efficiency, if any. The review will determine any constraints to productive management by evaluating not only systems and structures, but employee responsibilities in relationship to the district’s goals. This component will include reviewing documentation such as board policies and administrative regulations, job descriptions, and gathering data regarding current practices and procedures. Additionally, FCMAT may interview other department or site staff to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of services delivered. 2. The objective of this portion of the study is to conduct a review of the district’s Human Resources Department and provide recommendations that will enable the department to sustain best practices in the following areas: Department staffing level and distribution of workloads, efficiency and effectiveness of customer service to school sites and other departments, hiring process, status of up-to-date job descrip- tions and personnel board policies, use of position control and employee evaluations. 3. The objective of this portion of the study is to conduct an organizational, staffing and efficiency review of the district’s maintenance, grounds and custodial operations. a. The team will review job descriptions for all department positions; evaluate capacity, scheduling, efficiency and functions; and make recommendations for staffing and operational improvements. All recommendations will include the estimated savings or costs for any proposed position reductions or additions. This component will include interviews with district and site employees regarding the level of service the department provides. b. The team will evaluate the operational workflow of each function for the Maintenance, Grounds and Custodial Department and make recommenda- tions for improved efficiency and the implementation of standard industry practices. This component will include the following: i. Evaluate the district’s comprehensive maintenance and deferred main- tenance plans to support and provide preventive maintenance for all facilities, grounds, and the district’s major facilities systems (HVAC, mechanical, plumbing, electrical and structural). ii. Review the district’s maintenance work-order system for repairs of facilities and equipment to ensure that all maintenance and repairs are completed in a timely fashion, and that work-order status reports are provided regularly. iii. Evaluate the grounds and custodial service plans for each site to ensure that the tasks and expectations for custodial and grounds employees are clearly outlined and indicate a detailed daily and periodic schedule for cleaning and simple repairs of the facilities. This will include the evaluation of the summer and non-school day programs for specialized cleaning and repairs. 4. The objective to this portion of the study is to conduct a review of regular home-to-school transportation services. The following scope of work is provided: a. Make recommendations for appropriate staffing levels and the organizational structure for the Transportation Department based on best practices for departmental operations of similar size and structure. i. Personnel summary by district position ii. Review job descriptions iii. Review customer service records or logs iv. Review support training by position b. Review the operations of transportation services, which will include the following for operations, routing, and scheduling and make recommenda- tions to improve the operational efficiency for home-to-school transporta- tion. FCMAT will review the following: i. Student demographic data ii. Average weekly ridership by site, resource and district and forecast summary iii. Routing methodologies, including the use of automated routing software iv. Number of routes including board polices regarding walking distances v. On-time performance and efficiency review vi. Vehicle maintenance and inspection reports vii. Loading and student counts viii. School bus inventory, school bus replacement schedule and equipment availability ix. Field trips x. Customer service or complaint logs During fieldwork on February 16 and 17, 2016, the FCMAT study team visited the sites, conducted interviews, and reviewed documentation. This report contains the team’s findings and recommenda- tions. We appreciate the opportunity to serve you and we extend thanks to all the staff of the Golden Plains Unified School District for their cooperation and assistance during fieldwork. Sincerely, Joel D. Montero Chief Executive Officer i TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents About FCMAT .........................................................................................iii Introduction ............................................................................................1 Executive Summary ..............................................................................3 Findings and Recommendations .....................................................7 Organizational Structure ............................................................7 Food Service ...................................................................................9 Human Resources .......................................................................23 Maintenance .................................................................................29 Custodial .......................................................................................31 Grounds .........................................................................................35 Transportation .............................................................................39 Appendices ............................................................................................51 Golden Plains Unified school district ii Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM iii ABOUT FCMAT About FCMAT FCMAT’s primary mission is to assist California’s local K-14 educational agencies to identify, prevent, and resolve financial, human resources and data management challenges. FCMAT provides fiscal and data management assistance, professional development training, product development and other related school business and data services. FCMAT’s fiscal and manage- ment assistance services are used not just to help avert fiscal crisis, but to promote sound financial practices, support the training and development of chief business officials and help to create efficient organizational operations. FCMAT’s data management services are used to help local educational agencies (LEAs) meet state reporting responsibilities, improve data quality, and inform instructional program decisions. FCMAT may be requested to provide fiscal crisis or management assistance by a school district, charter school, community college, county office of education, the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, or the Legislature. When a request or assignment is received, FCMAT assembles a study team that works closely with the LEA to define the scope of work, conduct on-site fieldwork and provide a written report with findings and recommendations to help resolve issues, overcome challenges and plan for the future. FCMAT has continued to make adjustments in the types of support provided based on the changing dynamics of K-14 LEAs and the implementation of major educational reforms. Studies by Fiscal Year 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 92/93 93/94 94/95 95/96 96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15 Golden Plains Unified school district seidutS fo rebmuN FCMAT also develops and provides numerous publications, software tools, workshops and professional development opportunities to help LEAs operate more effectively and fulfill their fiscal oversight and data management responsibilities. The California School Information Services (CSIS) division of FCMAT assists the California Department of Education with the implementation of the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) and also maintains DataGate, the FCMAT/CSIS software LEAs use for CSIS services. FCMAT was created by Assembly Bill (AB) 1200 in 1992 to assist LEAs to meet and sustain their financial obligations. AB 107 in 1997 charged FCMAT with responsibility for CSIS and its statewide data management work. AB 1115 in 1999 codified CSIS’ mission. iv ABOUT FCMAT AB 1200 is also a statewide plan for county offices of education and school districts to work together locally to improve fiscal procedures and accountability standards. AB 2756 (2004) provides specific responsibilities to FCMAT with regard to districts that have received emergency state loans. In January 2006, Senate Bill 430 (charter schools) and AB 1366 (community colleges) became law and expanded FCMAT’s services to those types of LEAs. Since 1992, FCMAT has been engaged to perform more than 1,000 reviews for LEAs, including school districts, county offices of education, charter schools and community colleges. The Kern County Superintendent of Schools is the administrative agent for FCMAT. The team is led by Joel D. Montero, Chief Executive Officer, with funding derived through appropriations in the state budget and a modest fee schedule for charges to requesting agencies. Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 1 INTRODUCTION Introduction Background Located in the western portion of Fresno County, the Golden Plains Unified School District has a governing board consisting of seven elected representatives. The district was established through unification in 1991 and includes the rural communities of Cantua, Helm, San Joaquin and Tranquility. The district serves approximately 1,778 students in four K-8 elementary schools, one comprehensive high school and a continuation high school and has experienced flat and declining enrollment over the last several years. The largest school is San Joaquin Elementary, which is located next to the district office. The other schools are between five and 15 miles away. In December 2015, the district entered into an agreement with the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) to conduct an efficiency review of the Food Service, Human Resources, Maintenance, Operations and Transportation departments. FCMAT evalu- ated the operational workflow of each function for the departments and made recommendations for improved efficiency and standard industry practices. All the recommendations include estimated savings or costs for any proposed position reductions or additions. This component also included interviews with district and school employees regarding the level of service the department provides. Study Team The study team was composed of the following members: Eric D. Smith, MPA Rita Sierra Beyers FCMAT Fiscal Intervention Specialist FCMAT Consultant Templeton, CA Chula Vista, CA Leonel Martínez Michael G. Rea* FCMAT Technical Writer Executive Director Bakersfield, CA West County Transportation Agency Santa Rosa, CA Judith E. Stephens FCMAT Consultant Nipomo, CA *As a member of this study team, this consultant was not representing his respective employer but was working solely as an independent contractor for FCMAT. Each team member reviewed the draft report to confirm its accuracy and to achieve consensus on the final recommendations. Golden Plains Unified school district 2 INTRODUCTION Study and Report Guidelines FCMAT visited the district on February 16 and 17, 2016 to conduct interviews, collect data and review documents. This report is the result of those activities and is divided into the following sections: I. Executive Summary II. Organizational Structure III. Food Service IV. Human Resources V. Maintenance VII. Grounds VII. Custodial VIII. Transportation IX. Appendices In writing its reports, FCMAT uses the Associated Press Stylebook, a comprehensive guide to usage and accepted style that emphasizes conciseness and clarity. In addition, this guide empha- sizes plain language, discourages the use of jargon and capitalizes relatively few terms. Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Executive Summary FCMAT conducted an organizational and staffing study to provide the Golden Plains Unified School District governing board and administration with an independent and external review of Food Service, Human Resources, Maintenance, Grounds and Custodial, and Transportation departments. FCMAT evaluated each department’s staffing, using basic theories of organizational structure, which include span of control, chain of command, and line and staff authority. Food Service Staffing ratios in the Food Service Department are high based on an analysis of meals per labor hour, and the percentage of revenue for labor is projected at 53%, higher than the industry standards of 40-45%. District staffing patterns are unusual for a Food Service Department, with nine of 15 site staff members working eight hours per day and the rest working between five and 5.7 hours per day. The head of the department (coordinator) is usually a management-level employee, but it is highly unusual for site supervisors to be management. Food costs as a percent of revenue are projected at 50% this year, higher than the industry standards of 40-45%, despite slightly fewer meals served last year than in comparative districts of the same size and type, and competitive food prices. The cafeteria fund has an excess of allowable cash reserves and was mandated to spend down the excess within the next four years. The district has a budget agreement with the California Department of Education (CDE) to accomplish this. As a result, the cafeteria budget is experiencing planned deficit spending in the current fiscal year. The district’s facilities are old, and the kitchens need extensive repair and remodeling. Plans are underway to use a portion of the district’s general obligation bond proceeds to upgrade food service facilities. Since the Food Service Department needs to spend down excess revenue, the department can contribute to upgrades by purchasing new equipment and other allowable repairs to kitchens. Human Resources During fieldwork, employees expressed concerns about the services provided by the Human Resources Department. Concerns focused on the accuracy of sick leave and personal leave balances; the timely notification of credential renewal; the monitoring of highly qualified teachers; the proper placement of employees on the salary schedules; and the monitoring of employee evaluations. Staff are interested in having the Human Resources Department manage employee recognition programs. Interviewees also expressed concerns about workers’ compensation claims; some stated the number of claims is too high for a district of this size. Interviewees indicated some employees have more than one claim; and claims in general are not well monitored. Other issues include: unresolved lawsuits and grievances; disciplinary issues; a lack of training for new employees and updated training as needed; and a lack of position control. Golden Plains Unified school district 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Maintenance, Grounds and Custodial The Maintenance Department has two permanent maintenance workers for five school sites and various support facilities. The department has only general maintenance workers and no trade-specific personnel. Because the district is in an area that has extreme temperatures, it should consider creating at least one heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, (HVAC) position. All electrical work is contracted. It would be more cost-effective to create the position of electrician instead of being dependent on outside electrical contractors. The Maintenance Department uses School Dude, an electronic work-order system (The Maintenance Log-In) that can be accessed by school site staff. School site staff enter work orders in the system, and the director of maintenance and operations assigns tasks to the appropriate personnel. As the work orders are completed, the maintenance staff document on paper informa- tion such as the work performed, the amount of person-hours spent on the job, and the descrip- tion and cost of materials used on each repair. The department secretary then enters the relevant information in the electronic work-order system. This duplicate recordkeeping is inefficient. The district would benefit from providing all maintenance personnel with computer access so they can enter the information and use the work-order system to automatically generate time cards and various reports. The district does not have a formal preventive maintenance plan. However, it has regularly scheduled filter changes for HVAC equipment districtwide. The district lacks a written schedule of preventive maintenance for additional items such as HVAC and refrigeration equipment, electrical panels, fire alarms, rain gutters, roofs, and exhaust fans. The director of maintenance, operations and transportation should develop this schedule and establish priorities to effectively use maintenance funding and materials. The district should develop and formally adopt cleaning standards and expectations for custodial work. The standards should include daily, weekly and monthly duties and should be developed with the participation of executive management and be approved by the school board. The standards should be developed before creating work schedules so that the schedules can include adequate time to complete the tasks required by the standards. To develop meaningful standards, planners, administrators and community members should agree on what constitutes cleanliness. New custodians are typically hired from the substitute employee pool. Because the district has no training program for substitute employees, these new custodial employees are unprepared. This type of training program will benefit the district. The director of maintenance and operations could provide this training using a curriculum that includes chemical use and mixing, required daily tasks, and expectations regarding professionalism, attendance and interactions with students and staff. Based on the custodial formula developed by the California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO), the district is adequately staffed. During fieldwork, FCMAT found that the district utilizes split positions for many functions. Groundskeepers and custodians serve as part-time bus drivers The district’s reliance on split positions has resulted in a service delivery model that is disjointed and leads to frustration among staff, who believe they have insufficient time to complete their primary tasks. The district should re-evaluate the use of split positions and discontinue creating additional positions of this type. The district is demonstrably understaffed in grounds. Most of the groundskeepers’ equipment is in good repair; however, each of the district’s riding mowers is near the end of its life cycle. The district should also determine whether it would be cost-effective to purchase a small backhoe to dig trenches. Currently, groundskeepers must Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY borrow a backhoe from the high school Agriculture Department, lease the equipment from an outside vendor, or dig trenches by hand, all of which are not an effective use of the district’s resources. The district is in the process of changing joint powers authorities (JPA) for workers’ compensa- tion and property and liability insurance. It should ensure that the JPA selected provides a risk management component, including ongoing employee safety programs. Once this has been accomplished, the district should develop a standardized training program to bring all district procedures, departments and sites into compliance with federal, state and local regulations. Transportation A significant percentage of the Transportation Department’s budget is provided by state school transportation funding, requiring comparatively little district contribution from the unrestricted general fund. Several elements that are charged to the Transportation Department budget should instead be charged to other departments. For example, parts and repairs for the district’s support vehicles are all charged to the transportation budget The district operates 10.5 bus routes (the half route is afternoon only), transporting approximately 608 students. One is a special education route serving nonsevere students. The district does not follow Administrative Regulation 3541 since most bus routes travel on private, unpaved roads. Travel on these roads is suspended when it rains. Traveling on unpaved roads causes premature bus maintenance problems and increased costs. Bus route sheets do not contain directions, requiring additional work to train a new driver. The department’s most immediate need is creating and filling the position of transportation supervisor that is also a state-certified school bus driver instructor. A mechanic position has also been open for some time. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) annually inspects buses and the terminal including maintenance records, driver records and federal drug and alcohol testing records and issues an annual report. For the four years included on the report, the district received the CHP’s highest grade, which is “satisfactory.” When FCMAT was on site, the vehicle maintenance records were not available because they were housed at one of the employee’s home. This practice is illegal. The district uses open purchase orders for parts and supplies. Department staff members indi- cated that any purchase of more than a certain amount requires prior approval. One individual indicated that a director is required to approve purchases of more than $2,000; however, another stated the limit was $200. The district appears to lack a formal, articulated limit for open purchase orders. The district does not have its own fuel tanks on site and instead utilizes a commercial card-lock facility in Tranquility a few blocks away from the bus garage. Each Transportation Department employee has a card for the site for diesel fueling. If any gasoline vehicle requires fuel, the employee must request the card and bring back the receipt. With this system, any employee with a personal diesel vehicle could fuel it at any time. The district should have better fuel security procedures. There is also no indication that anyone audits fuel invoices or compares the fuel receipts to the invoices. Golden Plains Unified school district 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 7 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE Findings and Recommendations Organizational Structure A school district’s organizational structure should establish the framework for leadership and the delegation of specific duties and responsibilities for all staff members. This structure should be managed to maximize resources and meet identified goals and should adapt as the district’s enrollment increases or declines. The district should be staffed according to generally accepted theories of organizational structure and the standards used in other school agencies of similar size and type. The most common theories of organizational structure are span of control, chain of command, and line and staff authority. Span of Control Span of control refers to the number of subordinates reporting directly to a supervisor. While there is no agreed-upon ideal number of subordinates for span of control, it is generally agreed that the span can be larger at lower levels of an organization because subordinates at the lower levels typically perform more routine duties, and therefore can be more effectively supervised, according to “Principles of School Business Management” by Craig R. Wood, David C. Thompson and Lawrence O. Picus. Chain of Command Chain of command refers to the flow of authority in an organization and is charac- terized by two significant principles. Unity of command suggests that a subordinate is only accountable to one supervisor, and the scalar principle suggests that authority and responsibility should flow in a direct vertical line from top management to the lowest level. The result is a hierarchical division of labor as described in “Principles of School Business Management.” Line and Staff Authority Line authority is the relationship between supervisors and subordinates. It refers to the direct line in the chain of command. For example, the assistant superintendent of business services has direct line authority over the director of fiscal services, and the director of fiscal services has direct line authority over the fiscal services department staff. Conversely, staff authority is advisory in nature. Staff personnel do not have the authority to make and implement decisions, but act in support roles to line personnel. The organizational structure of local educational agencies contains both line and staff authority. The purpose of any organizational structure is to help district management make key decisions to facilitate student learning while balancing financial resources. The orga- nizational design should outline the management process and its specific links to the formal system of communication, authority and responsibility needed to achieve the district’s goals and objectives. The district’s organizational structure is flat, with many direct reports to the superintendent, including mid-level management such as the director of maintenance and operations, who in most school districts would report to the chief business officer. In order for the superintendent to concentrate on his primary duties as chief executive officer and instructional leader of the Golden Plains Unified school district 8 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE district, he should have a reduced span of control, delegating business and support functions to the district’s chief business officer. This would include direct supervision of the director of maintenance and operations, food service coordinator, and other mid-level managers with general responsibility for school business operations. Similarly, the director of maintenance and operations has an unreasonable span of control, placing on one employee the responsibility for managing maintenance, grounds, custodial, facilities and transportation. At a minimum, the district should create a transportation supervisor position, as described below, so that the direc- tor’s transportation responsibilities may be delegated. Recommendations The district should: 1. Revise the reporting structure so that the director of maintenance and opera- tions reports directly to the chief business officer. 2. Create a transportation supervisor position who reports directly to the director of maintenance and operations. Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 9 FOOD SERVICE Food Service Budget A food service program should ideally be self-funded, with meal revenue funding expenses and maintaining appropriate reserves. Because of its high free and reduced-price meal eligibility; however, the program at Golden Plains Unified has supported itself and accumulated funds in excess of regulations. Cafeteria cash reserves should not be higher than three months of expenses, which is $453,771 in the current fiscal year. The district’s 2015-16 beginning fund balance was $1,513,427. As a result, the district entered into an agreement with the CDE to spend down funds according to an annual schedule over the next four years to reduce reserves to an allowable amount. The plan is to spend down reserves by $100,000 this fiscal year, $300,000 in fiscal year 2016-17 and $359,000 in fiscal year 2017-18. Therefore, the cafeteria budget will reflect deficit spending for at least the next four years. If future reserves continue to exceed the allowable amounts of the spending plan, they may need to be adjusted. The Fresno County Office of Education did not approve the district’s 2015-16 budget because of an error in the calculation of revenue from the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). The county office allowed the chief business officer to update the budget in the unaudited actuals report, which was approved by the district’s board. The budget references used for 2015-16 refer to the current working budget, which was revised at the first interim reporting period. According to the working budget as of February 17, 2016, cafeteria revenue is projected to be $1,370,500. This is a 5% increase from 2014-15 actual revenues. A comparison of meal counts from October 2014 and 2015 found that participation dropped by 6% although November and December claims showed a slight increase. Therefore, revenue could be lower than projected this year. The food and labor costs in this year’s budget are high as a percentage of revenue. The industry standards for these expenses are 40-45% each for food and labor. Current-year projections show labor at 53% of revenue and food at 50%. In 2013-14, these numbers were 42% for labor and 44% for food, which are within the norms. In 2014-15, they were both 50% of revenue. Classified staff received a 7% raise effective May 2015 and earn between $13-$15 an hour, which is a competitive wage. Site supervisors make between $31,750-$45,232 annually, which may seem low for management positions, but is competitive for site supervisors. The rising food and labor expenses are not an immediate concern when the department has excess reserves. However, when the reserves are reduced to allowable levels, the district should closely monitor these high- er-than-desirable expenses. According to unaudited actual budget reports from prior years, the district did not charge the cafeteria fund indirect costs in 2013-14. The fund was charged in 2014-15, and this is included in the working budget for the current year. However, the amounts charged in both years are less than the allowable rate based on the California statewide averages. The 2014-15 allowable rate was 5.69% and the current year is 5.11%. Because noncapital expenses were $1,347,313 in 2014-15, indirect charges should have been $76,662. This year’s noncapital expenses are projected to be $1,445,952; therefore, indirect charges should be $73,888. Instead, the charges shown on these budgets are $13,500 for 2014-15 and $37,251 in the current year. Charging the full allowable amount would help reduce the department’s excess funds and include the true cost of the food service program. Golden Plains Unified school district 10 FOOD SERVICE The California School Accounting Manual (CSAM) has a detailed explanation of how to calculate local indirect cost rates if state averages are not used. Indirect cost rates are charges for general management costs of the administrative activities necessary for the agency’s general operation such as accounting, budgeting, payroll preparation, personnel services, purchasing, and centralized data processing. The charges are applied to total expenses excluding capital outlay. Since the food service coordinator is new to the position, she has not been involved in budget development or management. She has taken some of the CDE’s child nutrition classes, but still needs more education on the budget and should be involved in the budget process in the future. Recommendations The district should: 1. Closely monitor the budget to ensure it adheres to the spending plan and adjust it as needed if excess reserves continue to accumulate. 2. Track revenue and any meal counts in light of the probability of continued decline in enrollment and meal participation. 3. Monitor food and labor expenses as a percentage of revenue and reduce these if revenue begins a significant decline. 4. Charge the full allowable amount of indirect costs to the cafeteria fund. 5. Provide the food service coordinator with budget training and ensure this position is involved in developing and managing the cafeteria budget. Staffing and Meals Per Labor Hour Because labor is generally the largest expense in a food service operation, it is important to ensure staffing ratios are appropriate. Staffing ratios should be adequate to meet program needs without being excessive, resulting in significant costs. Golden Plains Unified consists of four (K-8) elementary schools, one comprehensive high school and a small continuation high school. District enrollment is 1,778. The district participates in the National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs as well as the after-school snack program. All the schools prepare their own meals except for Tranquility Elementary School, which obtains its food from Tranquility High School, located across the street. The two campuses also share staff. District staffing patterns are unusual. In addition to the food service coordinator, who is in charge of the program, the supervisors at Tranquility High School, Cantua Elementary and San Joaquin Elementary schools are classified management. This accounts for 25% of the employees in the department. This is an expensive practice, and site supervisors do not need to be manage- ment employees in a district of this size. Most site staff work eight hours a day, which is highly unusual in a school cafeteria setting. Supervisors commonly work an eight-hour day, but most other staff usually work less than six hours and sometimes as little as three to four. The district staffing pattern is expensive in salaries and benefits and also requires scheduling lunch breaks for all, which decreases productivity. Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 11 FOOD SERVICE Meals per labor hour (MPLH) is an industry standard used to measure staff efficiency and help determine the appropriate staffing levels in a food service operation. Only labor hours for food preparation, cleanup and meal service are generally included in this calculation because it is a measure of the labor used to prepare and serve the meals at sites. Management and clerical time is not normally included. Since site supervisors and clerks contribute to production, and no clear division exists between production and clerical and management duties, all site hours are counted in the labor calculation. The only position not counted is the coordinator. An analysis of meals per labor hour was performed for district schools and is attached as Appendix A to this report. The analysis was conducted using meals served in October 2015. Because October is the cutoff for prior-year eligibility and new application processing, October generally provides an accurate snapshot of participation in the program. MPLH can be calculated in many ways, but consistency is important no matter the method. Breakfast is sometimes counted as a fraction of a meal equivalent because it is simpler to prepare and serve. District breakfasts include many ready-to-serve items, but some are also cooked. These meals were given full weight in this analysis. If the district had a la carte sales, they would be converted into meal equivalents by dividing the total dollar of the sales by an average of breakfast and lunch prices. This would be added to meal counts. However, since the district does not have these sales except a few adult meals, this was not included. The district serves meals and after-school snacks at all schools, and these were included in the meal analysis. The snacks were counted only as one-third of a meal equivalent because they consist of only two items that are prepackaged and require little labor. Meals for Del Rio Continuation High School are included in Helm Elementary’s and Tranquility Elementary is included in Tranquility High School since they share the same labor. The results indicate that district staffing ratios are too high, with individual schools ranging from 23-26 and a district average of 24 MPLH. This indicates overstaffing, which was also confirmed by site observations and the percentage of labor costs. The Tranquility High and Elementary schools combination was the lowest in productivity at 23 MPLH. San Joaquin Elementary was the next lowest at 24. Site observations during fieldwork indicate that these sites appear to have more staff than needed. The serving setups and method of counting students could be modified to streamline both sites. The district has discussed the idea of converting Tranquility Elementary School into a full cooking kitchen instead of receiving meals from Tranquility High School. Considering the proximity of the schools and the fact that their basic menus are the same, sharing labor and continuing to prepare the meals at the high school would be much more efficient. The time spent transporting and serving the food at the elementary school is only 2-3 hours for both breakfast and lunch. Staff at the school serve an average of 115 breakfasts and 234 lunches per day. Far more labor would be required for a separate cooking kitchen at the elementary school, and the food would be the same. The district should carefully consider this issue. Unless staff is transferred from the high school, and no personnel is added to either site, the proposed change would not be cost-effective, especially because of ongoing declining enrollment and decreased meal participation. Findings of low MPLH would normally result in the need to consider staffing reductions. This is not a priority at present since the district has excess reserves; however, MPLH could be an important factor if participation continues to decline. Declining participation results in less revenue, and a significant decrease could necessitate staff changes. Fewer hours and possibly fewer Golden Plains Unified school district 12 FOOD SERVICE management positions may be needed in the future. The district should continue to track MPLH so it can monitor this situation. Moreover, future vacancies in the department should be carefully evaluated to determine if they are necessary or could be modified to reduce costs. The involvement of the site supervisors in daily food production is not clearly delineated. The job descriptions do not list hands-on food production duties, only administrative and supervisory duties. Although the food service coordinator believes supervisors are extensively involved in food production, she is new to her role and has not had time to thoroughly observe the sites. Site observations during the FCMAT review indicated varying amounts of involvement from these staff members. They appear to be mostly involved in supervision and administrative duties except at Cantua Elementary. Since only two people are assigned to the site, the supervisor must participate in the hands-on food preparation duties. Site supervisors in a district this size should be involved in food production duties. Otherwise, overstaffing is likely. A district of this size would normally assign the administrative duties to a supervisory role such as the coordinator. In addition to the supervisors, two positions are called cafeteria clerk/cook’s helper, one at San Joaquin Elementary and one at Tranquility High School. The clerk duties at the high school basi- cally involve tallying daily meal counts; however, the supervisor also has a role in this task. This is a duty of the supervisor at Cantua Elementary and the cook at Helm Elementary. The clerk at San Joaquin counts meals for that site and consolidates districtwide meal counts for reimburse- ment claims, which she submits monthly to the state. These meal counts are hand-tallied at some sites and completed on spreadsheets at others. This lack of consistency and technology is ineffi- cient. With a computerized point-of-sale system, these tasks could be performed automatically, which is more efficient and accurate. However, this approach may cause students to take longer in the lunch lines because they have to enter their ID numbers. Some Provision 2 districts still prefer using a point-of-sale system though individual student information is not a requirement. Another approach would be for the department to create a standardized spreadsheet, which can be consolidated for claim forms. Another area that affects productivity and personnel management is that all staff members take extended lunch breaks. Eight-hour employees combine morning and afternoon breaks with lunch and take a one-hour break before the student lunch period. Five-hour employees combine one break with lunch for a 45-minute lunch break. All these employees take this break at the same time, which results in a one-hour time period with no production. Staff indicated they do not have time to divide breaks, but a review of schedules and observation of site production suggests this is not the case. According to food service staff, combining breaks is a longstanding practice that may have once been included in a verbal agreement with the union, but no written agreement appears to exist. The district should research this matter and work with the employee bargaining unit to implement staggered breaks to improve productivity. Increasing meal participation and therefore revenue can help compensate for overstaffing. Because the district participates in the Provision 2 option, participation is high, especially at lunch, but it could be considerably higher at breakfast. Ideas for improving this will be discussed in the meal program section of this report. Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 13 FOOD SERVICE Recommendations The district should: 1. Assign the food service coordinator or another member of her staff to regularly track meals per labor hour. 2. If revenue begins to decline significantly, review staffing and make adjustments as needed. Because meal participation may be dropping, future vacancies should be carefully evaluated to determine whether it is necessary to fill them. 3. Review overall staffing patterns in the future to determine whether some job classifications, such as supervisors, are necessary, especially if revenues and reserves are insufficient to support them. 4. Ensure the high school continues to prepare meals for Tranquility Elementary School. This practice is much more efficient and cost-effective than creating a cooking kitchen at the elementary school. However, if the district proceeds to make Tranquility Elementary a cooking kitchen, the Food Services Department should reassign staff from the high school and not replace those hours. 5. Consider purchasing a point-of-sale system to track meals instead of performing a hand tally of meal counts. Another option is to create a standardized spreadsheet that all sites use to enter data and that can then be consolidated for claims. 6. Work with the employee bargaining unit to implement staggered breaks for greater productivity. If this is agreed upon, it should be in memorial- ized in writing. 7. Clearly delineate the roles of the site supervisors with the expectation that they must participate in regular food service duties daily. Meal Program Nutritional Requirements The district participates in the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs, which are regu- lated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the California Department of Education. During federal reauthorization in 2010, regulations were updated to become the most comprehensive changes to the program in 15 years. Initial guidelines became effective in the 2012-13 school year and have continued to become stricter. Section 9(a)(4) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA) requires that school meals reflect the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans (Title 42 United States Code Section 1758(a)(4)). In addition, Section 201 of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 amended Section 4(b) of the NSLA to require the USDA to issue regulations to update the meal patterns and nutrition standards for school lunches and breakfasts based on the recommendations issued by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences (Title 42 United States Code Section 1753(b)). The following websites contain addi- tional information regarding these issues: Golden Plains Unified school district 14 FOOD SERVICE http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/NSLA.pdf http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/HealthyHungerFreeKidsActof2010.pdf. The new regulations seek to increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free and low-fat fluid milk on school menus; reduce the levels of sodium, saturated fat and trans fat in school meals; and meet the nutritional needs of school children within specified calorie requirements. The intent is to provide meals that are high in nutrients and low in calories. Districts must also offer a wider variety of vegetables, including specified weekly amounts of vegetable subgroups. These subgroups include dark green, red/orange, starchy, and legumes. While this is nutritionally sound, it has complicated menu planning and to some extent, student acceptance. A full cup of fruit must be offered at breakfast for all grade levels. Half a cup of fruit and three-fourths of a cup of vegetables must be offered to K-8 students at lunch, and one cup of both fruit and vegetables must be offered during that meal for high-school students. Students must take at least half a cup of fruit or vegetable with both breakfast and lunch regardless of whether they want it. Districts have experienced an increase in waste because of this requirement. Offer versus serve is a meal planning option that allows students to decline some of the food offered in a reimbursable meal. The goal is to reduce food waste (and extra expense) and permit students to choose foods. At least five items must be offered at lunch and four at breakfast, but students are required to take only three items at each meal. One item is required to be a fruit or vegetable, but aside from that, students may choose whatever they want. Offer versus serve is required by regulations at the high school level and highly encouraged at other grade levels. Golden Plains Unified has offer versus serve at all sites and seems to follow it with one exception. Site observations indicate that more staff training is needed to ensure complete meals are served. At Cantua Elementary, the staff member who checks off students at the end of the line also ensures they take all required components. However, this employee allows students to leave the required fruit serving on a “share table (located on the line),” where the item can be taken by other students. A state reviewer would disallow a meal without this serving. These tables must be located elsewhere in the cafeteria since students are required to leave the line with a complete meal. Observation and review of food production records indicated that district menus follow compo- nent requirements (for meats, grains, fruit, vegetables and milk). However, the department has not analyzed the menus to ensure that they meet nutritional requirements for calories, fat and saturated fat. The department has not had a state administrative review since the new requirements became effective, so that aspect of the menu compliance has not been verified. The department also does not have a nutritional analysis software program, and although this is not required, the food services program must be able to verify it meets all requirements. These programs are available for purchase, but take a considerable amount of time to set up. With all the recent changes experienced by the department, implementing this type of program may be impractical at present. The coordinator should work with the state nutrition consultant to obtain direction in this area. Recommendations The district should: 1. Train staff in the menu components and offer versus serve. Supervisors and the coordinator should monitor to ensure compliance. Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 15 FOOD SERVICE 2. If the share table is retained, locate it away from the serving area, and ensure all students leave the line with a complete meal. 3. Seek guidance from the state about how to proceed with nutritional analysis of menus. Purchasing a nutritional analysis program could be considered in the future. Menus The district’s daily menu selections are simple. All schools follow the same basic menu, offering cereal and one other item at breakfast with sides of fruit, juice and milk. All schools offer the same lunch entree plus two additional selections of pizza and either a chicken burger or hamburger at the high school express line. The menu specifies vegetable selections, but fruit is listed as “assorted fruits,” and the sites decide what to serve. This gives the department flexibility, but does not ensure all sites meet nutritional goals. Staff indicated that delivery problems are one reason for this practice; sites are sometimes shorted or food is not delivered in time for meal service. The coordinator should plan specific menu items. If substitutions are necessary, sites can note these on the production records, which is within regulations. The elementary schools have only one entree choice per day, which can decrease student satis- faction. The department could consider a simple second entree such as yogurt or a sandwich made of ingredients like peanut butter or cheese. Some districts offer a second hot entree such as burritos or pizza. Students are not required to take an entree they dislike, but choosing no entree at all results in a meal that is not filling or appealing. The department has enough staff to prepare more than one entree. Once the staff determines the average quantities needed, this practice should not create more waste. The high school serving area has a separate express line offering either a burger or pizza, and the other line has the same item as the elementary schools. This practice is more effective than offering only one entree choice, but observation indicated that more students chose the express line, creating an imbalance in the flow. On the day of observation, hamburgers were provided in the traditional line as well, so the menu was redundant. The express line provides burgers several times a week although these were changed to chicken burgers when the main line had beef burgers. On some days, the regular menu and express line both offer pizza although they are of a different type. Students may be more satisfied if they have the same menu on each line so they can avoid selecting a line based on the choices provided. The main entree and the express choices could remain the same but be made available on both lines. Recommendations The district should: 1. Consider adding a second daily entree choice to the elementary school menus. 2. Consider offering the same menus in both lines at the high school. 3. Assign the coordinator to specify the fruit choices on the daily menu. Any neces- sary substitutions should be noted on production records. Golden Plains Unified school district 16 FOOD SERVICE Participation Free and reduced-price meal eligibility is at 86.6%, and the district participates in a meal option called Provision 2. This allows all students to eat for free regardless of eligibility status. The district is not required to collect or process applications every year or keep records of individual students who participate in the program, but it maintains an overall total of meals served. Reimbursements are paid according to free, reduced and paid percentages in the base year. This streamlines the meal counting process and generally encourages high participation. An average of 90% of district students eat lunch every day, but breakfast participation is much lower, at 39%. This is not unusual. Students may arrive late or not be hungry before school. Since breakfast is important for health, behavior and academic performance, increasing participa- tion would be worthwhile and could result in increased revenue. All district sites serve breakfast before school. Many other districts with high eligibility serve breakfast in the classroom, which can greatly increase participation. It may be advantageous to San Joaquin to consider this option. The CDE and USDA websites have many references to breakfast in the classroom that can be helpful in explaining how the program works and justi- fying it. Some examples are as follows: http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/toolkit_tenreasons.pdf http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/sn/yr10jtltr0701.asp Menu items can be simple and either delivered to classrooms by food service or picked up by designated students on the way to class. The process does not necessarily interfere with classroom activities or instructional minutes; in fact it can be incorporated into lessons. Meal counts can be performed as part of attendance counts. Garbage can immediately be placed outside classrooms for custodians to collect. Implementing breakfast in the classroom will require the district to obtain approval from the state, but it should be able to do so relatively easily. The district can observe the process and get ideas on implementation by contacting other nearby districts that offer breakfast in the class- room. Many high schools serve breakfast at a morning nutrition break, which seems to be preferred by most high school age students. Some districts serve a breakfast before school and at nutrition break (second-chance breakfast), but students can only eat once. Since the district does not have a computerized system of tracking individual student meals, it could not prevent students from having two breakfasts. Therefore, if Tranquility High School implemented a later breakfast, it would have to eliminate the before-school service. Changing to breakfast in the classroom for elementary schools and mid-morning breakfast at the high school would probably double the breakfast participation. This would help students nutri- tionally and academically as well as generate increased revenue for the food services program. Recommendations The district should: 1. Consider providing breakfast in the classroom for elementary schools. 2. Consider switching from a before-school breakfast to a mid-morning serving time for high school students. Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 17 FOOD SERVICE Serving Lines San Joaquin Elementary serves the most students with 740 lunches per day. In the cafeteria, two lines flow into a split serving area with duplicate staff on both sides, but the facility is still crowded, and the lines last one and a half hours. Four staff members work behind the serving counters and two at the end of the line, counting students and checking trays for completeness. If more items were portioned for self-service, the lines could operate with 2-3 people behind them. If a point-of-sale computer with a double PIN pad were used for meal counts, only one person could check off trays. San Joaquin has a separate serving kitchen in a building near the main kitchen, which was a serving area and is being upgraded for a middle-school serving kitchen. The space has roll-up serving windows and a three-compartment sink and large storage area. A spacious cafeteria adjacent to the kitchen is already furnished with tables, and ovens, warming carts, refrigerators and work tables were ordered. When upgraded this space will be the kitchen and serving area for middle school students. Because of the school’s low MPLH, the district could transfer personnel from the elementary kitchen instead of adding staff. With meals served from two windows, it may be more efficient to use a point-of-sale computer instead of checklists to count students. Helm Elementary School is located eight miles from San Joaquin, and all its food except milk is delivered from there. Helm Elementary has one staff member, an eight-hour cook. The kitchen is small but adequate and efficiently set up, with a serving counter opening into the cafeteria. The food is set up for self-service by the students, and the cook oversees the process behind the line. A staff person from San Joaquin, often the food service coordinator, comes to Helm at lunch to check off students. However, with an average of 105 lunches served per day, the cook should be able to accomplish this task. Cantua Elementary School has a traditional kitchen with a serving line opening into the cafe- teria. Food is set up on the counter, with one person behind the line and one person checking off students at the end of the line. This seems to work efficiently. Tranquility High School was discussed in the menu section of this report, and it basically has a double serving line that combines into one at the end for meal counts. Two staff members work on each serving line and two check off meals at the end. A staff person also works in the kitchen. Because most items are self-serve, one person on each line would likely suffice, with back-up supplies refilled by the person in the kitchen. With a point-of-sale system that has a double PIN pad, only one person could be used to check off meals. The Tranquility High School cafeteria line is near a long counter between the kitchen and cafe- teria. One person serves food, and one checks off students, which seemed to work efficiently. Recommendations The district should: 1. Consider purchasing a point-of-sale computer system for collecting meal counts at least for the high school and the new San Joaquin middle school kitchen. This would make meal counts more accurate and require fewer staff. Only one person should be needed for meal counts at the end of the line. This would require students to enter a PIN number in the computer, but middle and high school students should be able to easily accomplish this. Golden Plains Unified school district 18 FOOD SERVICE 2. If a point-of sale-system is not considered for all sites, create a standardized spreadsheet so meal tallies can be totaled and consolidated more easily and accurately. 3. When the middle school kitchen is completed at San Joaquin, transfer staff from the main kitchen and modify serving procedures at the main kitchen; more items should be self-serve so fewer servers are needed behind the line. Purchasing The district belongs to the San Joaquin Valley Purchasing Coop for food purchases and receives competitive prices. The high percentage of food cost mentioned earlier may be the result of staff not paying close attention to inventory or not using production histories, resulting in excessive ordering or preparing. The site supervisors at all schools except Helm order directly from vendors using purchasing guides prepared by the food service coordinator, and the supervisor from San Joaquin places orders for Helm. Helm only receives milk directly from vendors, and the rest of the food is deliv- ered from San Joaquin. The food service coordinator delivers these items using a shared district van and makes extra deliveries to other sites if they are short on products. Since other depart- ments share the van, it sometimes is not available when needed by food services. The department should consider purchasing its own delivery van or small truck, and delivery should be assigned to another staff member so the coordinator can concentrate on administrative and supervisory duties. The food service coordinator orders commodities for all sites based on menus. These are delivered to San Joaquin Elementary, which stores them until they are requested by sites. The food service coordinator oversees site orders to ensure sites order the correct products from designated vendors. Recommendations The district should: 1. Continue utilizing the purchasing coop to obtain competitive pricing. 2. Assign the coordinator to delegate delivery activities to another staff person. 3. Consider purchasing a small delivery vehicle for food services. Facilities and Equipment The kitchen facilities at district sites are old and in great need of repair or remodeling. The district has ample funds to spend on facilities based on its excess cash reserves, and food service upgrades are part of the plan. All sites need upgrades and repairs, but the highest priorities are discussed below. Much of the equipment at all sites is old and in need of replacement, and the cafeteria fund can pay for a significant amount of it. The Tranquility High School kitchen appears to be in the best condition of all the schools although some areas are in need of repairs, including a section in the ceiling above the food preparation area that reportedly leaks in the rain and has crumbling plaster. Just outside the kitchen in an area with an outdoor freezer and delivery area, the pavement is cracked and uneven, making access difficult if not hazardous. This cracked, uneven surface continues to a Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 19 FOOD SERVICE nearby walkway used for transporting carts of food to the elementary school across the street. It is difficult for staff to push the carts through this spot, and it needs to be resurfaced. Tranquility Elementary School is across the street from the high school. Meals are cooked at the high school and transported ready to eat at the elementary school. The elementary kitchen is old and worn. The floor tiles are chipped and peeling, and counter tops are plastic laminate, which is prone to chipping. The walls have spots with broken plaster, and the space has a great deal of old unused equipment. An architectural plan to upgrade the site was approved, and the board has given direction to proceed with the plans. No decision has been made on whether to convert the kitchen into a cooking kitchen. If this does not occur, cooking equipment will not be necessary, only warming equipment and stainless serving counters. If the site remains a serving kitchen, it will be important to improve the pathway from the high school kitchen to the elementary school. Also needed will be improved transport carts with sturdier wheels or a long bed golf cart outfitted with insulated food containers. The kitchen at San Joaquin Elementary is old and needs to be remodeled. The walls and floors are peeling and crumbling, the equipment is aged, and the fire suppression system is outdated. Storage spaces are spread throughout many areas and are difficult to access. Plans were approved for a total upgrade, and the district plans to proceed with the project. Part of the department’s spending plan includes equipment purchases to bring sites up to stan- dards. Staff mentioned that their computers and software are old and need replacing. The coordinator’s office also needs improvement. She has been placed in what appears to be a closet or small storage room near the stage in the cafeteria at San Joaquin. The room is small and cramped, making it difficult to complete her administrative duties. If the coordinator stays at San Joaquin, her office could be added to the new kitchen plans or in another place on campus or in the district office. The office should allow for some privacy for discussions with employees. Recommendations The district should: 1. Continue with upgrade plans for the sites identified as priorities. 2. Perform site inspections at all sites to identify other necessary facility repairs and upgrades and equipment needs. 3. Upgrade the high school pavement and pathway outside the kitchen as a priority to eliminate the hazard. The broken ceiling in the high school kitchen should also immediately be repaired because it is a hazard and food safety concern. 4. If Tranquility remains a serving kitchen, purchase better transport carts with sturdy wheels or consider buying an extended bed golf cart. 5. Locate a more appropriately sized space for the coordinator’s office Staff Training All site leaders (supervisors) and the coordinator are new to their positions this year. The new coordinator indicated her position has been vacant since the previous person left three years ago, and previous administrators deemed the position unnecessary. As a result, the program has had little oversight. The coordinator has spent much of her time this year in hands-on food produc- Golden Plains Unified school district 20 FOOD SERVICE tion and food deliveries to give new site supervisors time to learn their jobs. Site observations and training have not been priorities. The district should implement training focused on program requirements, food safety, purchasing, inventory and supervision. Many staff members indicated they could benefit from more training in computer technology and the use of programs such as Excel. Site staff should also receive ongoing training especially in program requirements and food safety. The coordinator stated she expects a state administrative review next year. To prepare, she should attend a state training specifically focused on the administrative review. Since this will be her first state review as coordinator, she needs a significant amount of training and preparation. Training is essential in any job, but it is also required by new regulations included in the Child Nutrition Act. This requirement became effective on July 1, 2015. The act mandates professional standards and annual training for child nutrition directors, managers and staff. The annual training hours required vary with the position. Trainings should be documented and will be evaluated during administrative reviews. Information about this mandate and training resources are available at the following website: http://professionalstandards.nal.usda.gov/ Recommendations The district should: 1. Plan and implement trainings for all levels of food service staff. 2. Ensure all staff receive the required number of hours for their positions and trainings are documented. HACCP Food Safety Proper food handling is essential for any food service operation to maintain fresh foods and avoid food-borne illness. The food service operation must follow all local and state health regulations, and school districts participating in the federal meal program must follow a specific format in their food safety plan, the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP). All food safety policies and procedures must be outlined in HACCP-based standard operating procedures. The HACCP has been required since 2005 and is a comprehensive food safety plan that includes a detailed and specific format and complex methods. The department has a HACCP plan that appears to have been customized for the district. However, staff was unsure what HACCP was and had trouble locating the manual. The plan should be reviewed to determine if it still follows the district’s food service procedures, and a copy should be available at all sites. All staff members should be aware of the HACCP plan and the location of the manual. Temperature logs for food and equipment should be part of the plan, and the form noted in the manual should be posted in the kitchens and regularly updated. The staff appears to have food service knowledge and have completed food safety certification, but HACCP is still required. With all the changes in the department, updating the manual is not a priority, but copies of the original plan should be at all sites and staff should be able to locate them. Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 21 FOOD SERVICE Recommendations The district should: 1. Locate the HACCP manuals and ensure they are readily available at all sites. The department should update these documents when time allows. 2. Provide all staff with ongoing food safety training. Wellness Program Wellness policies and wellness committees have been required for school districts participating in the National School Lunch Program since 2006. This requirement was part of the federal Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act of 2004. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 specified new requirements for wellness policies, including the following: 1. Designate one or more school officials to ensure that the school complies with the policy. 2. Include goals for nutrition promotion. 3. Expand the committee members to include physical education teachers and school health professionals. 4. Inform and update the public about the content and implementation of the policy. Report on implementation annually at a board meeting. Information about requirements of a district wellness policy and suggestions for implementing one are available on the CDE website: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/he/wellness.asp Golden Plains Unified has a generic wellness policy, but not a wellness committee nor is the district implementing the policy or reporting on it as required. Recommendations The district should: 1. Create a wellness committee with the required participants. 2. Design a method of policy implementation, document progress and report on the committee’s activities annually at a board meeting. Golden Plains Unified school district 22 FOOD SERVICE Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 23 HUMAN RESOURCES Human Resources Staffing The Human Resources Department is staffed with a director who was hired on the first day of FCMAT’s fieldwork and was scheduled to report to work in March 2016. Of the prior two directors, one was in the position for a year, the other for a week. The department has no clerical support. During fieldwork, staff opinions were divided as to the appropriate level of staffing for the department. Some supported adding a clerical person; others did not. Two comparable districts, as determined by Ed Data, have staffed their Human Resources departments with a single person, either a director or an administrative assistant. Recommendation The district should: 1. Provide Human Resources temporary clerical support so the department may be properly organized and updated. This temporary support could be provided by realigning resources or adding temporary personnel. Salary Schedules Two salary schedules (classified and the classified management/supervisory/confidential) were provided to FCMAT. The latter schedule has ranges with fewer steps than other ranges. On the classified schedule, Range 16 has only Step 1, which is approximately 1.8 times the salary of Range 15, Step 1. Only one position is assigned to this range, which has fewer steps than other ranges. The best practice is to have schedules with salaries that are equitably distributed. This is often accomplished by having 2.5% increments between steps and ranges. Recommendation The district should: 1. Conduct a salary survey of classified, management, supervisory, and confi- dential positions. Determine the best way to organize the salary schedules to provide equity to all employees. Job Descriptions During the FCMAT fieldwork, concerns were expressed regarding employee job descriptions. These documents are outdated and difficult to find. Some employees who do not want to perform a task have reportedly indicated the duties are not in their job descriptions. Several classified job descriptions were provided to FCMAT. Some were undated and appeared to be many years old based on the typeface. One was revised in 2015. District job descriptions lack a consistent format. Most do not include working conditions, and some do not indicate the position’s required knowledge and abilities or essential functions. The best practice is to have current job descriptions that include working conditions, required knowl- Golden Plains Unified school district 24 HUMAN RESOURCES edge and abilities and the job’s essential functions. This practice supports managing programs such as workers’ compensation, return to work and a reasonable accommodation as well as holding employees accountable. Recommendations The district should: 1. Work with the applicable employee bargaining unit as necessary to update all job descriptions to include current responsibilities and those necessary to support the district’s needs. 2. Work with the applicable employee bargaining unit as necessary to stan- dardize the format of job descriptions and include working conditions and required knowledge and abilities. Board Policies Golden Plains Unified uses Gamut Online, a California School Boards Association online policy information service, as the basis for board policies and administrative regulations. Gamut Online releases policy updates five times per year. Districts typically review Gamut’s policy updates and revise them, as needed, for their particular district needs. A review of current board policies and procedures for personnel found that the last time the board adopted these policies was in January 2014. Recommendations The district should: 1. Request updated board policies and administrative regulations from Gamut. Review and update policies and regulations as needed. 2. Maintain a regular schedule of reviewing and updating board policies and administrative regulations. Hiring Process: Classified Staff During FCMAT fieldwork, several issues arose regarding the processes for hiring and recruiting classified employees. Some staff also expressed concerns about the processes for allowing staff to apply for transfer or promotional positions. The collective bargaining agreement between the district and the Classified School Employees Association (CSEA) outlines specific procedures for transferring and promoting classified staff. Some classified staff do not know how to access EdJoin (the online application system) and/or scan and complete paperwork online. While computers are available at every school site, some staff thought classified staff did not have sufficient access to computers. Staff expressed a need for substitute employees, particularly for office staff. They indicated that in small school offices, the staff consists of only the principal and a secretary. If the secretary is absent, other site classified staff are frequently reassigned to the office because it cannot be closed while school is in session. Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 25 HUMAN RESOURCES A review of the district’s EdJoin information found postings for clerical, cafeteria, and instruc- tional assistant substitutes. Recommendations The district should: 1. Ensure that contractual language on transfer and promotion is followed when positions are open. 2. Provide a computer in the district office lobby that staff may use to apply for positions. Locating the computer in the district office would also allow staff to request assistance from the director of human resources and credentials. 3. Process substitute applicants promptly and develop a robust substitute employee pool. Hiring Process: Certificated Staff The collective bargaining agreement between the Golden Plains Teachers Association and the district outlines the steps for employee transfer and posting positions; however, some staff indi- cated that the steps are not always followed. Several staff members stated the district has difficulty in recruiting teachers for several reasons, including the starting teacher salary and the district’s remote location. In May 2015, the district and association agreed to a 7% salary increase, with annual teacher stipends that range from $2,399, for those with a Bilingual, Crosscultural, Language and Academic Development (BCLAD) certificate to $1,000 for teachers with a master’s degree. Staff members said the district needs to recruit more aggressively and communicate the financial and professional advantages of joining the district. During fieldwork, staff stated one of the previous human resources directors established a clear process for screening teacher applicants and setting up interview panels. At that time, the director of human resources and credentials selected the members of the interview panels. Principals had previously selected the interview panels. Some interviewees indicated that having the director select the interview panels increased the perception that the panels were unbiased; however, those selected sometimes lacked the instructional knowledge and expertise to make the best choice. One suggestion was to allow principals to provide several names to the director of human resources and credentials, and have the director select panel members from that list. The district has a great need for substitute teachers. Applicants are available, but they have not been processed in a timely fashion. The best practice is to process applicants monthly. Recommendations The district should: 1. Develop and implement clear processes for posting positions and conducting interviews based on the collective bargaining agreement. Golden Plains Unified school district 26 HUMAN RESOURCES 2. Develop and implement a recruitment plan that is timely, targets teachers with qualifications that match district needs, and communicate the advan- tages of working for the district. 3. Develop and implement a plan to process substitute teachers monthly to ensure the substitutes available are sufficient to meet district needs. Director, Human Resources and Credentials: Job Responsibilities Employees expressed concerns about services provided by the Human Resources Department, including the accuracy of sick leave and personal leave balances; timely notification of credential renewal; monitoring of highly qualified teachers; proper placement of employees on the salary schedules; and monitoring of employee evaluations. Staff are also interested in having the depart- ment manage employee recognition programs. Interviewees indicated that the number of workers’ compensation claims is high, some employees have more than one claim and these are not well monitored. Other issues include: unresolved lawsuits and grievances; disciplinary issues; a lack of training for new employees and updated training as needed; and a lack of position control. Several interviewees stated employees have not considered the Human Resources Department a resource, and the new director needs to provide service and collaborate with other departments to ensure that issues are resolved quickly and accurately. Limited storage space has caused files to be stored in various district locations. The best practice is to store files, particularly personnel files, in a locked area to ensure security and privacy. The district has made a commitment to move towards electronic files. To make the change, files must be reviewed to determine which should be stored electronically. The job description for the director, human resources and credentials lists responsibilities that respond to all the concerns expressed during the FCMAT fieldwork with the exception of workers’ compensation. The job description includes responsibilities such as: developing training; planning and preparing for negotiations; managing personnel procedures such as employ- ment application processes, transfers, and leave entitlements; conducting investigations; and responding to and resolving difficult conflicts. Recommendations The district should: 1. Ensure that the new director reviews the job description and develops an implementation plan that addresses training; planning and preparing for negotiations; managing personnel procedures such as employment application processes, transfers, and leave entitlements; conducting investigations; and responding to and resolving difficult conflicts. 2. Provide the implementation plan to all those affected. 3. Review and update the implementation plan at least quarterly. The new director should be held accountable for the department and the implementa- tion plan. Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 27 HUMAN RESOURCES 4. Develop a department desk manual as procedures and practices are estab- lished to ensure consistency. 5. Revise the director’s job description to include workers’ compensation if the Human Resources Department is responsible for that area. 6. Develop a plan for employee outreach to ensure employees receive necessary support and guidance. 7. Ensure all personnel files are properly stored and secured. Golden Plains Unified school district 28 HUMAN RESOURCES Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 29 MAINTENANCE Maintenance Effective maintenance depends on a variety of factors, including the level of building mainte- nance the district has established as a priority. Like most maintenance and operations functions, staffing for building maintenance services tends to vary among school districts throughout the state. The most common factors considered when evaluating maintenance staffing include the following: • Square footage • Building age • Construction type • Systems (e.g. electrical and mechanical) • Condition (historical maintenance of facilities) • Alterations • Because of all these factors, it is difficult to use one formula to determine whether a district is adequately staffed. A general rule; however, is that a district should have at least one maintenance worker per school site. • The Maintenance Department has two permanent maintenance workers for five school sites and various support facilities. The department has only general maintenance workers and no trade-specific personnel. Because the district is in an area with extreme temperatures, it should consider creating at least one heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, (HVAC) position. The district contracts for all electrical work. It would be more cost-effective to create the position of electrician instead of depending on outside electrical contractors. FCMAT estimates that the total compensation cost to create and fill these two positions is $147,650. • Work-Order System • The Maintenance Department uses School Dude, an electronic work-order system that can be accessed by school site staff. School staff enter work orders in the system, and the director of maintenance and operations assigns tasks to the appropriate personnel. As the work orders are completed, the maintenance staff documents on paper information such as the work performed, the amount of person-hours spent on the job, and the description and cost of materials used on each repair. The department secretary then enters the relevant information into the electronic work-order system. This duplicate recordkeeping is inefficient. Providing maintenance personnel with computer access would allow them to enter the information and use the work-order system to automatically generate time cards and various reports. Preventive Maintenance and Replacement Plans The district does not have a formal preventive maintenance plan, but provides some preventative maintenance, such as regularly scheduled filter changes for HVAC equipment districtwide. The district lacks a formal preventive maintenance schedule for additional items such as HVAC and refrigeration equipment, electrical panels, fire alarms, rain gutters, roofs, and exhaust fans. The director of maintenance, operations and transportation should develop this schedule and estab- lish priorities to effectively use maintenance funding and materials. Golden Plains Unified school district 30 MAINTENANCE Fleet Vehicles The Maintenance Department’s trucks are older and lack utility beds. As a result, maintenance staff cannot store supplies on them, forcing maintenance staff to travel to and from local hard- ware stores to obtain supplies. This is an inefficient use of district resources. As these trucks reach their life expectancy, they should be replaced with trucks that are outfitted with utility beds so that maintenance personnel can have necessary supplies on hand to complete tasks. Purchasing The Maintenance Department regularly uses standing purchase orders with local hardware stores to purchase miscellaneous items. If the department needs to purchase an item from a vendor that does not have a standing purchase order, it usually obtains the item with a confirming purchase order. In this type of order, the item is received or the service is rendered, and a manual requisi- tion and confirming purchasing order are issued afterward. This is not a best practice because it circumvents the internal control process and makes it extremely difficult to manage the budget since funds are not encumbered prior to the expense. The best practice is to have the mainte- nance and operations department complete the requisition and submit it to the district office. Once the district office approves the requisition and a purchase order is created d a purchase order number can be issued. Once the purchase order is issued, the Maintenance Department can obtain the item, or receive the service. During fieldwork, maintenance staff indicated that as many as 60 days could elapse between the time a requisition is submitted and purchase order is created. To respond to maintenance emergencies, the Maintenance Department must be able to obtain items or have services rendered more quickly. The Business Department should review the process of purchase order creation and determine whether it can be expedited for maintenance without eroding internal controls. Recommendations The district should: 1. Create a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, (HVAC) position. 2. Create the position of electrician instead of depending on outside electrical contractors. 3. Provide maintenance personnel with computer access so they can enter infor- mation and use the work-order system to automatically generate time cards and various reports. 4. Create a formal preventive maintenance schedule for additional items such as HVAC and refrigeration equipment, electrical panels, fire alarms, rain gutters, roofs, and exhaust fans. 5. Replace its older trucks with trucks that have utility beds so that maintenance personnel can have the necessary supplies on hand to complete tasks. 6. Review the process of purchase order creation and determine whether it can be expedited for maintenance without eroding internal controls. Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 31 CUSTODIAL Custodial Custodial Standards Any discussion of custodial operations and appropriate staffing levels must first establish expected cleanliness standards. Although there are no nationwide standards of cleanliness, the U.S. Department of Education has established five levels of cleaning. These calculate how many square feet a building custodian working an eight-hour shift (with two 15-minute breaks and a 30-minute lunch break) can reasonably be expected to complete at each of the following cleaning levels: • Level 1 cleaning results in a “spotless” and germ-free facility as might normally be found in a hospital or corporate suite. At this level, a custodian with proper supplies and tools can clean approximately 10,000 to 11,000 square feet in eight hours. • Level 2 cleaning is the uppermost standard for most school cleaning and is generally reserved for restrooms, special education areas, kindergarten areas, or food service areas. This service level for classrooms includes vacuuming or mopping floors daily, and sanitizing all surfaces. A custodian can clean approximately 18,000 to 20,000 square feet in an eight-hour shift at this level. • Level 3 cleaning is the norm for most school facilities. It is acceptable to most interested parties and does not pose any health issues. Classrooms are cleaned daily, which includes dumping trash and cleaning common area surfaces such as sinks and door handles. Carpets are vacuumed and surfaces used by students are sanitized every other day. A custodian can clean approximately 28,000 to 31,000 square feet in eight hours at this level. • Level 4 cleaning is not normally acceptable in a school environment. Classrooms would be cleaned every other day, carpets would be vacuumed every third day, and dusting would occur once a month. A custodian can clean 45,000 to 50,000 square feet in eight hours at this level. • Level 5 cleaning can rapidly lead to an unhealthy situation. Trash cans might be emptied and carpets vacuumed only weekly. One custodian can clean 85,000 to 90,000 square feet in eight hours at this level. The figures above are estimates. The actual number of square feet per shift that a custodian can clean will also depend on variables such as the type of facilities, flooring, wall covers, number of windows, restroom layouts, gym and athletic facilities, and offices. The district should develop and formally adopt cleaning standards and expectations for custodial work. The standards should include daily, weekly and monthly duties and should be developed with the participation of executive management and be approved by the school board. It is best to develop these standards before creating work schedules so that the schedules can include adequate time to complete the tasks required by the standards. To develop meaningful standards, planners, administrators and community members should agree on what constitutes cleanliness. Interviews with custodial staff indicate that the district’s level of cleaning is between level 2 and 3, with areas of high concern receiving daily attention and the general classroom areas cleaned every other day. Staff expressed its desire to meet level 2 standards and could probably accomplish this at past staffing levels. However, the staff finds it difficult to meet level 2 cleaning in general classrooms at current levels. Golden Plains Unified school district 32 CUSTODIAL New custodians are typically hired from the substitute employee pool. Because the district has no training program for substitute employees, new custodial employees are unprepared. Creating a substitute employee training program would help. The director of maintenance and operations could provide training using a curriculum that includes chemical use and mixing, required daily tasks, and expectations regarding professionalism, attendance and interactions with students and staff. Recommendations The district should: 1. Develop and adopt acceptable standards and expectations of cleaning. 2. Communicate the acceptable standards and expectations to the staff. 3. Develop a training program for substitute employees. Custodial Staffing The California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO) custodial staffing formula considers the square footage of sites and the number of students, staff, classrooms, offices and general-purpose areas. The formula specifies the following staffing: • One custodian for every 13 teachers • One custodian for every 325 students • One custodian for every 13 classrooms • One custodian for every 18,000 square feet The result is divided by four to indicate the number of custodians needed to clean and maintain a building. This formula is based on industry standards and has been widely used for analyzing custodial staffing levels in schools throughout California. The CASBO recommendation for staffing is based on level 2 cleaning as identified in the U.S. Department of Education bench- marks for cleaning standards. Based on the district’s information, the charts below compare the district’s staffing to that of the CASBO standard. Depending on individual site characteristics such as underused classrooms or extra facilities located on a campus, the total square footage ratio can skew the analysis. The following chart applies the CASBO custodial staffing formula to each of the district’s school sites and compare the resulting recommended staffing data with the actual custodial time the district has assigned to that school site. Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 33 CUSTODIAL Golden Plains Unified school district DSUPG OBSAC latoT latoT latoT .tF .qS srehcaeT tnemllornE moorssalC # # # .gdlB ecnereffiD snaidotsuC ecnereffiD sloohcS snaidotsuC snaidotsuC 000,81 @ 31 @ 523 @ 31 @ srehcaeT stnedutS smooR F/S dedeeN dengissA dedeeN oiR/mleH 14.0- 95.0 14.0- 1 95.0 59.0 64.0 43.0 26.0 6 111 8 441,71 yeR leD noitaunitnoC 11.1- 98.0 11.1- 2 98.0 16.0 77.0 55.0 26.1 01 971 12 259,01 autnaC 62.2- 47.2 62.2- 5 47.2 29.2 96.2 53.2 00.3 53 567 93 225,25 niuqaoJ naS ytiliuqnarT 99.0- 10.1 99.0- 2 10.1 90.1 00.1 47.0 32.1 31 042 61 916,91 melE ytiliuqnarT 97.2- 12.2 97.2- 5 12.2 45.3 96.1 63.1 32.2 22 344 92 797,36 .S.H 65.7- 44.7 65.7- 51 44.7 11.9 26.6 3.5 96.8 68 8371 311 430,461 SLATOT 34 CUSTODIAL The district has a total staffing of 15 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions, and CASBO ratios indicate it needs only 7.44, meaning the district is overstaffed by 7.56 FTEs. While the CASBO standard assumes a level 2 cleaning, the district’s custodial schedules indicate that most areas have a frequency of cleaning that lies somewhere between level 2 and 3, with classroom trash dumped and vacuuming performed daily. In addition, interviews, site walks, and district documents indi- cate that not all sites are at full capacity. If not at full capacity, CASBO building square footage calculations can be skewed to indicate unnecessary staff. Therefore, the analysis may be subject to this skewing, and the CASBO staffing numbers may be slightly higher than necessary. Using the CASBO ratio analysis and considering the cleaning level of less than 2, FCMAT concludes that the district’s custodial staffing at school sites is more than adequate. Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 35 GROUNDS Grounds Success in grounds management largely depends on unpredictable circumstances such as weather, and the vulnerability of plants and pests. It also depends on well-trained personnel with skills in a variety of areas who can maintain educational facility grounds in a visually appealing and environmentally sensitive manner. Like other maintenance and operations functions, staffing for grounds-related services tends to vary among school districts throughout the state. The most common factors affecting staffing levels for grounds crews at individual schools include the following: • The school size in acreage • The number and types of outdoor spaces to be maintained • The type and extent of natural and hardscape features • The extent to which grounds crews perform unrelated tasks Grounds Staffing The district operates a grounds model that assigns groundskeepers to each school, but places them under the direct supervision of the director of maintenance and operations. As of February 2016, the district was staffed with 5.31 full-time equivalent groundskeepers, all assigned to specific school sites. CASBO does not have a formula for grounds maintenance staffing; however, the Florida Department of Education has performed extensive research in this area and included its findings in a document entitled “Maintenance and Operations Administrative Guidelines for School Districts and Community Colleges.” Among other things, the document establishes a formula for the staffing of school district grounds maintenance personnel; however, few California school districts meet this standard. This formula is based on two types of grounds personnel, those who perform general grounds functions such as mowing, gardening, and trimming, and those who care for athletic fields or other specialized open space areas. In many school districts, school custodians perform general grounds functions while district grounds crews maintain large open areas and athletic fields. The recommended formula for determining the number of specialized groundskeepers and athletic field groundskeepers is the total acreage of the school facility divided by 40, plus 1 FTE groundskeeper, plus 1 FTE groundskeeper per 500,000 square feet of athletic fields. FCMAT obtained measurements of the amount of grounds allocated to playfields at each school site from the district. The district estimates that it maintains 3,354,660 square feet of playfields, a figure that greatly exceeds the minimum standard of 67,600 square feet per school site as recommended by the California Department of Education (CDE) in its Guide to School Site Analysis and Development. Therefore, by applying the formula above, FCMAT calculates that the district should have 11.19 FTEs to be adequately staffed, although few California school districts meet this standard. The calculation is shown in the following table: Golden Plains Unified school district 36 GROUNDS Grounds Staffing Calculation, Florida Department of Education Formula District Totals Divisor Grounds Staffing - FTE 139.265 acres 40 3.48 3,354,660 square feet 500,000 6.71 ---- --- 1.0 Groundskeepers needed 11.19 District groundskeepers 5.31 Shortfall 5.88 Although the above referenced chart indicates that the district is understaffed, it should be noted that the Cantua elementary school site includes twenty acres (871,200 square feet) of field area that is not maintained as playfields. Therefore, if you reduce the overall square footage allocated to playfields from 3,354,660 to 2,483,460, the number of groundskeepers needed under the formula is reduced from 11.19 FTE to 9.44 FTE. Grounds Staffing Calculation, Florida Department of Education Formula District Totals Divisor Grounds Staffing - FTE 139.265 acres 40 3.48 500,000 4.96 ---- --- 1.0 Groundskeepers needed 9.44 District groundskeepers 5.31 Shortfall 4.13 FCMAT estimates the total compensation cost to add four groundskeepers is $295,300. During fieldwork, FCMAT observed that groundskeepers were not consulted when new landscaping was designed or implemented. Groundkeepers should ideally have an opportunity to review plans developed by landscape architects to ensure that what is proposed can be easily maintained and meets district standards. The director of maintenance should include groundskeepers in the review of landscape architecture plans prior to bid. The district does not standardize irrigation components such as sprinkler heads and irrigation controllers. As a result, groundskeepers must maintain several different systems depending on the school site. Standardizing these components can reduce labor and equipment costs. The grounds crew’s equipment, such as blowers, hedgers, tree trimmers and weed whips, are in good repair. However, the district’s riding mowers are nearing their age expectancy. The district should estab- lish a grounds equipment replacement schedule and budget based on the life cycle of grounds equipment, especially the large riding mowers. The district should also stagger the purchases of grounds equipment so that it can budget for equipment replacement over several years, and various pieces of grounds equipment do not reach the end of their life cycles at the same time. The district should also determine whether purchasing a small backhoe to dig trenches would be cost-effective. Currently, groundskeepers must borrow a backhoe from the high school agriculture department, lease one from an outside vendor, or dig trenches by hand, all of which are not an effective use of district resources. Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 37 GROUNDS The district utilizes split positions across many functions. Groundskeepers and custodians serve as part-time bus drivers The district’s reliance on split positions has resulted in a service delivery model that is disjointed and leads to frustration among staff, who believe they have insufficient time to complete their primary tasks. The district should re-evaluate the use of split positions and refrain from creating additional split positions in the future. Recommendations The district should: 1. Consider adopting the Florida Department of Education grounds mainte- nance staffing formula or other available examples as a general guideline for adding or reducing grounds maintenance personnel. 2. Consider hiring four groundskeepers and allocate them to school sites based on a combination of school site acreage and the amount of square footage of playfields to be maintained. 3. Consider purchasing a backhoe for the Maintenance and Operations Department. 4. Establish a grounds equipment replacement schedule and budget based on the life cycle of grounds equipment. 5. Stagger the purchases of grounds equipment so that the district can budget for equipment replacement over several years, and various pieces of grounds equipment do not reach the end of their life cycles at the same time. 6. 7. Re-evaluate the use of split positions and refrain from creating additional split positions in the future. 8. Allow groundkeepers to review landscape architecture plans prior to bid. 9. Standardize irrigation components, such as sprinklers and controllers, so that the grounds crew is not required to learn and maintain several different systems. Safety Training and Equipment There is no districtwide training program for maintenance, operations and grounds staff and therefore the district does not comply with health and safety requirements. Although custodial staff has received training on blood-borne pathogens, FCMAT found no other written policies or procedures regarding training, safety issues, or departmental protocols. Moreover, staff indicated that when training is provided, it is reactive resulting from an injury rather than preventive. Maintenance, grounds and custodial staff indicated that they were provided with personal protec- tive equipment, such as goggles and gloves; however, custodial staff indicated they would like back braces, which would presumably lower the risk of industrial injuries and decrease workers’ compensation claims. Golden Plains Unified school district 38 GROUNDS The district is in the process of changing joint powers authorities (JPA) for workers’ compensa- tion and property and liability insurance. The district should ensure the JPA it selects provides a risk-management component, including ongoing employee safety programs. Once this has been accomplished, the district should develop a standardized training program to bring all district procedures, departments and sites into compliance with federal, state and local regulations. Mandated safety training for maintenance and operations staff should be provided and documented. Training should include the areas listed in the maintenance and operations safety-training matrix attached as Appendix B to this report. Monthly safety meetings should also be held for all maintenance and operations staff to improve communication and education and resolve any outstanding safety issues. Recommendations The district should: 1. Enlist the support of the district’s workers’ compensation and property and liability insurance JPA in risk management and safety training. 2. Implement regular safety training of maintenance, operations and grounds staff using a matrix substantially similar to one attached as Appendix B to this report. 3. Hold monthly safety meetings for maintenance and operations staff. 4. Provide maintenance, grounds and operations staff with back braces when requested. Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 39 TRANSPORTATION Transportation The district is 361.8 square miles in area and operates 10.5 school bus routes. The half-route is in the afternoon only. One of the routes serves seven nonsevere special education students that attend a program in the district. Enrollment is approximately 1,778 with an average daily atten- dance (ADA) of approximately 1,692. About 608 students ride district buses to and from school. Transportation Department Funding and Finance School transportation is arguably the most poorly funded program in California’s education budget. Until 1977, school districts would report their operational costs and receive full reim- bursement in the subsequent year. However, after Proposition 13, California gradually reduced the percentage of reimbursement. In the 1982-83 school year, the state capped funding for each school district based on 80% of the reported costs at that time. Occasional cost-of-living adjust- ments (COLAs) were granted over the years, but as costs increased, the static funding covered smaller percentages of need. In the 2007-08 school year, funding covered approximately 45% of the statewide-approved costs. During the Great Recession, California reduced all categorical program funding by approximately 20%, and that cut to pupil transportation funding has never been restored. The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) was introduced in the 2013-14 school year, replacing most categorical funds; however, pupil transportation funding remained outside the formula. Funding was frozen at the 2012-13 level, and maintenance of effort (MOE) was required, meaning districts needed to spend at least as much as they received. The district receives $729,362 from the state for pupil transportation. Until recently, the California Department of Education (CDE) had collected pupil transportation data (Form TRAN) that was published annually and used to compare revenue to expenses. With the LCFF, CDE no longer collects that data. Below is a table that shows the most recent two years that data was available: TRAN Data 2010-11 2011-12 Buses 16 17 Pupils 935 935 w/IEP 7 7 Miles 164,411 164,411 Revenue $777,429.00 $725,392.00 Approved Costs $886,750.00 $1,027,153.00 District Contribution $109,321.00 $301,761.00 Cost/Mile $5.39 $6.24 Cost/Pupil $948.39 $1,098.56 The district received approximately 88% of its revenue from the state in the 2010-11 fiscal year and approximately 70% in the 2011-12 fiscal year. The total state funding in those years covered approximately 35% of expense reported statewide. The district receives a much higher percentage of revenue from the state than most school districts. This is likely because before unification, each of the original school districts received greater revenue and because of the unified district’s ability to consolidate transportation in a cooperative fashion. Golden Plains Unified school district 40 TRANSPORTATION Although the TRAN information is the only objective data available on school transportation operations, its accuracy can be questionable. District staff have indicated that bus routes have not changed much in years. The number of buses in the data should refer to the number of routes, not the number of buses owned by the district as this information seems to reflect. Further, the district does not appear to have made great efforts to collect accurate data since the number of pupil riders and miles are the same for each year. The two years are unlikely to have had identical data. The 2015-16 transportation expense budget is $1,004,333.56, and the district contribution for this year is expected to be $274,971. State funding will cover approximately 72% of the Transportation Department’s costs. The department can reduce costs in several areas; however, this should be accomplished carefully since costs that fall below state transportation funding could result in a reduction of those resources based on the state’s maintenance-of-effort requirement. All of the Transportation Department employees divide their responsibilities with other duties at the bus garage, or in the Grounds, Custodial or Maintenance departments. The appropriate percentages of salary appear to be charged to each department; however, health and welfare bene- fits are apparently all charged to the transportation budget. The maximum annual amount that the district contributes for health and welfare benefits is $14,152, which covers the full cost for some selected plans. The budgeted amount for the department is $138,689, which pays for the total amount for nearly 10 employees, essentially the entire department. The department has relatively high overtime costs. The budgeted amount is $110,000, and the amount budgeted for regular salary is $430,000 or approximately 20% of the overall salary budget for the department. Since most employees already work eight hours per day, most of the additional work or field trips place the employees into overtime. One employee covers a regular evening route, which results in that individual earning overtime every day. Although it might be difficult to attract employees to such routes, the district should work to better manage overtime. Field trip revenue appears to be abated to the transportation budget to cover those costs. The district uses open purchase orders for parts and supplies. Department staff members indi- cated that any purchase of more than a certain amount requires approval. However, one stated that limit is $2,000, and another said it was $200. The district lacks a formal, articulated limit for open purchase orders. Staff members obtain their director’s approval for the purchase. However, bus parts that are necessary to keep the vehicle on the road are time-sensitive, and purchase orders take some time to generate. As a result, the department generally purchases the items it needs and processes the purchase order later. The district should develop purchasing processes that are universally articulated and can respond to the immediate, safety sensitive needs of the Transportation Department. The district does not have its own fuel tanks on site and instead utilizes a commercial card-lock facility in Tranquility a few blocks away from the bus garage. Each Transportation Department employee has a card for the site for diesel fueling. If any gasoline vehicle requires fuel, the employee must request the card and bring back the receipt. With this system, any employee with a personal diesel vehicle could fuel it at any time. The district should have better fuel security procedures. There is also no indication that anyone audits fuel invoices or compares the fuel receipts to the invoices. A wall file in the driver’s lounge is filled with receipts for gasoline vehicles, but there is no log for drivers or staff to record gasoline or diesel purchases. Fuel should be charged to the depart- ment for which it is intended, but at Golden Plains Unified, all fuel purchases are charged to the Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 41 TRANSPORTATION transportation budget. Further, the district does not appear to receive the proper excise tax exemp- tions from the fuel suppliers. Districts should be exempt from the federal excise tax on gasoline and diesel and from the state excise tax on diesel, however, districts must still pay one cent per gallon in excise tax for diesel to the State Board of Equalization. Parts and repairs for the district’s support vehicles are also all charged to the transportation budget. Parts, fluids, labor, outside repairs and miscellaneous items (nuts, bolts, grease, etc.) should be charged to the appropriate departments. The district purchases tires from a local vendor, but these are not bought on the state cooperative purchasing program to ensure the lowest price. Tires purchased on this program are also exempt from federal excise tax, and the district does not benefit from this exemption. Recommendations The district should: 1. Charge employee health and welfare benefit costs to the appropriate depart- ment. 2. Better manage employee overtime costs. 3. Articulate and follow reasonable purchasing procedures. 4. Manage fuel use and security. Ensure the district benefits from fuel excise tax exemptions. 5. Appropriately charge departments for support vehicle fuel and maintenance. 6. Ensure the district benefits from the state tire cooperative purchasing program and federal excise tax exemption. Routing and Scheduling The district provides regular education transportation in accordance with Administrative Regulation 3541. Students are eligible for transportation if they live farther than the following distances from home to the school of residence: K-3: 1/4 mile 4-8: 1 mile 9-12: 1 mile The regulation allows bus stops to be closer if there is some safety hazard. The district follows these eligibility zones and generally does not establish bus stops closer to school than these loca- tions. The Administrative Regulation also indicates the following: Buses are not permitted to enter private property, leave paved roadways, or enter loca- tions where turning areas are inadequate. The district has historically traveled on private, unpaved roads to pick up and drop off students. These roads typically are owned and maintained by farmers, and the buses travel to their resi- dences and those of their employees. Several years ago, the district attempted to eliminate this service, but parent complaints and concerns terminated this effort, so it was never implemented. Golden Plains Unified school district 42 TRANSPORTATION The service is not provided when it rains and these roads are wet and muddy. Nearly every bus route has one or more of these roads, but the district lacks a clear and articulate way to commu- nicate weather-related cessation of service to the families and parents. When it rains, the families must bring their students to the intersection with the main paved county roadway. Rain days also affect the timing of the rest of the bus routes. Staff indicated that on several routes, eliminating this practice could save nearly an hour of route time per day. In addition, traveling on these private, unpaved roads makes the inside of the buses dusty, dirties the exterior, and contributes to higher vehicle maintenance costs for issues such as premature wearing of the suspension, chassis parts, engine filters and vehicle bodies. One of the district’s 10.5 bus routes is for special education. The routes have not changed much in years, and the district does not use a computerized routing system although one was purchased years ago and never fully implemented. A district of this size does not need a computerized routing system. The route sheets indicate the bus stop times and locations. Having complete directions for routes sheets would be ideal, but the current system has worked well for the district so far. Without complete directions on route sheets, training new drivers is more expensive and difficult because they are required to ride along with someone for several days and make their own direction notes before taking over a bus route. Because of bell-time coordination, most bus routes serve an elementary school and the high school, transporting all the students from a geographical area. Approximately 601 students are transported on nine and a half regular educa- tion bus routes, indicating an efficient loading ratio of approximately 63 students per route. All the elementary schools are K-8, but the district has discussed the possibility of creating a middle-school program and converting an elementary school to a middle school. This change may be academically desirable, but it would create logistical obstacles for the Transportation Department. The department should be involved in planning to ensure the logistics and make certain everyone is clear on the additional cost of transporting students. The district has also discussed the option of providing more of its special education transporta- tion service. Approximately 200 district students have individualized education programs (IEPs), and approximately 19 require transportation as a related service to help them access their educa- tional opportunities. Seven nonsevere students ride a district bus to a program at Tranquility, and the remaining 12 are transported on buses contracted by the Fresno County Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA). Of those, four attend programs that are further away in Fresno. It may be logistically impossible to cost-effectively transport these students. Approximately eight students attend a program in Kerman, and the SELPA charges approximately $6,000 per student for this service. Therefore, the district pays approximately $48,000 a year to transport these eight students on the Fresno County SELPA buses. The district’s current average cost per bus route is approximately $95,000, which does not include the capital cost of purchasing a new bus. Special education transportation often changes. If the program moved farther away or the number of students declined, it would be even less cost-effective. These students are more severe, require additional assistance, and some would likely require a bus aide, adding an additional cost to the program. Therefore, the district should not transport special education students who attend programs outside Golden Plains Unified. The department uses a two-way radio system to communicate with bus drivers on the road, and the director of maintenance, operations and transportation (MOT) always keeps his radio on. In addition, school secretaries also have radios and can communicate with bus drivers as needed. Although the transportation office does not have a dispatcher each time a bus is on route, this system adequately seems to ensure effective communication. Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 43 TRANSPORTATION Recommendations The district should: 1. Plan to follow its administrative regulation and cease providing transportation on unpaved roads. 2. Develop route sheets with complete directions. 3. Ensure the Transportation Department is involved in the logistical planning of the potential formation of a district middle school. 4. Retain the current practice and not transport the more severe special educa- tion students to programs outside of the district. Staffing The department has the following staffing: 1 FTE director MOT 1 FTE mechanic (not filled) 1 FTE bus driver/mechanic helper (bus) 1 FTE bus driver/mechanic (white fleet) 1 FTE bus driver (office support) 1 FTE bus driver/maintenance 4 FTE bus driver/grounds 2 FTE bus driver/custodial 1 substitute bus driver/mechanic helper (general shop support) Three other employees in the MOT department also hold school bus driver licenses and drive bus routes as substitutes when necessary. The district’s salary schedule is simple for the classified staff. All the positions noted above except for the director of MOT are paid at Group 4, which has a Step 1 salary of $16.40 per hour. Only a mechanic or a certified diesel mechanic would be paid at a higher rate. The district has no differential between a bus driver salary and the salary paid to these specific individuals when they perform their other duties. The district has a job description for a director of transportation, but that position has not been filled for many years. Based on the district’s size, a director of transportation is usually unnecessary in districts with a director of MOT; however, the department has a critical need for supervisory and instructional support and the director of MOT has a large span of responsibility. Although the Transportation Department has operated independently for many years, it could benefit from additional supervisorial support. School transportation can represent one of the greatest liabilities for a school district because of the constant risks. The department has a critical need for an individual who knows the laws and regulations governing pupil transportation and can proactively manage the risks. The department also lacks a state-certified school bus driver instructor. Without this position, the district cannot train its own drivers and must contract separately for this service. The district should create a transportation supervisor position that can supervise all department personnel and be a state-certified school bus driver instructor. This indi- vidual can ensure the department operates safely, effectively and focuses on department needs. Golden Plains Unified school district 44 TRANSPORTATION A number of job descriptions reflect the salary categories on the salary schedule. One individual is a bus driver and a maintenance worker, but the district has no dual classification of this kind, FCMAT assumes this individual is hired in both classifications. The salary is the same for a bus driver and a maintenance worker. The district should consider filling the mechanic position. The job description indicates the desirable qualification of being “certified,” but includes no further detail about the nature of this certification. California has no legal requirement for school bus mechanics to be certified. The only requirement is a federal one that a mechanic who works on air brakes must have one year of documented experience or attend a training class on air brakes. That documentation must be provided and retained. That is a broad requirement, and most heavy-duty mechanics can provide this documentation or experience. Other modes of certification could include graduation from a community college diesel technology program with an associate of arts degree, graduation from a private diesel technical institute, or certification by Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), a private organization that uses rigorous multiple choice tests. ASE has a variety of certifications in automotive, light-truck, heavy-duty truck and school bus mechanical work, with certification in every articulated area culminating in “master mechanic” status. Most school districts in California do not require certification for their mechanics; however, it would be an attractive attribute. A mechanic helper has been responsible for all school bus maintenance for approximately one and a half years. Although the person in this position has some mechanical skill and ability, he needed to outsource some repair jobs that should have been completed in-house. Because every school bus driver is a full-time employee, the Transportation Department expe- riences little turnover. Drivers perform other duties when they are not driving a bus during the school year, in the summer or whenever school is not in session. As a result, costs are higher than necessary. The district has difficulty covering its maintenance, grounds and custodial functions. Time and productivity is often lost in the transition between jobs, and whenever a bus driver is needed, the other job is sacrificed. A comparison of the employees’ daily schedules with actual bus route times found that some time is unaccounted for in almost every dual position. For example, one driver is assigned to transportation for 5.5 hours per day and grounds for 2.5 hours per day. However, the bus route, including a half-hour of checkout time (more than necessary) per day, takes only 4.25 hours per day. Drivers are responsible for fueling their bus and washing their bus, which takes some additional time weekly, but the additional daily time is not neces- sary in the amount assigned. The district should explore the need to recruit and retain drivers compared to a more cost-effective model of the separation of duties and reduction of hours to reflect the actual time worked. In addition, every split-duty position includes a long shift split. Most department employees have a three-hour lunch period because drivers work early in the morning and late in the afternoon. A long unpaid period is included to maintain eight-hour employees. The collective bargaining agreement requires anyone with a split of more than two hours to be compensated at an addi- tional 3% for all hours worked. Most department employees have a long split shift and benefit from this split shift differential pay. The collective bargaining agreement requires probationary classified employees to be evaluated twice during their probationary period. Permanent classified employees must be evaluated annu- ally. None of the department’s employees have been recently evaluated. Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 45 TRANSPORTATION One bus driver position drives a route and is also assigned Transportation Department office duties, which include booking field trips, billing field trips, covering routes in the morning for drivers who have called in sick, assigning field trips, answering the telephone and otherwise supporting the director of MOT. This individual details and waxes buses in the summer. Recommendations The district should: 1. Create and hire a transportation supervisor/state-certified school bus driver instructor position. 2. Fill the mechanic position. Determine what “certified mechanic” means to the district. 3. Consider whether the split positions enhance the district’s ability to recruit and retain drivers, or create a cost and productivity burden. 4. Conduct annual employee evaluations. Driver Training, Safety and Compliance with Laws The requirements for school bus driver training in California are contained in Education Code Section 40080-40089. School bus drivers must receive a minimum of the following training: • Twenty hours in the classroom in all units of the “Instructor’s Manual for California’s Bus Driver’s Training Course.” • Twenty hours behind the wheel from the “Instructor’s Behind-the-Wheel Guide for California’s Bus Driver’s Training Course.” • Ten hours of in-service each year to maintain special-certificate validity. Special classroom training is required in the last year of certificate validity to renew. A specialized officer at the California Highway Patrol performs all testing, and the DMV issues the license and special certificate. Teaching all the units in these manuals requires many more hours in classroom and behind-the-wheel training. Most school districts teach a minimum of 35 hours in the class- room and spend at least that many or more hours behind the wheel. All driver-training records must be kept in compliance with laws and regulations. Only a state-certified school bus driver instructor can perform driver training, and a state-certified delegated behind-the-wheel instructor can perform behind-the-wheel training. However, the latter type of instructor cannot perform classroom training or document instruction. The district’s driver training records are in order, and drivers receive the minimum required training. Golden Plains Unified contracts with a bus driver instructor from another district for most of the training at approximately $30-35 per hour for in-service training and $6,500 to train a new driver. The latter price seems expensive compared to the hourly rate. Training a new driver on average takes approximately 70 hours. The district should have its own school bus driver instructor. In addition to avoiding the addi- tional cost of an outside provider, the district could benefit from additional training to enhance safety and professional skills, ride-along evaluations and post-accident training. Golden Plains Unified school district 46 TRANSPORTATION Education Code Section 39831.3 requires school districts to adopt a transportation safety plan. The district has such a plan that meets the requirements of the code. Education Code Section 39831.5 requires that school districts perform school bus evacuation drills and provide school transportation safety information for certain students. The district complies with this code. The department also manages the requirements of the federal drug and alcohol-testing program for commercial drivers in compliance with Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This includes all school bus drivers as well as any other commercial drivers for the district. The district has hired a drug-test management company that keeps the necessary records and generates the list of drivers who must be tested on a random basis. Notifications come to the director of MOT, who ensures that the testing occurs. Each commercial driver must also be enrolled in a DMV program (DMV Pull Notice Program) that generates a copy of the driving record annually and when there is any activity such as an accident or moving violation. All drivers appear to be enrolled in the program. The director of MOT receives these notices and they are filed in the driver training file. The district owns minivans that teachers or coaches use to drive small groups of students. These individuals should receive defensive driver training and be placed on the district’s DMV Pull Notice Program. FCMAT received copies of agendas and sign-up sheets for Transportation Department safety meetings. Drivers must receive at least 10 hours of in-service training per year. Some of the topics listed in these agenda do not qualify as topics for which school bus drivers can receive in-service training hours. Administrative Regulation 3543 articulates driver procedures in limited visibility conditions (less than 200 feet of visibility) in compliance with Vehicle Code Section 34501.6. The regulation articulates a detailed process of spotters who report to the director of MOT by a certain time in the morning. It also gives drivers the responsibility to pull over and suspend transportation service if visibility is compromised. Not all drivers are aware of the contents of this administrative regulation and their responsibility when there is limited visibility. Recommendations The district should: 1. Obtain an in-house state-certified school bus driver instructor as indicated in the staff section above. 2. Ensure that teachers and coaches who drive students in minivans receive defensive-driver training and are enrolled in the district’s DMV Pull Notice Program. 3. Ensure that all in-service programs meet Education Code and California Department of Education criteria. 4. Ensure that all school bus drivers know their responsibility for driving in limited visibility conditions. Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 47 TRANSPORTATION Vehicle Maintenance and Fleet A motor carrier inspector from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) must annually inspect every school bus in California. This inspection focuses on compliance with all laws and regulations and pays particular attention to steering, brakes and suspension. The CHP also performs an inspection of the terminal every year. That includes an inspection of 20% of the buses (randomly), vehicle maintenance records, driver records and federal drug and alcohol testing records. The CHP issues a report called the “Safety Compliance Report/Terminal Record Update,” more commonly known as the terminal grade. The most recent report was dated July 28, 2015 and indicated that the district received a “satisfactory” rating, which is the highest rating given by CHP. The report includes the rating for the four previous years, which were all satisfactory in all categories. Some driver record violations were noted as well as some minor vehicle maintenance violations; however, overall the report is positive. This terminal grade is essentially the district’s safety report card and indicates a recent history of safe operation. However, staff indicated that the district had some unsatisfactory ratings before the previous mechanic’s employment, which would be reason for great concern. The district needs a skilled mechanic. The mechanic’s helper is also a school bus driver, and the department frequently relieves him of his driving duties; however, this affects vehicle main- tenance tasks. When it is not possible for them to relieve the mechanic’s helper of his driving duties, he is unable to perform vehicle maintenance. School buses in California are required to be inspected every 45 days or 3,000 miles; whichever comes first in accordance with Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations, Section 1232 (13CCR1232). FCMAT was unable to inspect the department’s school bus vehicle maintenance records on site. The mechanic’s helper reported that he kept the maintenance records at home because he has little time to update them at work. This practice is illegal since Title 13 requires maintenance records to be kept at the terminal where the vehicles are maintained. After FCMAT’s visit, the team received records for only 13 of the buses. An inspection of the records indicated that maintenance is accomplished according to the regulated intervals. Although FCMAT did not perform vehicle inspections, a brief assessment of a few buses and engine compartments indicate that they generally appear to be regularly inspected and main- tained. However, the vehicles were extremely dirty and dusty inside and out, reflecting travel on the private, unpaved roads. This does not represent the district well. It is reported that the shop is well-equipped. Tools and equipment are owned by the district. The department has necessary diagnostic equipment for electronic engines. There are few parts stocked. The shop is generally not very well organized and is quite dirty. It could benefit from general housekeeping. Although possible, it is not easy to get a bus all the way into the shop to perform long-term maintenance projects. The district has 22 school buses for its 10.5 routes. The fleet’s average age is rather high at 15.95 years. Several older buses have been out of service for years. They are still certified, which is necessary for the district to benefit from school bus grant replacement programs. The San Joaquin Air Quality Management District maintains a fund that can be used to replace school buses. Although the district has benefited from this in the past, five older buses (approximate 1990 vintage) still qualify for this program and could probably be replaced with little district contribution. Golden Plains Unified school district 48 TRANSPORTATION Two of the buses are smaller, van-type special education vehicles. One has a wheelchair lift but the district does not transport and students who use wheelchairs at present. This number and type of special education buses is adequate for the district. The California Air Resources Board has adopted truck and bus rules for diesel particulate emis- sions. The rule requires diesel-powered school buses to be replaced or retrofitted with a diesel particulate filter. The district complies with these rules. The district has approximately 20 nonbus vehicles including trucks and vans for the Maintenance and Grounds departments. The bus driver/mechanic position performs all the maintenance for these vehicles and follows manufacturer’s recommendations in doing so. A local dealership completes any maintenance he cannot perform. Every time a vehicle is serviced, a sticker is placed near the odometer indicating the mileage of the next date for service. Staff indicated these vehicles are not taken for service in a timely fashion. Of greater concern are the minivans used to transport small groups of students. One is assigned to each site over which the school has assignment responsibility while the rest are housed at the Transportation Department and can be signed out by any school. Two Chevrolet Suburbans can also be signed out. The minivans and Suburbans are serviced according to manufacturer’s recommenda- tions; however, since they transport students, they should be inspected as frequently as school buses. The support fleet vehicles are old and have a great deal of mileage. Most of the minivans are 1996 models with close to or more than 200,000 miles. Most have peeling paint and do not represent the district well. The Suburbans are newer and generally used for trips of any distance. Recommendations The district should: 1. Keep all vehicle maintenance records on site. 2. Research grant-replacement programs for older buses. 3. Maintain minivans and other vehicles that transport students to the same standards as school buses. 4. Consider replacing older minivans that transport students. 5. Clean buses regularly. During fieldwork, these vehicles were extremely dirty, reflecting travel on the private, unpaved roads 6. Ensure the shop is organized and cleaned. 7. Service maintenance and grounds vehicles in a timely manner. Technology The Transportation Department derives some benefits from technology. The department has some engine diagnostic capability to help mechanics diagnose electronic engine problems. Each bus also has a camera system designed to capture the inside activity. These cameras have report- edly helped reduce the number of student behavior problems on the buses. In addition, these systems are integrated with a global positioning system that allows them to identify the time and location of the bus when the viewed activity occurs. Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 49 TRANSPORTATION Many larger school transportation operations benefit from computerized bus routing and computerized vehicle maintenance systems, but Golden Plains Unified is too small to justify the purchase of these systems. Recommendations The district should: 1. Continue using computerized diagnostic equipment for bus maintenance. 2. Continue using bus cameras for security purposes. Golden Plains Unified school district 50 TRANSPORTATION Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 5511 APPENDDRICAEFST Appendices A. MPLH Analysis B. M&O Safety Training Matrix C. Study Agreement Golden Plains Unified school district 5522 DARPPAEFNTDICES Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 5533 APPENDDRICAEFST Appendix A: MPLH Analysis Golden Plains Unified school district TCIRTSID LOOHCS DEIFINU SNIALP NEDLOG SNOSIRAPMOC ROBAL DNA LAEM 5102 rebotcO *noitapicitraP % tcirtsiD slatoT SET/SHT SE .qnarT SH .qnarT qauJ naS atunaC SHRD/mleH SH oiR leD mleH SLOOHCS 75441 3595 1232 2363 9914 1352 4771 361 1161 htnoM/stsafkaerB %93 886 382 111 371 002 121 48 8 77 yaD/tfkB stnedutS latoT 00633 26911 8584 4017 43551 6093 8912 602 2991 htnoM/sehcnuL %09 0061 075 132 833 047 681 501 01 59 yaD/sehcnuL stnedutS latoT 8822 358 243 115 049 703 981 81 tcOyaD/slaeM latoT 0 244 641 79 94 761 08 05 05 yaD/skcanS loohcS retfA 331 8.34 92 51 05 42 51 51 **QEM loohcS RETFA 1242 798 173 625 099 133 402 81 !EULAV# stnelaviuqE laeM latoT 8.201 57.93 24 31 8 SRUOH ROBAL 42 32 42 52 62 )HLPM( robaL rep slaeM 8771 fo tnemllorne latot % - noitapicitraP * laem 33. = skcans loohcs retfA ** 5102-4102 tcO slatoT SET/SHT SE .qnarT SH .qnarT qauJ naS atunaC SHRD/mleH SH oiR leD mleH SLOOHCS 20961 0347 5352 5984 1064 9852 2822 613 6691 htnoM/stsafkaerB 37272.867 833 511 322 902 811 401 41 98 yaD/tfkB 0 54763 72331 4515 3718 36661 5604 0962 943 1432 htnoM/sehcnuL 3722.0761 377.506 432 273 757 581 221 61 601 yaD/sehcnuL 5.8342 5.349 053 495 769 203 622 03 691 yaD/slaeM latoT 0 0 46368.634 554.741 39 45 951 38 74 74 yaD/skcanS loohcS retfA 90950.131 44 82 61 84 52 41 41 QEM loohcS RETFA 0752 889 773 016 4101 723 042 03 012 stnelaviuqE laeM latoT 8.201 57.93 24 31 8 SRUOH ROBAL 52 52 42 52 03 )HLPM( robaL rep slaeM 5102 & 4102 gnirapmoC stnelaviuqE slaeM latoT %6- 1242 5102 tcO 0752 4102 tcO %3 0032 5102 voN 6222 4102 voN %2 0832 5102 ceD 2432 4102 ceD 5544 DARPPAEFNTDICES Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 5555 APPENDDRICAEFST Appendix B: M&O Safety Training Matrix Golden Plains Unified school district seeyolpmE snoitarepO dna ecnanetniaM rof xirtaM gniniarT htgneL ycneuqerF gniniarT ecnerefeR lageL )Z-A( tcejbuS )sepyT boJ( ot seilppA yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI 0471-8 eltiT ytefaS saG leuF & enelytecA strA lairtsudnI ,O&M dooF ,skrelC htlaeH ,sesruN ,snaidotsuC yranoitercsiD esU ot roirP 4915 ,3023-8 eltiT sedicitseP laiborcimitnA ecivreS sruoH 2 yllaunnA & eriH laitinI ,AREHA ,8025 ,9251-8 eltiT VI ssalC ssenerawA lareneG sotsebsA ,scinahceM ,laidotsuC ,sdnuorG ,O&M 01494 edoC .dE kroW ygolonhceT sruoH 61 yllaunnA & eriH laitinI ,AREHA ,8025 ,9251-8 eltiT kroW III ssalC sotsebsA MCAP ro MCA gnibrutsiD O&M 01494 edoC .dE yranoitercsiD tfiL ohw seeyolpmE ,secitcarP tnemeganaM ksiR gnitfiL / noitneverP yrujnI kcaB sduorG ,O&M 0115 ,3023-8 eltiT traC floG ,pohS otuA ,sdnuorG ,O&M yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI 5815-8 eltiT gnildnaH/gnigrahC yrettaB scinahceM ,srotarepO era ohw seeyolpme ro seeyolpme llA yranoitercsiD yllaunnA & eriH laitinI 3915-8 eltiT snegohtaP enrobdoolB doolb ro doolb namuh ot desopxe sdiulf gniniatnoc yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI 9025-8 eltiT detsiL sa snegonicraC sdnuorG ,O&M yranoitercsiD esU ot roirP 5534-8 eltiT tnempiuqE noitcapmoC esuoheraW ,laidotsuC ,O&M yranoitercsiD esU ot roirP 0564 & 1033-8 eltiT saG & riA desserpmoC BSA ,strA lairtsudnI ,O&M ,sknat ,stluav gniretne seeyolpme ro O&M yranoitercsiD yllaunnA / yrtnE ot roirP 9515 urht 6515-8 eltiT secapS denifnoC .cte ,selohnam ,srewes yranoitercsiD esU ot roirP 6005-8 eltiT stsioH & senarC sdnuorG ,O&M yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI ,secitcarP tnemeganaM ksiR ytefaS laidotsuC snaidotsuC 3023-8 eltiT ,srehcaeT ygolonhceT/trA lairtsudnI ,O&M yranoitercsiD omeD ot roirP 6371 ,5371 ,4371-8 eltiT noitilomeD sediA yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI 0492 ,2.0232-8 eltiT ytefaS lacirtcelE sdnuorG ,O&M na no gnikrow seeyolpme ro O&M yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI ,9023 ,0761 ,1761-8 eltiT noitcetorP llaF eht ffo ’½7 naht erom ecafrus dedraugnu 2123 ,0123 dnuorg rof yllaunnA & eriH laitinI yranoitercsiD 1516-8 eltiT srehsiugnitxE eriF sresu detangised ro seeyolpme llA sresU detangiseD yranoitercsiD 3 yrevE & esU ot roirP ,4663 ,7563 ,4663-8 eltiT stfilkroF esuoheraW ,sdnuorG ,O&M sraeY 8663 yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI ,secitcarP tnemeganaM ksiR ytefaS sdnuorG sdnuorG 3023-8 eltiT 1 3102/41/8 5566 DARPPAEFNTDICES Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM seeyolpmE snoitarepO dna ecnanetniaM rof xirtaM gniniarT htgneL ycneuqerF gniniarT ecnerefeR lageL )Z-A( tcejbuS )sepyT boJ( ot seilppA ,hceT lairtsudnI ,laidotsuC ,O&M yranoitercsiD esU ot roirP 6553 ,6243 ,0133-8 eltiT slooT dnaH ygolonhceT seeyolpme ,seeyolpme lla yllaitnetoP yranoitercsiD yllaunnA & eriH laitinI 4915-8 eltiT wonK ot thgiR /noitacinummoC drazaH eht ni slacimehc ot sesopxe ro gnisu ecalpkrow yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI -8 eltiT ,04394 edoC .dE tnemeganaM etsaW suodrazaH ,yhpargotohP ,ecneicS ,laidotsuC ,O&M 4915,4615 sesruN ,skrelC htlaeH fi yllaunnA & eriH laitinI evissecxe ot desopxe eeyolpme ro O&M yranoitercsiD 9905 ,8905 ,7905-8 eltiT noitavresnoC & noitcetorP gniraeH ecalP ni margorP AWT eht revo esion taeh ot desopxe seeyolpme ro O&M yranoitercsiD taeH ni gnikroW ot roirP 5933-8 eltiT noitneverP ssenllI taeH secruos yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI ,4633 ,2633 ,3023-8 eltiT gnipeekesuoH sdnuorG ,O&M 2555 ,1555 ,1233 margorP noitneverP ssenllI & yrujnI yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI 3023-8 eltiT )PPII( sdnuorG ,O&M noitneverP ssenllI &yrujnI ecalpkroW yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI 2415-8 eltiT ytilauQ riA roodnI sdnuorG ,O&M ,tnemngissA boJ erofeB yranoitercsiD 3023-8 eltiT )s(drazaH boJ sdnuorG ,O&M sdrazaH weN yranoitercsiD dedeeN sA / esU ot roirP 6723,5761-8 eltiT sreddaL sdnuorG ,O&M yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI 1081-8 eltiT tnempiuqE resaL ygolonhceT lairtsudnI ,O&M ruoh 2 yllaunnA 8915 ,2351-8 eltiT dradnatS daeL & daeL O&M ssenerawa ro hceT lairtsudnI ,laidotsuC ,O&M tuogaT/tuokcoL yranoitercsiD dedeeN sA / eriH laitinI 4133-8 eltiT no ecnanetniam gnimrofrep seeyolpme ygrenE suodrazaH fo lortnoC yrenihcam ro stiucric lacirtcele yranoitercsiD dedeeN sA / eriH laitinI 3023-8 eltiT gnidraugefaS enihcaM hceT lairtsudnI ,laidotsuC ,O&M yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI 1455 ,3023-8 eltiT egarotS & gnildnaH lairetaM hceT lairtsudnI ,laidotsuC ,O&M yranoitercsiD yllaunnA edoC S & H 3915-8 eltiT tnemeganaM etsaW lacideM skrelC htlaeH ,sesruN ,laidotsuC 063811–006711 yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI 3424-8 eltiT senihcaM )gnigrof( gnikroW lateM ygolonhceT lairtsudnI ,O&M lairtsudnI ,laidotsuC ,sdnuorG ,O&M yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI 7034-8 eltiT swaS retiM ygolonhceT no selcihev etarepo taht seeyolpme llA yranoitercsiD dedeeN sA sedoC elciheV snoitacinummoC eliboM ssenisub tcirtsid suB ,scinahceM ,spohS otuA ,O&M yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI 445-8 eltiT selciheV no sknaT leuF saG larutaN srevirD 2 3102/41/8 5577 APPENDDRICAEFST Golden Plains Unified school district seeyolpmE snoitarepO dna ecnanetniaM rof xirtaM gniniarT gniniarT tsaL fo etaD htgneL ycneuqerF gniniarT ecnerefeR lageL )Z-A( tcejbuS )sepyT boJ( ot seilppA yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI 3023-8 eltiT noitatneirO ytefaS eeyolpmE weN seeyolpmE llA ,hceT lairtsudnI ,laidotsuC ,sdnuorG ,O&M yranoitercsiD esU ot roirP 7833 - 0833-8 eltiT tnempiuqE evitcetorP lanosreP htlaeH ,sesruN ,ecneicS ,ygolonhceT skrelC yranoitercsiD yllaunnA .tpeD ,0622 BA ,4915-8 eltiT ytefaS edicitseP ecnanetniaM looP ,laidotsuC ,sdnuorG .gA fo yranoitercsiD esU ot roirP ,secitcarP tnemeganaM ksiR slooT citamuenP lairtsudnI ,scinahceM ,sdnuorG ,O&M 9553 ,0033 ,3023-8 eltiT hceT yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI 1243-8 eltiT slaminA lufmraH dna stnalP suonosioP sdnuorG ,O&M ,hceT lairtsudnI ,laidotsuC ,O&M yranoitercsiD esU ot roirP 6553 ,5243 ,0133-8 eltiT slooT rewoP elbatroP ygolonhceT yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI 9861 ,5861-8 eltiT slooT detautcA-redwoP ygolonhceT lairtsudnI ,O&M yranoitercsiD yllaunnA /eriH laitinI 8024 ,3024-8 eltiT sesserP rewoP ygolonhceT lairtsudnI ,O&M yrotaripser fo epyt yna fo sresu ro O&M yranoitercsiD yllaunnA / esU ot roirP 1351 ,4415-8 eltiT noitcetorP yrotaripseR sksam sksud naht rehto noitcetorp yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI 0371 ,9051-8 eltiT snoitarepO gnifooR ygolonhceT lairtsudnI ,O&M yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI 9036 ,3563-8 eltiT )SPOR htiw selcihev nI( stleB taeS ygolonhceT gA ,sdnuorG ,O&M gnimrofreP ,ygolonhceT lairtsudnI ,O&M yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI 8561 ,7361-8 eltiT sdloffacS strA yranoitercsiD dedeeN sA ,secitcarP tnemeganaM ksiR noitneverP llaF dna spirT ,spilS sdnuorG ,O&M 3023-8 eltiT yranoitercsiD dedeeN sA secruoseR retaW etatS noitneverP noitulloP retaW mrotS seitilicaF ,noitatropsnarT ,O&M draoB lortnoC yranoitercsiD eriH laitinI 6171-8 eltiT gnimarF dooW larutcurtS ygolonhceT lairtsudnI ,O&M yranoitercsiD dedeeN sA / eriH laitinI 71521 CVC ,94 eltiT RFC gnitseT gurD noitatropsnarT O&M ,noitatropsnarT yranoitercsiD dedeeN sA / eriH laitinI 8243 urht 0243-8 eltiT ecnanetniaM eerT sdnuorG sA / gniggiD ot roirP yranoitercsiD 1451 ,0451-8 eltiT gnirohS & gnihcnerT sdnuorG ,O&M dedeeN yranoitercsiD dedeeN sA / eriH laitinI 22 eltiT tnemeganaM etsaW lasrevinU O&M ,laidotsuC yranoitercsiD dedeeN sA / esU ot roirP ,secitcarP tnemeganaM ksiR straC floG & selciheV ytilitU noitartsinimdA ,laidotsuC ,sdnuorG ,O&M 3023-8 eltiT .cte ,strac ytilitu etarepo taht seeyolpme ro 3 3102/41/8 5588 DARPPAEFNTDICES Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM seeyolpmE snoitarepO dna ecnanetniaM rof xirtaM gniniarT htgneL ycneuqerF gniniarT ecnerefeR lageL )Z-A( tcejbuS )sepyT boJ( ot seilppA yranoitercsiD esU ot roirP ,7538 ,8484 ,9974-8 eltiT gnidleW hceT lairtsudnI ,O&M 3584 ,0584 yranoitercsiD esU ot roirP ,95 elcitrA-8 eltiT senihcaM gnikrowdooW hceT lairtsudnI ,O&M yranoitercsiD esU ot roirP ,6463 ,8463 ,6363- 8 eltiT laireA dna )gnitavele (smroftalP kroW laidotsuC ,sdnuorG ,O&M 4923 ,8363 seciveD ni desnecil ylreporp si deriuqer nehw ,& ;seitud dengissa lla ylefas mrofrep ot ytiliba eht detartsnomed sah noitcurtsni ro ,ecneirepxe ,gniniart fo nosaer yb dna ;reyolpme eht yb detangised nosrep a si nosrep deifilauqA .snoitaluger dna swal lacol ro ,etats ,laredef htiw ecnadrocca eht sah nosrep tnetepmoc ehT .seeyolpme ot suoregnad ro ,suodrazah ,yratinasnu era taht snoitidnoc gnikrow ro sgnidnuorrus eht ni sdrazah elbatciderp dna gnitsixe gniyfitnedi fo elbapac si ohw nosrep a si nosrep tnetepmocA .sdrazah eseht etanimile ot serusaem evitcerroc tpmorp esopmi ot ytirohtua LOOHCS ROF XIRTAM GNINIART( )S(TCUDORP TAMCF EHT NI DENIATNOC NOITAMROFNI RO SNOITATNESERPER ,ECIVDA ,SNOINIPO YNA FO YCARUCCA EHT ROF ELBISNOPSER TON SI TAMCF .TNETNOC ;YCARUCCA TAMCF tub ,stcudorP TAMCF eht etadpu ot tcele ,emit ot emit morf ,yam TAMCF )a( :taht eerga dna egdelwonkca uoY .NOEREHT ECNAILER S'YTRAP DRIHT YNA RO ,SEGNAHC RO TUPNI ATAD YNA ROF ,)SEEYOLPME TCIRTSID yna edulcni dna niatbo ot noitagilbo yna ,smialcsid ylsserpxe dna ,emussa ton seod TAMCF )b( ;emit yna ta ,uoy ot elbaliava edam eb lliw setadpu yna taht ro ,detadpu eb lliw stcudorP TAMCF yna taht eetnaraug ro tnarraw ton seod eht ni srorre rehto ro lacihpargopyt ot eud tcudorp a fo esusim rof elbisnopser TAMCF si ron ,)erehwesle ro( stcudorP TAMCF eht ni debircsed tcudorp yna fo esu eht gnitacovda ton si TAMCF )c( ;stcudorP TAMCF eht ni noitamrofni esicrexe eht rof etutitsbus a )sa desu eb ti dluohs ron( eb ot dednetni ton si tnetnoc hcus taht dna ,dia ecnerefer a sa ylno stcudorP TAMCF eht ni dedulcni tnetnoc eht esu lliw uoy )d( ;esiwrehto ro ecnegilgen ruoy ,stcudorP TAMCF .secruos tnednepedni nwo ruoy hguorht stcudorP TAMCF eht ni tnetnoc eht mrifnoc dluohs uoy ,segnahc ro rorre namuh fo ytilibissop eht fo weiv nI .tnemgduj lanoisseforp fo 4 3102/41/8 5599 APPENDDRICAEFST Appendix C: Study Agreement FISCAL CRISIS & MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE TEAM STUDY AGREEMENT December 1, 2015 The Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT), hereinafter referred to as the team, and the Golden Plains Unified School District, hereinafter referred to as the district, mutually agree as follows: 1. BASIS OF AGREEMENT The team provides a variety of services to school districts and county offices of education upon request. The district has requested that the team assign professionals to study specific aspects of the district’s operations. These professionals may include staff of the team, county offices of education, the California State Department of Education, school districts, or private contractors. All work shall be performed in accordance with the terms and conditions of this agreement. In keeping with the provisions of Assembly Bill 1200, the county superintendent will be notified of this agreement between the district and FCMAT and will receive a copy of the final report. The final report will also be published on the FCMAT website. 2. SCOPE OF THE WORK A. Scope and Objectives of the Study Golden Plains Unified School District is requesting FCMAT to conduct an efficiency review of the district's Food Service, Human Resources, Maintenance, Operations and Transportation departments that will consist of the following: 1. The objective of this portion of the study is to assess the efficiency of the Food Service Department's procedures and practices for managing all operations. The department is responsible for establishing the framework for overall operations, allocating resources, providing functional guidance and assessing districtwide opportunities to provide improved service. The team will evaluate the current workflow and distribution of management and leadership functions in the department. This will include but not be limited to food preparation, ordering, inventory, cash and resource management, staffing, policies and procedures, federal and state 1 Golden Plains Unified school district 6600 DARPPAEFNTDICES compliance, menu planning, warehousing and food storage, purchasing and facilities, and provide recommendations for improved efficiency, if any. The review will determine any constraints to productive management by evaluating not only systems and structures, but employee responsibilities in relationship to the district’s goals. This component will include reviewing documentation such as board policies and administrative regulations, job descriptions, and gathering data regarding current practices and procedures. Additionally, FCMAT may interview other department or site staff to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of services delivered. 2. The objective of this portion of the study is to conduct a review of the district's Human Resources Department and provide recommendations that will enable the department to sustain best practices in the following areas: Department staffing level and distribution of workloads, efficiency and effectiveness of customer service to school sites and other departments, hiring process, status of up-to-date job descriptions and personnel board policies, use of position control and employee evaluations. 3. The objective of this portion of the study is to conduct an organizational, staffing and efficiency review of the district's maintenance, grounds and custodial operations. a. The team will review job descriptions for all department positions; evaluate capacity, scheduling, efficiency and functions; and make recommendations for staffing and operational improvements. All recommendations will include the estimated savings or costs for any proposed position reductions or additions. This component will include interviews with district and site employees regarding the level of service the department provides. b. The team will evaluate the operational workflow of each function for the Maintenance, Grounds and Custodial Department and make recommendations for improved efficiency and the implementation of standard industry practices. This component will include the following: i. Evaluate the district's comprehensive maintenance and deferred maintenance plans to support and provide preventive maintenance for all facilities, grounds, and the district's major facilities systems (HVAC, mechanical, plumbing, electrical and structural). ii. Review the district's maintenance work-order system for repairs of facilities and equipment to ensure that all maintenance and repairs are completed in a timely fashion, and that work-order status reports are provided regularly. 2 Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 6611 APPENDDRICAEFST iii. Evaluate the grounds and custodial service plans for each site to ensure that the tasks and expectations for custodial and grounds employees are clearly outlined and indicate a detailed daily and periodic schedule for cleaning and simple repairs of the facilities. This will include the evaluation of the summer and nonschool day programs for specialized cleaning and repairs. 4. The objective to this portion of the study is to conduct a review of regular home-to-school transportation services. The following scope of work is provided: a. Make recommendations for appropriate staffing levels and the organizational structure for the Transportation Department based on best practices for departmental operations of similar size and structure. i. Personnel summary by district position ii. Review job descriptions iii. Review customer service records or logs iv. Review support training by position b. Review the operations of transportation services, which will include the following for operations, routing, and scheduling and make recommendations to improve the operational efficiency for home-to-school transportation. FCMAT will review the following: i. Student demographic data ii. Average weekly ridership by site, resource & district and forecast summary iii. Routing methodologies, including the use of automated routing software iv. Number of routes including board polices regarding walking distances v. On-time performance and efficiency review vi. Vehicle maintenance and inspection reports vii. Loading and student counts viii. School bus inventory, school bus replacement Schedule and Equipment availability ix. Field trips x. Customer service or complaint logs B. Services and Products to be Provided 1. Orientation Meeting - The team will conduct an orientation session at the district to brief district management and supervisory personnel on the team’s procedures and the purpose and schedule of the study. 2. On-site Review - The team will conduct an on-site review at the district office and at school sites if necessary. 3 Golden Plains Unified school district 6622 DARPPAEFNTDICES 3. Exit Report - The team will hold an exit meeting at the conclusion of the on-site review to inform the district of significant findings and recommendations to that point. 4. Exit Letter – Approximately 10 days after the exit meeting, the team will issue an exit letter briefly summarizing significant findings and recommendations to date and memorializing the topics discussed in the exit meeting. 5. Draft Reports - Electronic copies of a preliminary draft report will be delivered to the district’s administration for review and comment. 6. Final Report - Electronic copies of the final report will be delivered to the district’s administration and to the county superintendent following completion of the review. Printed copies are available from FCMAT upon request. 7. Follow-Up Support – If requested, FCMAT will return to the district at no cost six months after completion of the study to assess the district’s progress in implementing the recommendations included in the report. Progress in implementing the recommendations will be documented to the district in a FCMAT management letter. 3. PROJECT PERSONNEL The study team will be supervised by Michael H. Fine, Chief Administrative Officer, Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office. The study team may also include: A. To be determined FCMAT Fiscal Intervention Specialist B. To be determined FCMAT Consultant C. To be determined FCMAT Consultant D. To be determined FCMAT Consultant Other equally qualified staff or consultants will be substituted in the event one of the above individuals is unable to participate in the study. 4. PROJECT COSTS The cost for studies requested pursuant to E.C. 42127.8(d)(1) shall be as follows: A. $500 per day for each staff member while on site, conducting fieldwork at other locations, preparing and presenting reports, or participating in meetings. The cost of independent FCMAT consultants will be billed at their actual daily rate. B. All out-of-pocket expenses, including travel, meals and lodging. 4 Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 6633 APPENDDRICAEFST C. The district will be invoiced at actual costs, with 50% of the estimated cost due following the completion of the on-site review and the remaining amount due upon the district’s acceptance of the final report. Based on the elements noted in section 2 A, the total estimated cost of the study will be $16,800. D. Any change to the scope will affect the estimate of total cost. Payments for FCMAT’s services are payable to Kern County Superintendent of Schools - Administrative Agent. 5. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DISTRICT A. The district will provide office and conference room space during on-site reviews. B. The district will provide the following if requested: 1. Policies, regulations and prior reports that address the study scope. 2. Current or proposed organizational charts. 3. Current and two prior years’ audit reports. 4. Any documents requested on a supplemental list. Documents requested on the supplemental list should be provided to FCMAT only in electronic format; if only hard copies are available, they should be scanned by the district and sent to FCMAT in electronic format. 5. Documents should be provided in advance of fieldwork; any delay in the receipt of the requested documents may affect the start date of the project. Upon approval of the signed study agreement, access will be provided to FCMAT’s online SharePoint document repository, where the district will upload all requested documents. C. The district’s administration will review a preliminary draft copy of the report resulting from the study. Any comments regarding the accuracy of the data presented in the report or the practicability of the recommendations will be reviewed with the team prior to completion of the final report. Pursuant to EC 45125.1(c), representatives of FCMAT will have limited contact with pupils. The district shall take appropriate steps to comply with EC 45125.1(c). 5 Golden Plains Unified school district 6644 DARPPAEFNTDICES 6. PROJECT SCHEDULE The following schedule outlines the planned completion dates for different phases of the study and will be established upon the receipt of a signed study agreement: Orientation: to be determined Staff Interviews: to be determined Exit Meeting: to be determined Preliminary Report Submitted: to be determined Final Report Submitted: to be determined Board Presentation: to be determined, if requested Follow-Up Support: if requested 7. COMMENCEMENT, TERMINATION AND COMPLETION OF WORK: FCMAT will begin work as soon as it has assembled an available and appropriate study team consisting of FCMAT staff and independent consultants, taking into consideration other jobs FCMAT has previously undertaken and assignments from the state. The team will work expeditiously to complete its work and deliver its report, subject to the cooperation of the district and any other parties from which, in the team’s judgment, it must obtain information. Once the team has completed its fieldwork, it will proceed to prepare a preliminary draft report and a final report. Prior to completion of fieldwork, the district may terminate its request for service and will be responsible for all costs incurred by FCMAT to the date of termination under Section 4 (Project Costs). If the district does not provide written notice of termination prior to completion of fieldwork, the team will complete its work and deliver its report and the district will be responsible for the full costs. The district understands and agrees that FCMAT is a state agency and all FCMAT reports are published on the FCMAT website and made available to interested parties in state government. In the absence of extraordinary circumstances, FCMAT will not withhold preparation, publication and distribution of a report once field work has been completed, and the district shall not request that it do so. 8. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR: FCMAT is an independent contractor and is not an employee or engaged in any manner with the district. The manner in which FCMAT’s services are rendered shall be within its sole control and discretion. FCMAT representatives are not authorized to speak for, represent, or obligate the district in any manner without prior express written authorization from an officer of the district. 6 Fiscal crisis & ManageMent assistance teaM 6655 APPENDDRICAEFST Golden Plains Unified school district