Vacaville Unified School District Report

Organizational and Staffing Review May 10, 2022 Vacaville Unified School District Michael H. Fine Chief Executive Officer May 10, 2022 Jane Shamieh, Superintendent Vacaville Unified School District 401 Nut Tree Road Vacaville, CA 95687 Dear Superintendent Shamieh: In July 2021, the Vacaville Uniiied School District and the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) entered into an agreement for FCMAT to perform the following: 1. Conduct an organizational and staffing review of the Facilities. Maintenance and Operations Department (including maintenance, grounds. custodial and facilities) and make recommendations for staffing improvements or reductions, if any. 2. Evaluate the work flow and distribution of functions within the department listed above and make recommendations for improved efficiency, if any. 3. Review the operational processes and procedures for the department listed above and make recommendations for improved efficiency, if any. This report contains the study team’s findings and recommendations. This report is the result of those efforts. FCMAT appreciates the opportunity to serve the Vacaville Unified School District and extends thanks to all the staff for their assistance during fieldwork. Sincerely, Michael H. Fine Chief Executive Officer Michael H. Fine • Chief Executive Officer 1300 17th Street – City Centre, Bakersfield, CA 93301-4533 • Tel. 661-636-4611 • Fax 661-636-4647 www.fcmat.org Table of Contents Table of Contents About FCMAT ...................................................................................................II Introduction .......................................................................................................1 Background ................................................................................................................1 Study and Report Guidelines .................................................................................1 Study Team ................................................................................................................2 Executive Summary .......................................................................................3 Findings and Recommendations................................................................ 7 Organizational Structure ........................................................................................ 7 Classified Bargaining Unit .......................................................................................12 Facilities .....................................................................................................................14 Maintenance and Operations Divisiion ............................................................35 Appendices ....................................................................................................69 Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team VacavilleUnified School District I 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 management 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 ser- vices 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. Studies by Fiscal Year 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 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 15/16 16/17 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 FCMAT has continued to make adjustments in the types of support provided based on the changing dy- namics of K-14 LEAs and the implementation of major educational reforms. FCMAT also develops and provides numerous publications, software tools, workshops and professional learning 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 Edu- cation with the implementation of the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). CSIS also hosts and maintains the Ed-Data website (www.ed-data.org) and provides technical expertise to the Ed-Data partnership: the California Department of Education, EdSource and FCMAT. 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. seidutS fo rebmuN About FCMAT Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District II 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 responsibili- ties 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 ex- panded FCMAT’s services to those types of LEAs. On September 17, 2018 AB 1840 was signed into law. This legislation changed how fiscally insolvent dis- tricts are administered once an emergency appropriation has been made, shifting the former state-centric system to be more consistent with the principles of local control, and providing new responsibilities to FCMAT associated with the process. Since 1992, FCMAT has been engaged to perform more than 1,400 reviews for LEAs, including school districts, county offices of education, charter schools and community colleges. The Kern County Superin- tendent of Schools is the administrative agent for FCMAT. The team is led by Michael H. Fine, Chief Execu- tive Officer, with funding derived through appropriations in the state budget and a modest fee schedule for charges to requesting agencies. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District III Introduction Introduction Background The Vacaville Unified School District is located in Solano County between San Francisco and Sacramento and is one of two school districts serving students in the city of Vacaville. The district serves approximate- ly 12,500 students in grades K-12 at eight elementary schools, one elementary charter school, two middle schools, one K-8 school, two comprehensive high schools, one charter high school and one independent learning and alternative education charter academy. Additionally, the district offers a preschool program, an early college high school program, a Spanish immersion program, a gifted and talented education program, an advancement via individual determination program and adult education. As of the 2020-21 fiscal year (the last year data is available), 7.6% of the district’s students were English learners and 38.1% were eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Approximately four years ago, the district implemented its current organizational structure in its Facilities, Maintenance and Operations, and Transportation Department. That new structure added the position of chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer and eliminated the director of facilities position. The dis- trict now seeks a review of the Facilities and Maintenance and Operations divisions of this department to determine if further revisions to its organizational structure, workflow, distribution of functions, or its poli- cies and procedures are needed. Study and Report Guidelines In August 2021, the Vacaville Unified School District and the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) entered into an agreement for FCMAT to conduct a review of the district’s Facilities, Main- tenance and Operations Department (including maintenance, grounds, custodial, facilities and warehouse). While this department is officially entitled “Facilities, Maintenance and Operations, and Transportation Department,” FCMAT’s study agreement does not include the Transportation Division. As a result, the re- port refers to the department as the Facilities, Maintenance and Operations Department to avoid confusion about the inclusion/exclusion of transportation. The district collected and provided documents to FCMAT before FCMAT conducted interviews with district personnel. Because of COVID-19, the FCMAT study team conducted interviews by videoconference on Jan- uary 10-14, 2022 and visited school sites on January 24, 2022. Following this, FCMAT continued to review and analyze documents. This report is the result of those activities. FCMAT’s reports focus on systems and processes that may need improvement. Those that may be function- ing well are generally not commented on in FCMAT’s reports. In writing its reports, FCMAT uses the Asso- ciated Press Stylebook, a comprehensive guide to usage and accepted style that emphasizes conciseness and clarity. In addition, this guide emphasizes plain language, discourages the use of jargon and capitalizes relatively few terms. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 1 Introduction Study Team The study team was composed of the following members: Julie Auvil, CPA, CGMA, CICA Brad Pawlowski FCMAT Intervention Specialist FCMAT Consultant Leonel Martínez Jack Colvard FCMAT Technical Writer FCMAT Consultant Those members of this study team who are otherwise employed by a local educational agency (LEA) were not representing their respective employers but were working solely as independent contractors for FCMAT. Each team member reviewed the draft report to confirm accuracy and achieve consensus on the final rec- ommendations. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 2 Executive Summary Executive Summary Approximately four years ago, the district implemented its current organizational structure in its Facilities, Maintenance and Operations, and Transportation Department. That new structure added the position of chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer and eliminated the director of facilities position. The dis- trict now seeks a review of the Facilities and Maintenance and Operations divisions of this department to determine if further revisions to its organizational structure, workflow, distribution of functions, or its poli- cies and procedures are needed. FCMAT interviewed approximately 43 employees, board members, and employees from its outside vendor for its construction program and conducted eight site visits and reviewed documentation provided by the district. That process found that many employees are unfamiliar with the organizational structure and their own job description. While none of the job descriptions FCMAT reviewed for this study included information about each posi- tion’s evaluator, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) collective bargaining agreement states in Article 4.3, “[t]he immediate supervisor shall be responsible for evaluating and discussing in private the evaluation in detail with the member.” Foremen, lead custodians and head custodians were listed as su- pervisors in job descriptions. According to the SEIU contract, this would allow members to evaluate other members, creating a conflict that can become especially troublesome because the bargaining unit has the duty to represent both the evaluator and the person evaluated. The district’s practice is to have the chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer complete the evalua- tions of three people in the Facilities Division while the maintenance and operations supervisor is respon- sible for the remaining employees of the Maintenance and Operations Division, a group of approximately 90 employees. An employee-to-evaluator ration of 90-to-1 violates the span of control concept. FCMAT’s review of evaluations provided by the Human Resources Department found that multiple employees be- came permanent without an evaluation, and due to the pandemic, many had their last evaluation between 2015 and 2018. The district’s Maintenance and Operations Division has a long history of strong ties to the SEIU. Its rela- tionship with the SEIU unit was positive under the tenure of its now-retired foreman, but it became more ad- versarial under the immediate past president. The most recent collective bargaining unit election has seen a return of a more cooperative relationship; however, this change has led to two factions within the division creating unrest among the SEIU employees. Overcoming these difficulties will require efforts on the parts of both the bargaining unit and the district. The district’s Facilities Division has three employees, but relies on an outside professional consultant for the design, project management and construction management components of all its construction/mod- ernization projects. The expense for this method of service delivery is usually higher than using a district employee. Communications between district office administrators and the Facilities Division is lacking despite weekly meetings between the two. Improvements could include an agenda for each weekly meeting and imple- mentation of a project management reporting format. This document could serve as a complete source of information for each project, a reference source to keep senior administration and the governing board informed, and a means of keeping the district continually informed of projects status and issues. Although changes in its construction program vendor’s personnel have also affected the district, the firm did not consult or seek district approval beforehand. Buckingham Charter’s issues with school opening in 2021-22 may be tied to changes in construction program vendor personnel. This communication issue, Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 3 Executive Summary along with FCMAT’s concern regarding whether the district receives project construction documents, limits the district’s knowledge of project status and its ability to prevent or protect the district from claims and additional costs. FCMAT’s interviews and document review determined that, at the district’s current staffing levels in the Facilities Division, cross-training is nonexistent. This leaves the district potentially dependent on consultants to keep its facilities program in operation. FCMAT also found that the division lacks desk manuals for individual positions or a policies and procedures manual. The district’s draft Vacaville Unified School District Master Facilities Plan dated November 17, 2021 identifies approximately $597 million in future projects. The district has approximately $60 million in current funds available for projects and is considering a potential new general obligation bond to help close the fund- ing gap for future projects. Consequently, the district is considering other organizational structure options to take advantage of the time between finalizing use of Measure A funds and a new bond issue to adjust staffing in its Facilities Division. Hiring knowledgeable, experienced facilities planning staff may be a better, less-costly solution than using outside consultants. Whether the district keeps its current structure or expands its facilities planning staff, FCMAT found that it is not well served by having a chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer attempting to serve the Facilities Division and the Maintenance and Operation Division. The Facilities Division is experiencing unexpected project problems that might have been avoided if more attention were paid to the projects and their status. Maintenance and operations is essentially headed by the district’s maintenance and operations supervisor, who alone is attempting to manage approximately 90 people. Neither division is being well served. A better approach would be to replace the chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer with a director of facilities, and the facilities manager with an assistant director of facilities. The director of facilities would be assigned to oversee and manage both design planning and construction but concentrate on design planning. The assistant director job description should allow for the assistant director to be cross trained for short-term departmental management duties, as needed; however, the position’s primary duties would be to manage the responsibilities of the construction of district’s facilities program and division. In creating/ revising these positions, the district should ensure a clear delineation between the design and construc- tion aspects of facilities work and minimize confusion between the duties of the director and those of the assistant director. The job description of the administrative assistant I to the Facilities Division could also be expanded to en- sure it can meet the needs of an aggressive and demanding facilities planning program. Before the election on any new bond, the district needs to determine whether to establish its own facilities planning team or continue with an outside consultant for those duties. If the district opts for an in-house fa- cilities planning team, it could add to its organizational chart positions such as facilities planners in various areas of expertise and at various levels of experience/knowledge as well as potential clerical assistance. Transitioning to a new facilities planning team will also require the district and the contruction program vendor to develop written protocols and procedures on the turnover for projects to the district’s Facilities, Maintenance and Operations Department. FCMAT found that many of the maintenance subdivision staff have only general maintenance training and lack journeyman-level expertise in a specific trade or discipline. This lack of expertise has resulted in the district implementing an in-house skills training program for the maintenance/grounds assistant position. However, because of the time necessary for training, the district staff acting as trainers will find it difficult to stay current with building codes, governmental regulations and the industry’s best practices. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 4 Executive Summary Many skilled trades listed in the maintenance technician job description require licensing or certifications to ensure a minimum level of skill. However, FCMAT’s interviews and its review of district documents indicates that some maintenance personnel have been promoted to a journeyman-level position without completing an apprenticeship program or performing specialized training for their respective maintenance trades such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), electrical and/or structural. Using the Association of Physical Plant Administrators (APPA) formula, FCMAT found that the maintenance subdivision provides managed care, or Level 3, facility service to the district’s schools. Moving the district to a Level 2 of care, Comprehensive Stewardship, will require the district consider increasing staffing by four full-time equivalents (FTE). The district does not have a formalized preventive maintenance plan. As a result, the maintenance subdivi- sion operates in a reactionary mode, essentially using equipment until it fails. This is considered a hands-off approach to keep maintenance costs low; however, it has proven to be costly in the long run. The maintenance subdivision’s delivery of services is accomplished through an electronic work order system (Facilitron) in which maintenance staff receive a printed copy of the work order and manually com- plete the form to document labor, material and a description of the work. That document is returned to the maintenance secretary, who records this information in Facilitron. This is a duplication of work that creates a potential for errors; an electronic tablet (or other similar device) could be used to document maintenance activities more accurately. Using the Florida Department of Education’s formula for the staffing of school district grounds maintenance personnel, FCMAT found the grounds subdivision to be understaffed by 20 FTE. None of the grounds personnel’s job descriptions reviewed during fieldwork had been updated since October 2011, and 25% of the equipment listed on the district’s White Fleet Replacement schedule were overdue for replacement and were three to 19 years past their useful lives. The district has no formal training program for its grounds personnel. Grounds maintenance is one of the more hazardous positions in a school district because these employees use rotating and cutting equip- ment, and a budget should be established for a staff development program. FCMAT’s site visits and interviews determined that the district cleans at a level of between three and four, but the district has not established this as the official target for its facilities. Based on the California Associ- ation of School Business Officials (CASBO) staffing formula, the district is understaffed in custodial person- nel by 14.5 FTE. The staffs of the maintenance, grounds and custodial subdivisions are inconsistent in wearing uniforms and district-provided identification badges. The maintenance and custodial staff are provided with an allowance for uniforms according to Article 13.1 of the SEIU contract, but the grounds staff are not included in that article. While the district formally eliminated the warehouse subdivision approximately five years ago, FCMAT found that maintenance subdivision personnel continue to perform those duties. The district could officially reinstate the central warehouse and the positions of the warehouser/receiver and mail clerk. It would need to determine if the positions in the maintenance subdivision will continue, or the savings from those posi- tions would be used to reestablish the warehouse subdivision. This report sites many instances where supervisory assistance is recommended in the Maintenance and Operations Division. FCMAT believes that this would best be accomplished with the addition of a director of maintenance and operations and another maintenance and operations supervisor. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 5 Executive Summary If the Facilities, Maintenance and Operations Department has two division heads as recommended, it will be important for these positions to work together. Projects and activities frequently overlap between these two divisions. Regular communication and a cooperative relationship between the two administrative positions will also promote the cost-effective use of district funding, including bond money, by developing efficiently planned and managed construction projects. FCMAT performed staffing comparisons with three other districts of similar size and composition. Using the staffing levels of Vacaville Unified and the other three districts as well as other statistical information, FCMAT found that the district could add approximately two supervisory positions in the Maintenance and Operations Division (a director of maintenance and operations and one additional maintenance and op- erations supervisor) and consider reinstating the warehouse subdivision with between 1.5 and 2.6 FTE in support-level positions. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 6 Findings and Recommendations Organizational Structure Findings and Recommendations Organizational Structure A school district’s organizational structure establishes the framework for leadership and the delegation of specific duties and responsibilities for all staff members. As a district’s enrollment increases or declines, the organizational structure should adapt as needed to the changes. School districts should be staffed according to the basic 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 who report directly to a supervisor. Although there is no agreed upon ideal number of subordinates for span of control, the span can be larger at lower levels of an organization than at higher levels because subordinates at lower levels typically perform more routine duties and therefore can be more efficiently supervised (Principles of School Business Management by R. Craig Wood, David C. Thompson, Lawrence O. Picus and Don I. Tharpe). Chain of Command Chain of command refers to the flow of authority in an organization. Chain of command is characterized by two guiding principles: unity of command, meaning that a subordinate is accountable to only one super- visor, thus eliminating the potential for an employee to receive conflicting direction and instruction from a variety of supervisors; and the scalar principle, meaning that subordinates at every level in the organization follow the chain of command and only communicate through their immediate supervisor. The result is a hierarchical division of labor in the organization. Line and Staff Authority Line authority is the relationship between supervisors and subordinates and refers to the direct line in the chain of command. For example, in the Vacaville Unified School District, the superintendent has direct line authority over the assistant superintendent of business and administrative services has direct line authority over the chief facilities maintenance & operations officer. Conversely, staff authority is advisory. Staff per- sonnel do not have the authority to make and implement decisions; rather, they act in support roles to line personnel. The organizational structure of local educational agencies has 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 organizational design should outline the man- agement process and its specific links to the formal system of communication, authority and responsibility needed to achieve the district’s goals and objectives. Authority in a public school district originates with the elected governing board, which hires a superintendent to oversee the district. Through the superintendent, authority and responsibility are delegated to the district’s administration and staff. Management positions are typically responsible for supervising employees and overseeing the work of their respective divisions. They must ensure that staff members understand all district policies and proce- dures and perform their duties in a timely and accurate manner. A manager must also serve as a liaison be- Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 7 Findings and Recommendations Organizational Structure tween his or her division and others to identify and resolve problems and design and modify processes and procedures as needed. Management positions should typically not be responsible for a division’s routine daily functions; these should be assigned to division support staff. District Organization and Structure The district provided FCMAT with its 2021-22 organizational charts last revised September 3, 2021 that clearly show the chain of command and functional areas of responsibility as well as the structure and rela- tionships between positions. However, the organizational chart for the Facilities, Maintenance and Opera- tions, and Transportation Department does not extend beyond the level of foreman for each of the shops in the Maintenance and Operations Division. A well-crafted organizational chart should reflect all positions. Excluding lower-level staff sends a message that they are not a part of the organization and makes it diffi- cult for staff to understand the chain of command. FCMAT conducted interviews with 28 employees selected from a district supplied position control report. Those employees were selected by FCMAT based on their job titles and hire dates to allow the team to interview employees from each area under review as well as those who had long standing with the district and those recently hired. FCMAT’s review of notes from those interviews, in conjunction with reading the job descriptions of the divi- sion’s positions, found: • Six employees whose understanding of who their supervisor is completely differed from that contained in their job description. • One employee who believed he had two supervisors, but the job description indicated only one. The supervisor listed in the job description was one of the two the employee provided to FCMAT. • One employee who believed he had one supervisor, but the job description contained two supervisors. The position believed to be the supervisor was one of the two listed in the job description. • The job description for all the foremen/forepersons reported that they were under the supervision of the director of buildings, grounds and equipment maintenance. This position no longer exists in the district’s organizational chart. • Head custodial job descriptions indicate these positions “received general direction from a district administrator and limited direction from a site administrator”; however, interviews did not establish this to be the district’s practice. • The job description of the administrative assistant I states that it is to assist a “certificated” director; however, the division no longer has a director, and even if did, the person holding that position would likely not be certificated. The misinformation employees related to FCMAT about their supervisors indicates they are unfamiliar with both the organizational structure and their own job description. Job descriptions that do not follow the or- ganizational structure increase confusion about who supervises whom. During FCMAT interviews, many employees stated that they did not supervise other employees, yet their job descriptions allowed such activity. A few others reported supervising employees when their job de- scription did not include those duties. In some cases, employees with the same job title reported different practices; one person indicated he or she supervised employees and another said the opposite. These dif- Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 8 Findings and Recommendations Organizational Structure fering scenarios may be due to administrative decisions based on the individual employee’s abilities rather than actual job duties, but they still create confusion and can be detrimental to the district. These situations can also impede camaraderie between employees and teams in each shop and/or be- tween shops. Having employees with the same job but different duties causes confusion and can lead to friction between individuals who wonder why they cannot perform the same tasks as others with the same title. Those who do not supervise despite their job descriptions are prevented from transferring their knowl- edge and skills to other employees. Problems may also arise from employees who supervise when it is not a part of the duties; others may question why these employees exert control over someone else’s working environment. FCMAT’s request for job descriptions for all employees in the Facilities, Maintenance and Operations Department found that the chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer job description did not exist even though the incumbent has held that position for more than four years. The district has drafted the job description and plans to submit it to the governing board for approval. FCMAT also found some anomalies in and between the foreman’s/foreperson’s job descriptions: • The job descriptions of the foremen for electrical work, grounds, mechanical duties, the garage and structural issues were revised in October 2011. The “Description of Basic Function and Responsibility” section of these five job descriptions, states that “[e]mployees in this classification supervise personnel” yet does not refer to the personnel that are to be supervised which could be encapsulated in the job description as “supervise assigned personnel.” • The garage foreman job description also indicates that the person should have the ability to “[s]upervise and prioritize the work of others.” This is missing from the job descriptions of the other foremen/forepersons. • The custodial foreperson job description was revised in June 2011 but does not include that “[e]mployees in this classification supervise personnel.” The district has adopted Board Policy 4112.8 4212.8 and 4312.8, Employment of Relatives, which states: “The Board prohibits the appointment of any person to a position of which his/her relative maintains man- agement, supervisory, evaluation, or promotion responsibilities and prohibits an employee from partici- pating in any decision that singularly applies to any of his/her relatives.” In reviewing the position control report provided by the district for the Facilities, Maintenance and Operations Department, FCMAT came across multiple sets of employees with the same last names. Reviewing those names in conjunction with the team’s interviews, their job titles and job descriptions, FCMAT found one custodian is supervised by his mother, who is the lead custodian at their site. Evaluation of Employees Evaluating employees is different from supervising them since evaluation also includes judging the quality or value of an individual’s work. While none of the job descriptions FCMAT reviewed for this study contained information about each posi- tion’s evaluator, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) collective bargaining agreement states in Article 4.3 “[t]he immediate supervisor shall be responsible for evaluating and discussing in private the evaluation in detail with the member.” As discussed above, foremen, lead custodians and head custodians were listed as supervisors in job descriptions, which would allow members to evaluate other members, ac- cording to the SEIU contract. This is a conflict that should be avoided by both the district and the bargain- ing unit, but is especially problematic since the bargaining unit has the duty to represent both the evaluator Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 9 Findings and Recommendations Organizational Structure and the person evaluated. If a conflict should arise regarding an evaluation, the bargaining unit is placed in the middle of the dispute. Management positions, on the other hand, do not have collective bargaining agreements. In those circum- stances, it is customary to follow the organizational chart to determine who evaluates whom. Organizational charts can also be used to determine supervisorial duties if a supervisor is not in a job description; howev- er, not all positions are shown on the district’s organizational chart. FCMAT’s interviews found that the district’s chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer completes the evaluations of three people while the maintenance and operations supervisor is responsible for the divi- sion’s remaining 90 employees. Based on a 90-to-1 employee to evaluator ratio, the maintenance and operations supervisor’s duties vio- late the span of control concept discussed above. To rectify that situation, the district would need to add personnel. FCMAT’s review of job descriptions found that the only other position in the division that includes evalua- tion duties, outside of the maintenance and operations supervisor, is that of the head custodians. However, the head custodians did not identify this as one of their duties, and they are members of the same col- lective bargaining unit as those they would evaluate. This misalignment between practice, organizational charts, job descriptions and the collective bargaining agreement creates confusion among employees and needs immediate attention to provide a seamless organizational structure both on paper and in practice. Article 4.3 of the SEIU collective bargaining agreement establishes the schedule for its members’ evalua- tions. Probationary members have an initial evaluation between their fourth and sixth months of employ- ment and before the end of their 12th month. Permanency is granted after the 12th month has been com- pleted. Permanent members are evaluated every year for their first three years of employment and then every other year thereafter unless the supervisor believes conditions warrant an annual evaluation. This provision also includes the supervisor taking on duties that can evolve into a conflict as identified above. Additionally, Education Code Section 45113 was amended by Assembly Bill 1353, which reduced the max- imum length of a period of probation to six months effective January 1, 2020. However, if a district had a bargaining agreement that included a probationary period that is longer than that provided in Section 45113, the provision would not apply until the expiration or renewal of that bargaining agreement. The dis- trict’s agreement with SEIU expired on June 30, 2020. FCMAT requested a report from the district’s Human Resources Department that reflected each employee in the Facilities, Maintenance and Operations Department, their job class, status (permanent or probation- ary), hire date, probation dates, probation evaluation dates and last evaluation date. That report shows that multiple employees achieved permanency without an evaluation. It also indicates that 13 of the employees interviewed by FCMAT are beyond the every-other-year clause in the SEIU contract. While most were last evaluated in 2019, due to the pandemic, six had their last evaluation between 2015 and 2018. As a result, those employees have not received formal communication from their supervisor about expec- tations. Performance evaluations are one of an organization’s most important communications tools. They provide feedback, recognize quality performance and establish expectations for future job performance. Evaluations also allow for candid conversations about poor performance and how it can be improved. Be- cause some employees have not received clear communication about department expectations, the level of trust between line staff employees and the district leadership team (discussed further in the Maintenance and Operations section) has been affected. Performance evaluations should conform to the collective bargaining agreement, if applicable, and be completed annually for management personnel who do not fall under a collective bargaining unit. Meaningful evaluations cover the entire review period and set expec- Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 10 Findings and Recommendations Organizational Structure tations that are in line with the district’s mission and goals, while aligning directly to the employee’s job description. Recommendations The district should: 1. Review and revise its organizational chart as changes occur. 2. Ensure that all positions are represented in organizational charts. 3. Ensure each employee reports only to one clearly identified supervisor, and ensure that information is clearly articulated to every employee. 4. Revise job descriptions to reflect changes in organizational structure. 5. Ensure that all employees receive and understand the district’s organizational chart as changes are made. 6. Ensure only employees with supervisory responsibilities in their job descriptions are carrying out those duties. 7. Ensure that job descriptions exist for all positions before they are posted and filled. 8. Review and revise the job descriptions of the foremen/forepersons in the Facilities, Maintenance and Operations Department to ensure consistency in duties among and between them. 9. Ensure that BP 4112.8, 4212.8 and 4312.8 are followed. Employees who already have relatives in supervisory or evaluation relationships should either be transferred to another site, or the district should arrange for the supervision/evaluation function to be transferred to other management personnel. 10. Consider adding a supervisory management position to assist in the division of supervision, evaluation and discipline duties. 11. Immediately align the department’s organizational chart, current practice, job descriptions and the SEIU collective bargaining agreement to provide cohesive organizational structure. 12. Consider negotiating with SEIU to revise Article 4.3 of the collective bargaining agreement to state that supervisors are required to provide input for evaluations of the employees they are assigned to supervise. This will prevent the union from having the duty to represent both sides in a dispute over an evaluation. 13. Ensure all probationary employees are evaluated according to the terms of their collective bargaining agreement before attaining permanent status. 14. Ensure all permanent employees are evaluated according to the terms of their collective bargaining agreement or annually for management personnel who do not fall under a collective bargaining unit. 15. Ensure that the SEIU collective bargaining agreement is revised to comply with Education Code Section 45113. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 11 Findings and Recommendations Classified Bargaining Unit Classified Bargaining Unit With few exceptions, most LEAs have collective bargaining units that represent specific segments of the LEA’s employees to negotiate contracts that determine their terms of employment that are within the scope of representation. An LEA will typically have certificated and classified units represented by a specific union as well as an unrepresented management unit. The Vacaville Teacher’s Association, the district’s certificat- ed unit, is represented by the California Teachers Association and its classified employees are represented by the SEIU. The relationships between LEAs and their bargaining units are described as anything from hostile to colle- gial. No matter which description fits, both parties should remember that each has a different function. The LEA serves its students and community while the bargaining unit serves its membership. The Maintenance and Operations Division has a long history of strong ties to SEIU. The chapter has had four presidents over the last 24 years that came from within the division and included a now-retired fore- man (21-year tenure), a current foreman (six-month tenure), head custodian (two-year tenure) and an admin- istrative assistant (its current president). The district’s relationship with its SEIU unit was described as positive under the tenure of its now retired foreman, but more adversarial under the tenure of the immediate past president. The most recent bargain- ing unit election resulted in a more cooperative relationship. This change has led to the formation of two factions in the Maintenance and Operations Division, those loyal to the immediate past president and those who support the current president. While there is no prohi- bition of such allegiances, FCMAT’s interviews with district staff showed that those loyalties cause divisive- ness and strife in the divisions/shops between different employees and employees and their supervisors. Such divisiveness creates inefficiencies in the organization. The root of the issue has multiple facets: • The failure of the immediate past president to advise members with union-related issues to take those matters to the current SEIU officers. • The failure of the SEIU membership to recognize that issues brought to the immediate past president cannot be resolved that way. This merely aggravates the issue. In addition, this approach can create mistrust of the bargaining unit leadership, which may not be aware of the problem and therefore have done nothing to solve it. The complainants take their issues back to the former officers, and the cycle continues. • The failure of district administration to address issues. The administration may not know about the issue since the proper channels have not been followed. The other possibilities are that the district has not acted, or has not kept the complainant sufficiently informed of the progress made on the issue. • Exacerbating these issues is the confusion caused by the misalignment of the department’s organizational chart, current practice, job descriptions and the SEIU collective bargaining agreement as discussed in the previous section of this report. Resolving these issues will require the efforts of the collective bargaining unit and the district, which should include the following: Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 12 Findings and Recommendations Classified Bargaining Unit • The district encouraging the bargaining unit to inform their membership that issues are to be reported to current officers, explaining that reporting them to prior officers will not solve the problem since they no longer have authority. • The district ensuring the following: m Issues that previously arose are being addressed, and circumstances are report- ed to the complainant in a timely manner when there is a delay. m Any issues that are presented to the bargaining unit are dealt with in a timely manner, and communications on progress are numerous and timely. Implementing this plan will not be easy, and the first few cases will be especially difficult. However, the district’s and collective bargaining unit’s demonstration of their commitment to change may be sufficient to decrease the number of future cases. Recommendations The district should: 1. Immediately follow the steps described above. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 13 Findings and Recommendations Facilities Facilities The district’s facilities program is extensive, active and includes responsibility for the planning, design, funding, regulatory approvals and construction of new schools as well as modernization and reconstruction of existing schools and support facilities. This includes developing, implementing, maintaining, and monitor- ing project budgets and expenditures to ensure compliance with state laws and district board policies and administrative regulations. As noted in the Background section above, the school district consists of eight elementary schools, one elementary charter school, two middle schools, one K-8 school, two comprehen- sive high schools, one charter high school and one independent learning and alternative education charter academy. The district’s support facilities include the district’s administrative office; facilities, maintenance and operations and warehouse; and technology and information services facilities. In addition, the district owns or controls various properties that either house district functions, are leased to outside entities, or are available for future development in anticipation of student growth. These include the Elmira School (currently leased to a nonpublic school for special education) and a parcel of land at the corner of McMurtry Lane and Browns Valley Road. The district’s facilities were built between the late 1940s and the early 2000s. The California Department of Education’s (CDE) DataQuest system reports that student enrollment has remained fairly constant since 2007-08, with a 1,019-student variation between its highest and lowest fiscal years. DataQuest also shows that the district is presently facing a decline in enrollment of approximately 450 students from 2020-21. To address its facilities funding needs, the district passed two general obligation bond measures since 2000. Measure V, passed in 2001, provided approximately $101 million for the district and its facilities but those funds were depleted in 2013. Its last bond measure was passed in 2014 -- $194 million through Mea- sure A; however, those funds will be exhausted in the next year or two. The district’s bond measures, along with State School Facilities Program matching funds, have brought facilities funding dollars to the commu- nity and provided for the completion of a significant number of major improvements throughout the district. However, the district’s needs have outstripped those funds. Current Staffing in Facilities Division The division is responsible for many tasks and projects and performs them with a three-person staff. The district relies on outside professional consultants for the design, project management and construction management components of all its construction/modernization projects. The district’s architects and proj- ect management staff assist with managing multiple consultants performing the program/project/construc- tion management. The contracted project managers are assigned to the district full-time. The Facilities Division of the Facilities, Maintenance and Operations Department is headed by the chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer who reports to the assistant superintendent of business and administrative services. The remaining division employees include an administrative assistant I and a facil- ities manager. The facilities manager performs duties related to the planning, designing, and supervising of construction with the direction for those duties coming primarily from the chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer but also from the assistant superintendent of business and administrative services. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 14 Findings and Recommendations Facilities Chief Facilities, Maintenance & Operations Officer Administrative Assistant I Facilities Manager The district’s facilities program ensures that bond funds are expended efficiently and effectively, an activity that is closely monitored by taxpayers, voters, and other public agencies. The division’s planning functions are equally important because they are the foundation for effective use of those bond funds; therefore, any changes in division staffing should focus on that goal. Division staff members have been in their positions and with the district for several years. The chief facili- ties, maintenance & operations officer and the facilities manager are responsible to manage the construc- tion services contracted through the construction program vendor. Contracted Construction Program Management As stated above, the district uses one vendor to assist its management team in design, project manage- ment and construction management services as needed. The construction program vendor has provided the expertise and resources of professional construction managers who have the educational background and knowledge to provide management services over construction projects. The expense for these ser- vices is usually higher than using a district employee; however, the skills needed for successful manage- ment of construction projects generally command a higher salary than can be practically offered by a public school district of Vacaville Unified’s size. In addition, the district uses the construction program vendor to perform many services in overseeing proj- ects, including preparing and updating district design standards and specifications, maintaining and enforc- ing plans, specifications and architect agreements. The district’s design standards were originally developed and board-approved during its Measure V bond program. They were developed by district staff, program management staff and the district’s architect with input from the then directors of facilities and maintenance and operations as well as maintenance staff. During the district’s Measure A bond program, the standards were updated with the governing board ap- proving the latest update at their June 29, 2017 regular meeting. The district’s architect agreements include language incorporating the design standards and they were reported to have been enforced during the design process of all Measure A projects. Deviations or sub- stitutions can only be accomplished in writing with the district’s approval. That approval process should document that any substitutions that are suggested are evaluated by facilities, maintenance and operations administrative staff and consultants, as necessary. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 15 Findings and Recommendations Facilities Board Policies and Administrative Regulations for Facilities Board policies and administrative regulations are used to guide educational agencies through the numer- ous laws, rules, regulations they are subject to. Keeping them up to date is a significant but essential task. The district uses the California School Boards Association’s GAMUT board policy service to help manage its board policies and administrative regulations. However, a review of the board policies on facilities post- ed on the district’s website shows some policies have not been updated for many years. Examples are as follows: • Board Policy 7110, Facilities Master Plan, was updated by GAMUT in March 2012. The dis- trict’s policy indicates it was updated August 4, 2005. • Administrative Regulation 7111, Evaluating Existing Buildings, was updated by GAMUT in March 2016; however, the district’s was last updated November 8, 2007. • Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 7140, Architectural and Engineering Services, was updated by GAMUT in October 2019. The district’s last update of these was August 4, 2005. • Board Policy 7212, Mello Roos District, was updated by GAMUT in July 2017, and the district last updated this policy on February 21, 2008. Facilities Data Data-driven decision making is essential to organizational management since organizations should make decisions based on verifiable facts, logic that is communicated openly, defensible, and reasonable. Contin- uous improvement strategies measure conditions, implement changes, and gauge the results. Examples of decisions that are not data-driven or objective include relying on past practices regardless of results, re- peating past practices even though circumstances have changed significantly, and making decisions based on intuition instead of analysis. A facilities master plan is a primary source of data planning in facilities. The district provided FCMAT with its draft Vacaville Unified School District Master Facilities Plan dated November 17, 2021 prepared by Hibser Yamauchi Architects Inc. Although this plan was in draft form at the time this report was being developed, it continues to be refined for accuracy. The district provided FCMAT with basic facilities data for all campuses, which included but was not limited to the following: • Number of classrooms at each campus, and districtwide • Description of current year usage of each classroom space • Square footage of buildings, and their classrooms • Total acres of athletic fields used for competitive sports • Total acres of fields used for recreation or sports practice More information may be needed for some decisions, but the district can use this essential data to make decisions about facilities management such as facility capacity, custodial/grounds schedules, planning/ proving energy efficiency projects and construction/renovation estimates. Without this data, the district would at best be guessing. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 16 Findings and Recommendations Facilities FCMAT gathered many types of information on the district’s facilities needs, which dictate the district’s staffing needs in the Facilities Division. The team conducted interviews of district personnel and the con- struction program vendor’s employees and visited some district campuses, documenting existing condi- tions and deficiencies to determine educational adequacy and facility infrastructure conditions. FCMAT also requested additional information such as its infrastructure condition assessment for use in this review. Vacaville Unified has a long list of projects to be completed with the remaining Measure A funds. Those projects fall into two categories, those that were started using Measure A funds (the Present Project List and Status chart below) and a list of all identified future projects. The district has grouped the latter proj- ects based on priority in its draft facilities master plan, and the costs in that list were calculated by the dis- trict and included in the November 17, 2021 plan. Because time has passed and other market factors, these costs may require revision. Present Project List and Status Project Status Completion Markham ES Improvements and New MPR Completed Completed Hemlock ES/ACE Improvements Under Construction Summer 2022 Portables Relo Under Construction April 2022 New Shade Struct. Under Construction Fall 2022 Buckingham Imp/New MPR Under Construction Fall 2022 Vacaville High School Gym Under Construction Summer 2022 Exterior Paint/Imp. Completed Completed Browns Valley ES Improvements Out to Bid Fall 2022 Callison ES Improvements Out to Bid 2023? Cooper ES Improvements Out to Bid 2023? Alamo ES Classroom Tech Out to Bid Summer 2022 Improvements Design/DSA Winter 2022 Vaca Pena MS Improvements Out to Bid Fall 2022 Will C Wood Technology Project Out to Bid Fall 2022 621 Orchard Ave Sitework & Utilities Waiting on Switch Gear April 2022 Play Area Finalizing Design Summer 2022 New Modulars Completed Completed Fairmont DS Preschool Clrms. DSA Summer 2022 Will C Wood Café Improvements Completed Completed ESC Replacement of Building Auto. System with JCI Completed Completed AB841 Replacement of Units Grants Apprd./Waiting Funding Unknown Future Identified Project List Potential Total Estimated Project Cost $ 597,440,000 Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 17 Findings and Recommendations Facilities The district has grouped the projects as follows: • Group 1: Priority 1 Projects $114,820,000 • Group 2: Priority 2-10 Projects $211,270,000 • Group 3: Priority 11-19 Projects $271,350,000 Coordination of Projects and Potential Funding Along with identifying the existing projects, the district must determine how to obtain sufficient funding to complete them. Various funding sources are available for capital improvement projects. General obligations bonds are the most common and largest sources. The amount available for a local bond depends on the assessed valuation of all residential properties in a school district less the amounts for previously issued general obligation bonds that have not yet been retired. This number can fluctuate depending on market conditions; however, recent market factors have increased the amount available to the district for new general obligation bonds. The district recently obtained a $20 million Certificate of Participation and, with funds from Measure A decreasing, presented various options for potential new general obligation bonds at board workshop on March 26, 2022. Those options fell into the following three categories: Option 1) The district asking for the maximum bond voters will support. This option could provide the district $267 million in funding. Option 2) The district opting for an election in November 2022, which may include funds for new schools. Any bond funds remaining are used for existing campuses and continued infrastructure improvements to plumbing, electrical, HVAC, as well as health, safety, and security upgrades. Under this plan, the district could consider tax rate scenarios. Option 3) The district halts its renovation and new construction facility improvement program completely and waits until a future election to get clarity on enrollment post COVID and new school construction needs. The governing board is considering pursuing option 2 in the November 2022 election pending the results of a second community survey to be conducted in June 2022. The third source of facilities funding is the State School Facility Program, which is funded through the pas- sage of state bonds. While these funds greatly reduce local funding obligations, they usually require a local matching amount, which is why the local bond is so important. Smaller sources, including fees charged to developers, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) funding, and smaller grants are also often available. The district uses an outside consultant to help determine eligibility and file applications and other prelim- inary paperwork with the state Office of Public School Construction (OPSC). The district intends to pro- cess several projects applications as funding becomes available with a state bond passage. The district’s consultant recently completed a review of modernization and new construction eligibility under the state’s School Facility Program and identified $20,472,935 for the future projects. Although existing Proposition 51 state bond funds are oversubscribed, the district would benefit from submitting modernization applications to OPSC in case funding becomes available in the future. School districts commonly use outside consultants to prepare and submit applications to maximize the State School Facility Program; however, it is still incumbent on the district to fully understand all the pro- gram’s guidelines and procedures. Cultivating an in-house expert (e.g., the director facilities) who has Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 18 Findings and Recommendations Facilities general working knowledge of OPSC, Division of the State Architect (DSA), CDE and other state agency guidelines can be important to the district’s facilities team. This individual would serve as the main contact with its external consultants, be responsible for monitoring their work, and build internal capacity for these tasks, lessening the district’s dependence on external consultants. Other sources of funding can be available for facilities projects. The district provided FCMAT with the fol- lowing potential funding sources: • Potential General Obligation Bond To be determined at later date (See Above) • Certificate of Participation #1 Solar/Energy Project w/COP funds $20,000,000 • State School Facilities Program $20,472,935 • Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief III Funds Solar & Central Kitchen Projects $5,000,000 • Developer Fees Central Kitchen, UTK Classrooms $10,414,678 • Fund 13 $4,000,000 Total Potential Funding $59,887,613 Another source of funding for facilities projects, as listed above, are developer fees. These are fees levied on development projects as a condition of approval (Education Code Sections 17620-17626 and Govern- ment Code Section 65995 et seq.). They are levied on a per-square-footage basis and designed to help mitigate the impact of the development project on the district and its facilities. These fees are levied, and the district collects them in the following amounts: Residential Fee: $4.08 per square foot of residential development Commercial/Industrial Fee: 66 cents per square foot of commercial and/or industrial development Developer fees can be used for any of the following purposes: 1. The construction or reconstruction of school facilities necessitated by the development projects from which the fees are collected (Ed Code Section 17622(b)(2)). 2. The costs of conducting any study, finding, needs analysis or determination required as part of the process for adopting the fee (Ed Code Section 17620(a)(5)). 3. Reimbursement of the costs of administering the fee, in an amount not to exceed 3% of the fees collected (Ed Code Section 17620(a)(5)). 4. The costs of the board meeting(s) for levying a new fee or increasing an existing fee may be recovered by the district from the fee charged (Ed Code Section 17620(a)(5)). 5. The costs attributable to the increased demand for public facilities reasonably related to the development to (1) refurbish existing facilities to maintain the existing level of service or (2) achieve an adopted level of service that is consistent with the general plan (i.e., compliance with a Facilities Master Plan) (Government Code Section 66001(g)). However, according to Education Code Section 17620(a)(3) developer fees may not be used for the follow- ing: 1. The regular maintenance or routine repair of school buildings or facilities. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 19 Findings and Recommendations Facilities 2. The inspection, sampling, analysis, encapsulation, or removal of asbestos containing materials, except where incidental to a construction or reconstruction project. 3. The purposes of deferred maintenance described in Education Code Section 17582. The district provided FCMAT with a copy of its Annual Developer Fee Report for Fiscal Year 2020-21, which includes its annual accounting of school facilities fees collected by the district in fiscal year 2020-21 as required by Government Code Section 66006(b). FCMAT’s review of that document found that the initial control of fund 25, the capital facilities fund, is managed by the assistant superintendent of business and administrative services with final direction from the district’s executive cabinet. The executive cabinet is composed of the superintendent and assistant/associate superintendents of educational options and sup- ports, human resources, educational services and business and administration. Although Education Code clearly prohibits these funds from being used for routine maintenance, developer fees may be expended to modernize existing facilities only in limited circumstances. This is because new development may not only necessitate the construction of new facilities, but sometimes, the refurbishing of old ones. (Shapell Indus- tries, Inc. v. Governing Board of the Milpitas Unified School District, (1991) 1 Cal. App. 4th 218, 239.) As long as the district implements the standard of reasonableness and the purpose of the school fee legislation, it has the discretion to determine that new development may be required to pay a proportionate share of the cost of refurbishing old facilities to maintain a level of service commensurate with that presently existing. Based on these laws, developer fees can be used to modernize facilities, and their use can be integrated with a project funding plan that includes the district’s general obligation bond proceeds and future state modernization funds. Consequently, including the head of the Facilities Division in decisions on the use of the developer fees would help coordinate all funding sources, including developer fees, to achieve the greatest level of coordination in its capital facilities program. Final funding decisions would continue to be made at the executive cabinet level. The district’s 2020-21 Annual Developer Fee Report showed that the ending balance in fund 25 was $16,414,678.24. While the district reported its planned future expenditures in part V of its annual report, Government Code Section 66001(d) requires reporting every five years. This is related to making findings on the use of the remaining balance of the account. Even though these funds can be used for Vacaville Unified’s significant building and modernization needs, the district should explain why it still needs the un- expended balance to achieve the original purpose and describe its plan for using the funds to accomplish that purpose. When a school district fails to make the required five-year findings, the agency is required to refund the unexpended portion of the fee with any accrued interest. (Walker v. City of San Clemente, 239 Cal. App. 4th 1350, 1371 (2015)). In the Walker case, the city was ordered to refund approximately $10.5 million in unexpended fees for fail- ing to make the required five-year findings. Specifically, the city failed to discuss the relationship between the nearly $10 million balance in its beach parking impact fee account and the original purpose of the fee. The city did not demonstrate a reasonable relationship between the unexpended fees and their purpose. The Walker decision affirms that Section 66001 imposes a duty on the local agency to reexamine the need for the unexpended fees. In addition to the developer fees to be spent over the next 12 months for the 621 Orchard Avenue Project, the district indicated that other future projects included building a central kitchen, and assistance in build- ing the district’s universal transitional kindergarten rooms at various school sites over the next few years. These projects were not identified in the 2020-21 annual report. While the inclusion of the five-year report- ing is required, as titled, every five years, a best practice is to include that finding in each annual report to eliminate the risk that it will be inadvertently omitted and refunding requirements invoked. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 20 Findings and Recommendations Facilities Additionally, the State Allocation Board adopted an inflationary increase to Level 1 school impact fees at its February 23, 2022 meeting, which increased those fees to $4.79 per square foot for residential construc- tion and 78 cents per square foot for commercial construction. In addition to the customary justification study for Level 1 fees, Assembly Bill (AB) 602 added Government Code Section 66016.5, effective January 1, 2022, imposing new requirements on school districts adopting fee justification studies. Recommendations The district should: 1. Continue to incorporate its design standards into its architect agreement(s) and ensure they are enforced during the design process and construction when a deviation from the plans is requested. Any substitutions should be evaluated by facilities, maintenance and operations administrative staff and consultants, as necessary. All final substitutions should include approvals from each maintenance and operations subdivision as necessary. 2. Update board policies and administrative regulations to reflect current law and circumstances. 3. Finalize its draft Master Facilities Plan and obtain governing board approval. 4. Continue the district’s submittal of applications for school site modernization and new construction funding to the OPSC to preserve Vacaville Unified’s place in line as new funding becomes available in the future. 5. Consider cultivating an in-house expert (e.g., director of facilities) who has a general working knowledge of OPSC, DSA, CDE and other state agency guidelines to build internal capacity, lessening the district’s dependence on external consultants. 6. Consider including the head of the Facilities Division in decisions regarding use of the developer fees to help coordinate all funding sources, including developer fees, and achieve the greatest level of coordination in its capital facilities program. 7. Revise its process for its Annual Developer Fee Report to include the fifth-year reporting requirement for use of the remaining balance of the account to be made each year. 8. Continue to capture the reimbursement of the costs associated with administering the fee, in an amount not to exceed 3% of the fees collected according to Education Code Section 17620(a)(5). 9. Consider initiating the process of increasing its developer fees in accordance with the State Allocation Board’s February 23, 2022 inflationary increase. If that action is taken, the district should ensure that it incorporates the requirements of AB 602. Communications School facilities planning and construction management is technical and potentially complicated. A building project depends on several consultants preparing the project design program, construction documents and construction of the project to meet the needs of the district. The project design typically involves numerous staff members along with the architect, structural, mechanical, electrical, civil, and/or other special consul- tants to complete the design. Finally, many contractors are required to be hired to build the project. Each person interprets what the district is trying to build. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 21 Findings and Recommendations Facilities A detailed, strategic communication plan is necessary to deliver a school project. Those involved in a con- struction project should communicate every day; however, this language and information is specialized and not typically well understood by district and school administration. In the Facilities Division Reorganization section below, FCMAT recommends the addition of a director of facilities position. A director of facilities must be an experienced communicator and be able to interpret the language of the architects, structur- al, mechanical, electrical, civil, special consultants and contractors so that it is understood by district and school administration. Lack of sufficient and clear communication can lead to frustration among the school administration, which is responsible to report the intricacies of construction projects to the superintendent and the governing board. District office administrators reported that communication from the Facilities and Maintenance and Op- erations divisions lacked significantly, leading to a culture of distrust between them (discussed further in Interdepartmental Relations below). District administrative personnel also expressed frustration about leadership concerns and indicated many project decisions are made without discussion with supervisory administration. As projects progress, the issues are brought to the attention of district administration, which has an open-door policy. Sometimes, district administration later realizes it did not receive all the details regarding the issue, and there is little to no follow-up to provide information on the resolution of the issue. The assistant superintendent of business and administrative services meets weekly with site administrators and visits one or two sites weekly to stay informed about issues progress/resolution. She also has regu- larly scheduled Monday meetings with the chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer, attends the weekly construction meetings and has started to attend the weekly construction fiscal meetings. The chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer updates the assistant superintendent every Friday on matters discussed at their Monday meeting. Discussion items for these meetings should be listed on an agenda cre- ated by the assistant superintendent and updated by the chief officer. Progress updates should be regularly provided, and items should remain open until the assistant superintendent determines they are resolved. District staff do not work on weekends, and making progress updates on Friday does not give the assis- tant superintendent enough time to follow up on matters before the next Monday meeting. This leaves the assistant superintendent constantly waiting for information. To assist with communication by and among the district’s management team, a project management report- ing format should be considered along with a plan on how this process would occur to keep administration informed. Items typically included in such a report include potential claims, schedules, schedule changes (including recovery schedule changes), changes in completion dates, delays, Plan “B” options that need to be discussed with school administration, request for information (RFI) communication logs, proposed change orders, change orders processing, items missed, submittal logs, school district administration/site administration concerns and items of concern from consultants. The project management reporting format allows the director of facilities to systematically report issues that affect the district and provide that information to the assistant superintendent of business and adminis- trative services. The report would seek to inform administration of the following: • Information on all the different needed areas, events, and types of projects. • A chronological sequencing of events and issues. This will not only assist in providing the story of a project but can also serve as a defense of the district if claims arise. Further dis- cussion of claims is included below. • Staffing levels on all projects, while providing district administration with information on what staff members do and their ability to solve possible legal issues. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 22 Findings and Recommendations Facilities • The district’s next step(s) on issues; whether there is any new information, or the issue escalated or was resolved. Once created, the report can serve various functions, including acting as a complete source of information for each project, a reference source for senior administration and the governing board, and an agenda for any regularly scheduled meeting with the assistant superintendent of business and administrative services to keep the district continually informed of projects status and issues. This process and plan should be clearly discussed with each administrator, staff member and consultants as required. A sample of an Admin- istrative Meeting Report is attached as Appendix A to this report. Instead of creating a report internally, the district could consider purchasing project management software that can be used for communications and document control. This software can help plan, organize, and manage resource tools and develop resource estimates. Depending on its sophistication, the software can also manage estimates and planning, scheduling, cost control, budget management, resource allocation, communication, decision-making, quality management, time management and documentation or admin- istration systems. Numerous personal computer and browser-based project management software and contract management software products and services are available, but the district should determine, with an owner’s perspective and requirements, what works best for each area. No matter the product chosen, training of district staff, along with requiring consultants to use the software without exception, is essential to its success. During FCMAT interviews, staff reported that the construction program vendor’s construction manager changed project management staff without any discussion with the assistant superintendent of business and administrative services. This personnel change was approved at the Facilities Division department head level and had significant effects on the project involved as detailed below. District administration be- lieve this decision should have been discussed and an agreement reached with the construction program vendor to place management staff with the level of service and experience the district expected and allow the district to properly vet the candidate beforehand. In addition, administration indicated the new person- nel lacked the qualifications and level of experience needed for the project. After further issues arose, the construction program vendor’s construction manager again changed project management staff, and the project appears to be moving forward efficiently. District administration were also concerned about whether Buckingham Charter could open school as scheduled for the 2021-22 school year, noting an aggressive construction completion date. An old founda- tion related to the original Ulatis Elementary School buildings (built in 1953-55) at the Buckingham Charter site was found and required immediate removal. Two weeks before the scheduled start of school, the site principal had brought the issue to senior administration’s attention, but neither the construction program vendor nor the chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer believed it would affect the start of school. The campus was not opened to staff until the weekend before school began, and remediation measures needed to occur before school could begin. FCMAT reviewed several district schedules for the Buckingham Charter project, including the base sched- ule through December 2021. This document continued to show a completion date near the original mid-Au- gust 2022 date. Several issues including project schedule updates did not include logic changes, but did document delay causes. Activity tasks and stop and start task information were not provided to confirm that activities would not be affected by delays; weather delays were shown but FCMAT could not follow changes in the schedule to support that the completion day would not be affected. This demonstrates that the district was not well informed on a project schedule, and the amount of work to be completed was not tightly monitored. To ensure completion as agreed between the parties, all milestones should be met, and any changes discussed and agreed upon. Project schedule alternatives, no matter the source, should be Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 23 Findings and Recommendations Facilities district-approved and brought to district senior administration promptly to avoid school disruptions while keeping the project on schedule and within budget. Site administration indicated that communications often occur late in the process, putting school staff in a difficult operational situation. In the situation with Buckingham Charter, communication improved, but site administration believe they should have been informed earlier of possible issues so they could help devel- op a solution that minimized effects on school operation. School site administration clearly did not under- stand the timeline related to the delay and believed that information was withheld. The use of consultants can exacerbate communications issues because they emphasize positive information, and this issue be- came even more concerning because the consultants were not well managed by the district. During FCMAT interviews, it was unclear if the district had received all project construction documents. It is possible that only select documents flow through the district Facilities Division, limiting the district’s knowl- edge of project status, communications and ability to avoid claims and additional costs. FCMAT could not determine whether the issue stems from the vendor not providing the documentation or a blockage in the flow of documents through the district. However, the district must retain ownership of all original documen- tation, including all communication documents. These should flow through the Facilities Division, where they are distributed to consultant(s) and not the opposite. Effective communication starts with the district possessing and controlling all project communication documents so it can defend issues if such claims arise. The chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer does not prioritize visits to the school sites, and inter- viewees indicated they occur approximately once a year. In most cases, it was reported that there was no additional communication beyond that annual site visit. The level of communication was reported as fair but that it could be improved. Several maintenance tradesmen disagreed with having to correct or complete work they believe should have been included in the construction projects and performed by the contractor. They stated they ulti- mately performed the work without further explanation from their supervisors. However, asking the con- struction contractor to perform these tasks may cause completion delays, which could delay occupancy on school projects. Dissension between trades creates delays and leads to a lack of understanding about who to call for work to be performed. These disagreements need to be reviewed, and a solution developed and communicated to all divisions/trades so that the decision is implemented at all levels. Maintenance and Operations Division leaders should be included in reviews of all future project documents well before the next project goes out to bid. If items are found to be omitted, that information should be communicated in writing to the Facilities Division. This process should include plans being reviewed three or four times during design and before bidding to ensure complete bid documents. Including a review by the Maintenance and Operations Division will help ensure project success and promote acceptance among employees if they are asked to perform construction tasks. Recommendations The district should: 1. Emphasize communications between the chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer and assistant superintendent of business and administrative services to provide the latter with a clear and thorough understanding of the status and issues arising in each facilities project. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 24 Findings and Recommendations Facilities 2. Emphasize that communication of any problem/issue resolution and/or progress should be reported to administration as soon as possible and hold employees accountable if they do not follow this policy. 3. Continue the assistant superintendent of business and administrative services’ weekly meetings with the chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer. Identify discussion items on an agenda created by the assistant superintendent and updated by the chief officer. Provide timely progress updates, and ensure items remain open until they have been determined as resolved by the assistant superintendent. 4. Immediately create a project management reporting format to track facilities projects items from inception to completion. 5. Consider purchasing project management software from an outside vendor to implement the reporting recommendation above and providing training to all district staff and consultants who will be required to use it. 6. Ensure district administration is included in the selection of project management staff on all district projects. Once established, any changes in staffing should require written consent from the district’s assistant superintendent of business and administrative services, or designee, if any. 7. Ensure project completion is as agreed between the parties and that all milestones are met, and any changes discussed and agreed upon. Ensure project schedule alternatives are district-approved no matter the source should be district-approved and brought to district senior administration promptly to avoid school disruptions while keeping the project on schedule and within budget. 8. Ensure communications between the district’s administration, school site administration and construction program vendor on all projects are tightly monitored, followed and provide continual evaluation to avoid school operation disruptions. 9. Control retention of all original project documents, including all communication documents. Require that those documents flow through the Facilities Division and be distributed to consultant(s), including any answers required to be returned to those performing the work. 10. Institute a semiannual site visit schedule for the Facilities Division head, and include the Facilities Division in the district superintendent’s meetings with school site administrators. This will allow facilities to report on upcoming projects, new topics acceptable to the district’s management team and answer questions regarding their sites. 11. Ensure Maintenance and Operations Division leaders communicate effectively to department staff the reasons staff correct or finish work they believe is a contractor’s responsibility. Ensure these communications are timely, based on the matter at hand, and thoroughly explained. 12. Consider including Maintenance and Operations Division leaders in reviewing future project documents well before the next project goes out to bid. If items are found to be omitted, communicate that information in writing to the Facilities Division. 13. Ensure department/division leaders communicate effectively to staff changes in policy, procedures, or organizational structure. Ensure communications are timely, focused on the issue at hand, and move through the appropriate channels, especially when the changes communicated will have an immediate and significant effect on employees. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 25 Findings and Recommendations Facilities 14. Hold district personnel and consultants accountable for deviation from established policies, procedures or supervisorial directives. Claims Avoidance Measures Claims are inevitable on most construction projects as changes and delays occur, yet some projects seem to have more than others. According to construction claims avoidance experts, studies have found more than 70% of the respondents reported that their project cost increased by more than 10%, and 75% experi- enced delays of more than 10% on their timeline. Contractors also receive claims from their subcontractors. Many projects end in lengthy, acrimonious, legal disputes between owners, consultants and managing con- tractors, and between contractors and their subcontractors. The result is inevitably an increase in costs and delays in the project’s completion. However, other impacts include the following: • Management takes time to put together and argue the variation claims, hours that could be better spent elsewhere on the project. • Sometimes legal costs are incurred to fight the claims. • Communication frequently breaks down between the contractor and client, or between the contractor and subcontractor. • There is an adverse impact on reputation. • Cash flows are hindered. • It is possible that there will not be money to pay the construction project claims. The obvious solution is to avoid the reasons for variation claims in the first place. When variation claims arise, they should be dealt with in a timely manner and with goodwill between the parties. FCMAT interviewed district administrative staff and the contruction program vendor’s staff about claims on construction projects, and all stated the district had none. The contruction program vendor defined some of the measures it has implemented. However, these interviewees did not address claims avoidance measures as they related to the district reviewing and monitoring its consultants. The district employs numerous consultants and specialty consul- tants including: the contruction program vendor, architects, engineers, civil, state inspectors, testing labo- ratories and soils consultants. Consultants can also be a source for claims against the district. It is unclear how the district develops its claims avoidance measures, how these measures are managed and who is responsible since it lacks policies and procedures for this area. The district also does not have a Facilities Division policies and procedures manual (see the Training/Cross-Training and Policies and Procedures Man- uals section below). Claims avoidance measures and items missed in the design and construction often lead to the necessity of adding work to the project. The district calls on its own craftsmen to make sure that all requirements and needs are met. It is important for the district’s craftsmen to know why they need to perform this work, but these projects should also be documented to avoid a claim by a contractor or bolster the district’s claim against a contractor. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 26 Findings and Recommendations Facilities Recommendations The district should: 1. Research and develop an accountability process for each discipline area of contractor/ vendor used and establish which facilities planning staff member is responsible for oversight in those areas. 2. Include in the Facilities Division’s policies and procedures manual claims avoidance requirements for all levels of staff management. 3. Hold architects to a milestone schedule for design services. 4. Ensure that on construction projects, district facilities staff at least manage and oversee the follows areas: a. A preliminary construction base schedule with clear milestones, and schedule updates. This item should include project logic and logic changes. b. Recovery schedules as required. c. The actual stop and start of all construction activities. d. Communication documents, such as RFIs logs, architect’s supplemental infor- mation submittal logs, prechange orders, change orders, project status pictures on regularly scheduled intervals, issue logs and potential upcoming claims. Approved labor rates should be obtained within the first 30 days of project start date. e. The taking of project status pictures on a regular schedule, including under- ground utilities and pipelines, and all views weekly, as necessary. Picture docu- mentation would be filed in the district’s project management software. 5. Hire a third-party schedule review specialist to analyze the construction schedule if required by district administration on an as-needed basis. 6. Provide annual training on the Facilities Division’s claims avoidance policies and procedures for all who are responsible for those duties. 7. Hold employees accountable for using the claim avoidance measures process once personnel are trained. Training/Cross-Training and Policies and Procedures Manuals FCMAT’s interviews and document review indicated that cross-training is nonexistent at the district’s current staffing levels in the Facilities Division, leaving the district potentially dependent on consultants to keep its facilities program operating. For example, if the chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer is on an extended absence, no other position in the divisions is trained to continue delivering those services. The Maintenance and Operations Division could assist in the short-term; however, the divisions would likely experience serious problems in functioning at full capacity in the long-term. Cross-training has numerous benefits such as continuity during employee transitions/absences. It allows a second person to perform another employee’s duties when the employee who has primary responsibility is unavailable. Having someone else perform the job duties also provides a way to detect any errors or irregu- larities created by the absent employee. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 27 Findings and Recommendations Facilities Inadequate cross-training is often a problem even in the largest of central offices. To effectively cross-train, each employee should develop and document, preferably in a desk manual, the standard operating proce- dures he or she follows for each major task and responsibility. FCMAT was not provided with desk manuals from any of the positions in the Facilities Division, and employees did not mention them during their inter- views. Desk manuals can help with the training gaps that can remain after employee turnover and are especially helpful to new staff. They can provide training, cross-training, help preserve institutional knowledge, elimi- nate dependency on one person, ensure staff members follow the latest and most efficient procedures and document and monitor segregation of duties districtwide. Cross-training and desk manuals are not designed to make employees interchangeable and do not replace the need for the position’s appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities. Policies and procedures manuals provide the district with an opportunity to plan and diagram internal controls and written standards for the Facilities Division, school sites and other departments/divisions, with topics that include the following: • The state construction assistance process and project forms • Planning • Financing • Site selection • Educational specifications • Claims avoidance • Design, including design standards • Bidding, evaluation, and award of construction contracts • Construction, closeout, acceptance, and occupancy • Planned facility management To define the facilities planner’s roles and responsibilities, pertinent administrative policies must be delin- eated in this manual. Based on the number and complexity of the topics above, this will be a lengthy effort that includes assis- tance from the entire Facilities Division as well as input from the Maintenance and Operations Division and the district’s legal counsel. To minimize the impact on the division staff and their assigned duties, some districts use third-party vendors to prepare these manuals (including desk manuals) and ensure that they are consistent in format across all divisions/departments. Once a policies and procedures manual is developed and approved by the governing board, the Facilities Division should provide annual training for all who are responsible for duties in the manual. That could include members of the Facilities Division and site administrators/staff, the Maintenance and Operations Division and other departments/divisions. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 28 Findings and Recommendations Facilities Recommendations The district should: 1. Provide cross-training for all Facilities Division positions. 2. Develop desk manuals of employee duties, and ensure that each employee includes step- by-step procedures for all assigned duties in his or her desk manual. The district could also consider using a third party to prepare these documents to ensure they are consistent in format across all divisions/departments and do not detract from staff time to assigned duties. 3. Develop a Facilities Division policies and procedures manual, and ensure it is approved by the governing board. 4. Provide annual training on the Facilities Division’s policies and procedures manual for all who are responsible for those duties. Facilities Division Reorganization The district has developed a draft Master Facilities Plan that indicates overcrowding in the schools and the possible need for two new elementary facilities. The district is also finalizing its last projects with Measure A general obligation bond funds, but the draft Master Facilities Plan has identified and prioritized approxi- mately $597 million in projects to provide teaching facilities for its students into the 21st century. Vacaville Unified has identified approximately $60 million in funding to meet its $597 million in facility needs. This leaves a large gap and forces the district to approach voters with another general obligation bond. While the district has identified its school facility needs and all available funding sources, it has operat- ed the Facilities Division with the chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer, a facilities manager, administrative assistant I and contracting professional services to the construction program vendor. The construction program vendor has provided all-inclusive contracted services, including project programming to construction management services. This service has served the district well, but is costly. Hiring knowl- edgeable, experienced facilities planning staff may be more effective and less expensive if they can be found. Consequently, the district is considering other options. Based on a review of the Facilities Division’s management options, current structure, documentation provid- ed by the district and other issues discussed above, FCMAT believes the district should consider restructur- ing the Facilities Division. As the district’s enrollment fluctuates, the Facilities Division’s organizational structure should be adaptable to ensure duties and responsibilities continue to be fulfilled efficiently, meet the demands of its facilities and provide for student growth. No matter how the district arrived at its present structure, the Facilities Division should be staffed according to generally accepted theories of organizational structure and standards. The district must have well-de- fined job descriptions and responsibilities for the staff needed to provide management for school project programming, manage necessary design consultants and manage all types of school construction delivery methods. FCMAT reviewed district job descriptions for the chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer (draft) and facilities manager (draft) along with tasks reported to be performed by the positions in the division. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 29 Findings and Recommendations Facilities This review found that the duties included in the draft job description of the chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer position matched the actual tasks performed, but those of the facilities manager did not. Many were outside of his job description. Even with this overlap, the demands, duties and areas of respon- sibilities of these two positions are greater than they can accomplish to meet the needs of the district’s school facilities program. This may be why the district has hired outside consultants to manage the district’s building and modernization needs. The job descriptions of these two positions are too broad, and duties and responsibilities need to be narrowed and reassigned to differing staffing levels. Each level will need to have job descriptions with well-defined technical duties, tasks and responsibilities. Regardless of when the district seeks another bond, FCMAT believes adjustments can be made to its current core staff in the Facilities Division. Primary among them is to revise the division’s organizational chart so the assistant superintendent of business and administrative services has line authority over a director of facilities instead of a chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer. The director of facilities would act as the head of the Facilities Division. The district’s current use of a chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer implies that the person holding that position can serve both parts of that title, but this is not the case. The Facilities Division is experiencing unexpected projects issues that could have been avoided if additional focus were applied to the division. Maintenance and operations is essentially being headed by the district’s maintenance and operations supervisor attempting to manage approximately 90 people. Neither division is well served. The district has a director of facilities job description that was approved by the governing board on June 13, 2019. FCMAT’s review of the description’s job duties compared to those of the chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer showed overlapping duties between the two, and the document needs to be updated. For example, the description refers specifically to “the District’s $194 million Measure A Bond Program,” which will shortly be exhausted, and it does not include any responsibility to develop or maintain a division policies and procedures manual. The director of facilities should be assigned to oversee and manage the district’s design planning and construction; however, the position’s duties would focus on design planning. An assistant director of facilities should replace the facilities manager and report to the director of facilities. The district does not have a job description for this position but should design its duties/responsibilities with a clear delineation between the design and construction aspects of facilities work as well as ensure that confusion between the duties of the director and assistant director are minimized. The assistant director job description should allow for the assistant director to be cross trained for short- term departmental management duties, as needed; however, the primary duties would be to manage the responsibilities of the construction of district’s facilities program and division. Those would include the management of all construction operations, including project bidding, project schedule and timing and on- site project management duties from part-time need to full-time need. The assistant director is a major part of the claims avoidance program and would also handle early claims avoidance issues. FCMAT’s review of the job description for the administrative assistant I in the Facilities Division and the team’s interview with the incumbent candidate found that the duties are limited. This position can support the Facilities Division’s general needs; however, if the district expands the division and seeks a new bond, it may not be able to meet the needs of an aggressive and demanding facilities planning program. Before seeking the election on any new bond, the district should determine whether to seek to establish its own facilities planning team or continue using the construction program vendor for those duties. If the district chooses the latter, no additional changes to the district’s Facilities Division organizational structure will be necessary. However, an in-house facilities planning team will necessitate additional positions such as the following: Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 30 Findings and Recommendations Facilities • Facilities Planner III – Design/Architect • Facilities Planner III – Construction • Facilities Planner II – Inspection and Construction • Facilities Planner I – Construction/Small Projects • Construction Secretary The organizational chart would also include information as to which projects are assigned to each person for greater clarity in where information can be obtained as shown in the example below. Facilities Division Director of Facilities Admin. Assistant I Assista F n ac t i D lit ir ie e s ctor of Facilities Planner III Facilities Planner III Design / Architect Construction Facilities Planner I Facilities Planner II Construction / Small Projects Inspection & Construction Unassigned Unassigned Construction Construction Secretary Secretary Projects Projects Projects Projects Modernization Standard Portables, Specifications, DSA, District-wide Design Projects, Portables & Project Close-outs Certifications w/DSA Most new positions in the proposed organizational structure are facilities planners of differing levels of knowledge and skill. A facilities planner is a key person on the construction administrative team who should be knowledgeable in construction means and methods as well as be able to understand the full extent of the contract documents. Facilities planners provide daily inspection of each project they are assigned to ensure it is built in accordance with approved plans, specifications and change orders. He or she is the dis- trict’s contact for the project and ensures the proper execution of all work. The construction administration team consists of owner, architect, inspector of record, architect’s consultants, DSA, district field engineer and the testing laboratories. Each team member has the goal of delivering a successful project, and a clear un- derstanding of the appropriate lines of communication and responsibility is important in achieving this goal. Communication with district administration staff should be clearly defined including a described communi- cation sequence. Defining the roles and responsibilities of the facilities planner in pertinent board policies/ administrative regulations should be delineated in the Facilities Division’s policies and procedures manual. Facilities planners also establish and maintain contacts with local governing and public service agencies. For example, in dealing with local and county agencies, the state does not pay a city or county’s impact fees, so districts can use monies to be refunded from the state to make off-site improvements in the projects impact area. In the area of off-site street improvements in lieu of fees, these can include master drainage facilities that will work for the district and the city or county. Establishing and maintaining these Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 31 Findings and Recommendations Facilities relationships is a significant task since all are trying to meet the needs of their communities with limited funding. Overall communication and control of a project to be delivered resides in the facilities planning program, while communication and control of project construction activities is the contractor's responsibility. This underscores why the district must manage all its consultants to ensure they do not create delays/problems for a project and why these communications are part of a facilities planner’s duties. This concept applies to all consultants and testing labs working for the district. Facilities planner staff would have different levels in their ranks based on their capabilities (e.g., facilities planner III being the most experienced and a facilities planner I being the least experienced). For example, if additional assistance in the area of architects is needed, a facilities planner III, design/architect could be hired. This staff member could reduce some dependence on outside architectural programming along with creating a well-defined and inclusionary project design. This should decrease design errors and strengthen the Facilities and Maintenance and Operations divisions’ relationship. It also may reduce some of the need for consultants doing project programming while decreasing the demand on the Facilities Division head. These positions would also have responsibilities and authorities dependent upon the organization structure under which he/she is working. Ensuring that facilities planning staff know their place in the organizational structure and the extent of their responsibilities and authority is the responsibility of the district. Facilities planners are tasked with ensuring that the work is accomplished in accordance with the contract plans and specifications; however, the depth and breadth of the authority to accomplish that task is in the hands of the district. For example, if an issue arises that requires the stoppage of work, understanding the district’s and/or school site administrator’s needs, safety violations or construction deficiencies, does the facilities planner have the authority to make that call; or must he or she check with the director of facilities? With any of the proposed changes or additions to positions discussed above, the district can hire from outside the district. It also can hire from within if staff have the experience, knowledge, skills and abilities needed for the position. Whichever route is taken, it is important that staff receive training to perform their duties and also be able to refine those skills through continuing education. Training in facilities planning/ management often has limited offerings; however, the most common sources for that information in the educational arena are through the Coalition for Adequate School Housing and the California Association of School Business Officials. Hiring facilities planners to reduce its reliance on the construction program vendor’s services would gen- erate savings on staffing costs and create a staff that can assume projects from concept to completion. Having its own planning staff will eliminate the district’s need for consultants in some areas, such as project programming, developing cost effective school sites and creating well-designed, functioning schools that will carry school campuses well into the future. Some independent consultants such as architects, special consultants, construction managers and general contractors, will still be necessary. However, the Facilities Division will be better prepared to select and manage those vendors while handling most of all other duties involved in the district’s construction projects. This transition will take time. However, this may be the optimal time for the district to explore whether adequate professional staffing is available to perform these duties. The decision will require that the dis- trict’s senior administration understand the district’s facilities needs and its existing projects’ demands and complexity as well as the sequencing of projects into the future. The district would need a plan to implement this change. The best practice is hiring a facilities planner III, design/architect first since these individuals have the knowledge and skills to handle all the current and potential projects needs. However, the district must continue to anticipate its needs for additional staffing in a timely manner based on its projects and the pool of candidates available. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 32 Findings and Recommendations Facilities The chart above provides for two construction secretaries and presumes that functions such as project ac- counting and contract payments would be processed by these two positions. At present, project account- ing as well as contract payments are handled in the Fiscal Services Division of the Business and Admin- istrative Services Department. While project accounting and contract payments are extremely important parts of a facilities program, some districts move those functions to their facilities division and some allow them to remain in the business department. FCMAT did not interview those in the Fiscal Services Division to determine if project accounting and/or contract payments are being properly processed. That division was outside of the scope of this study. As a result, only the district can determine whether transferring these duties to the Facilities Division and adding the construction secretary position(s) would be appropri- ate. No matter which division performs those tasks, the assistant superintendent of business and adminis- trative services should be involved. Staff performing the day-to-day work should be properly trained in the accounting system and in the laws and regulations that construction projects are required to follow and issue payments for work that is fully authorized and be able to verify and document expenses to the OPSC The passage of the proposed general obligation bond could significantly affect the number of staff mem- bers joining the district’s team. The district should also consider a staff training period so newly hired posi- tions can learn district needs, expectations and the authorities assigned to positions. As the transitions to district facilities planners occurs, the district and contruction program vendor will need to develop written protocols and procedures regarding the turnover for projects to the district’s Facilities, Maintenance and Operations Department. Those tasks should include closeout document organization and automation (possibly onto a district file transfer protocol website for use by the entire department and design teams). As part of the project turnover procedure, a programwide training protocol for custodians, site users and maintenance staff should continue to be implemented as necessary for new systems. This task should be standardized and assigned to the contracted construction program vendor. The Facilities Division head should direct this activity. Recommendations The district should: 1. Consider restructuring the Facilities Division. 2. Consider adding a new director of facilities position to manage and supervise the district’s Facilities Division and its facilities planning program and eliminating the chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer position. Revise the job description for the director position to provide oversight and management of the district’s design planning as well as construction of its facilities. 3. Consider adding an assistant director of facilities and eliminating the facilities manager position. If this change is implemented, develop an appropriate job description that allows for cross-training with the director but its primary duties/responsibilities of the construction of district’s facilities program. Ensure the job description clearly delineates between the design and construction aspects of facilities work as well as ensures that confusion between the duties of the director and assistant director are kept to a minimum. 4. Consider expanding the job description duties of the administrative assistant I so that they can support the future needs of an aggressive and demanding facilities planning program. 5. Consider adding facility planners and construction clerical staff if the district decides to have an in-house facilities planning team. Determine the level of staff member needed on Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 33 Findings and Recommendations Facilities the basis of the district’s projects and the expertise and abilities needed in the division, with facilities planners III receiving the most complex projects and facilities planner I receiving smaller projects. 6. Develop appropriate job descriptions for the new facilities planner positions. 7. Ensure that communication processes are clearly defined, including a described communication sequence. Ensure that the roles and responsibilities of the facilities planner are clearly delineated in the pertinent board policies/administrative regulations that are included in the Facilities Division’s policies and procedures manual. 8. Develop document and communications flow charts between Facilities Division staff, district administration and outside entities. 9. Continue to train staff in facilities management through the Coalition for Adequate School Housing and the California Association of School Business Officials workshops and available facilities planning training classes. 10. If it decides to develop its own facilities planning team, develop a plan to move the district forward with that decision. This plan should include efforts to determine if facilities planning personnel are available, the cost of hiring those individuals, the district’s facilities planning projects and the sequencing of hiring and training needs of new hires to attain a fully functioning team. 11. Consider whether it would be appropriate to transfer the project accounting and contract payment duties to the Facilities Division and add the construction secretary position(s). 12. No matter where project accounting and contract payment duties are performed, ensure the assistant superintendent of business and administrative services is involved in overseeing those duties. Properly train staff performing the day-to-day work in the accounting system and in the laws and regulations that construction projects are required to follow. Ensure payments are issued, work is fully authorized and able to verify and document expenses to the OPSC. 13. Consider a staff training period so newly hired positions can learn district needs, expectations and the authorities assigned to positions. 14. Develop written protocols and procedures on the turnover for projects as the transitions to district facilities planners occurs. 15. Establish a programwide training protocol for custodians, site users and maintenance staff as necessary for newly implemented systems. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 34 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division Maintenance and Operations Division The Maintenance and Operations Division is headed by a chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer, who has been with the district for more than 13 years. The division is responsible for approximately 1,191,148 square feet at 22 different sites. The chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer also takes the lead on all the district’s facility projects, which include new construction and modernization. The district is plan- ning construction and modernization work, limiting the amount of time the chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer has for supervising and overseeing the productivity of the maintenance staff. However, the middle-management position of maintenance and operations supervisor oversees the maintenance, grounds and custodial subdivisions. To assist the maintenance and operations supervisor in overseeing maintenance staff, the district has fore- man positions for each of the trades in the maintenance subdivision; however, it does not have foremen in the custodial subdivision. These four employees do not participate in evaluations or provide discipline, yet they are responsible for managing the work order system, ordering parts, coordinating repairs, and infor- mally assigning work orders. This situation has created confusion among maintenance staff members with- out delivering a greater level of supervision. Because the maintenance and operations supervisor spends a significant amount of time supervising the custodial subdivision, the foremen are left to address conflict or performance issues, yet they have no authority to do so. To be accountable for something without the necessary authority is demoralizing, unproductive, and potentially leads to a toxic work environment. The Maintenance and Operations Division has one administrative assistant and one staff secretary. The administrative assistant answers phone calls for the division, coordinates substitute custodians, handles contracts for the maintenance subdivision, and addresses compliance requirements (such as fire inspec- tions and the district’s fuel system.) The staff secretary focuses on the maintenance subdivision’s work order process. She enters data into the work order system, fields phone calls related to the status of work orders, processes requisitions, and matches vendor invoices with purchase orders. The maintenance subdivision processed approximately 3,745 work orders in 2019-20, 3,836 in 2020-21 and 2,345 for 2021-22 through January 4, 2022. The 2021-22 second interim report shows the district’s project- ed contribution to the ongoing and major maintenance account at $5,550,053, which is approximately $1.4 million more than the required minimum contribution. Board Policies and Administrative Regulations for Maintenance and Operations Like the policies noted above related to facilities, FCMAT’s review of those related to maintenance and op- erations showed that some policies have not been updated for many years as shown below: • Administrative Regulation 1312.4, Williams Uniform Complaint Procedures, was updated by GAMUT in May 2020; however, the district’s last update was April 17, 2018. • Board Policy 3111, Deferred Maintenance Funds, was last adopted on August 4, 2005. This policy references revenue limit, which was the funding formula for educational agencies prior to the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). LCFF replaced revenue limit in fiscal year 2013-14 and GAMUT no longer includes this policy in its catalog. • Board Policy 3311, Bids, was updated by GAMUT in December 2016. The district last re- vised this policy on October 2, 2008. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 35 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division • Administrative Regulation 3311, Bids, was updated by GAMUT in December 2016. The dis- trict last revised this regulation on January 25, 2011. • Board Policy 3312, Contract, was updated by GAMUT in April 2015; however, the district’s last update was October 20, 2011. • Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 4157/4257/4357, Employee Safety, was last updat- ed by GAMUT in October 2020. The district last updated these items on September 2, 2010. Maintenance and Operations Division Organizational Culture Organizational culture is broadly defined as a system of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs that gov- ern how people behave in school districts. These shared values strongly influence the people in the orga- nization and dictate how they dress, act, and perform their jobs. Every school district possesses a unique culture. Organizational culture is generally not formal but shaped by the actions of leadership over time. FCMAT’s interviews found that the Maintenance and Operations Division operates with a level of compla- cency that has impeded improvement. As a result, some employees try to avoid work by claiming assign- ments are not their responsibility or refer to their positions by titles that differ from their job descriptions. These behaviors decrease accountability and make it difficult to align expectations with job descriptions. The division has not adapted to the needs of its customers, and employees have resisted change. The maintenance and operations supervisor was promoted from within the department and lacks some lead- ership skills. They have been provided with professional development and mentors to ask for guidance, but need some additional formal training to build skills such as accountability, organizational skills, and coordination. The assistant superintendent of business and administrative services is attempting to make improvements and raise the level of accountability in all operational divisions. The key to success involves several factors such as the following: • Shared Vision • Effective Leadership • Organizational Culture Supporting Change FCMAT’s staff interviews indicate these elements are not present. Line staff employees typically agree with the assistant superintendent of business and administrative services’ goal to improve operational services, but reasons for change have not been articulated nor has there been an opportunity for input from line staff. Members of the middle management team have not clearly communicated this information. Maintenance sub- division staff indicated that middle management is unapproachable and disconnected from staff. The result is a lack of trust between line staff employees and the division’s management team. That lack of trust has creat- ed an environment where employees believe that they need to be suspicious of the actions of others. The relationship between management and line staff employees can be improved by enhancing communi- cation, recognizing and rewarding staff for achievements, incorporating a sense of belonging and develop- ing a practice of accountability and transparency at all levels. Maintenance and Operations Division/Subdivision Training FCMAT’s review of training records found that the district has a safety training program for the 2021-22 year. The training topics ranged from ladder safety to bloodborne pathogen awareness. These are appro- priate based on the type of work performed by the Maintenance and Operations Division staff. However, critical trainings for maintenance subdivision staff on lead paint disturbance have not been scheduled. The Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 36 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division Environmental Protection Agency requires employees who conduct renovation, repair or painting activities in pre-1978 child-occupied facilities to become lead-safe certified. Firms hired by the school district to per- form this type of work must also be certified. Many maintenance subdivision staff only have general maintenance training and lack journeyman-level expertise in a specific trade or discipline. Due to this lack of expertise, the district has implemented an in-house skills training program for the position titled maintenance/grounds assistant. This skills training is taught by staff who have more knowledge than that of the assistant position in a specific trade. Because of the time spent training others, the district staff will find it difficult to stay current with building codes, gov- ernmental regulations, and industry best practices. FCMAT’s interviews and its review of district documents indicates that some maintenance personnel have been promoted to a journeyman-level position without completing an apprenticeship program or perform- ing specialized training for their respective maintenance trades such as HVAC, electrical and/or structural. The district has relied on this on-the-job training as a means of training and experience. When on-the-job training is the sole method of providing work experience and the senior employees lack journeyman-lev- el experience, new employees will fail to gain the necessary trade skills. Many skilled trades listed in the maintenance technician job description require licensing or certifications to ensure a minimum level of skill. Trades such as HVAC, electrician and plumbing are inherently dangerous because of their exposure to pressurized vessels, high voltage electricity and working in confined spaces or at extreme heights. Routine Restricted Maintenance Account LEAs are required to establish a Restricted Ongoing and Major Maintenance Account (RRMA) in the general fund if they participate in the State School Building Programs. FCMAT observed that the district meets the required 3% contribution; however, it was unclear whether there is a significant fund balance at the end of each of the previous fiscal years. While it may be difficult for the district to predict the level of expenditure that will be required in a given fiscal year, the district should develop a budget that is increasingly accurate based on historical expenditures and needs. The RRMA is dedicated to maintenance of existing facilities. During site visits, FCMAT noticed numerous repair needs. The Maintenance and Operations Division staff should be trained to monitor expenditures to date, open purchase orders, including future expenditure commitments, and forecast outrun. Maintenance Subdivision Staffing Levels The Association of Physical Plant Administrators (APPA) provides a formula for determining appropriate maintenance staffing based on the desired level of service. The levels of service, based on district square footage, are as follows: • Level 1 – Showpiece Facility (the highest standard) Maintenance activities appear highly focused. Typically, equipment and building components are fully functional and in excellent operating condition. Service and maintenance calls are responded to immediately. Buildings and equipment are regu- larly upgraded, keeping them current with modern standards and usage. • Level 2 – Comprehensive Stewardship (the recommended staffing level for schools) Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 37 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division Maintenance activities appear organized with direction. Equipment and building components are usually functional and in operating condition. Service and mainte- nance calls are responded to in a timely manner. Buildings and equipment are regu- larly upgraded, keeping them current with modern standards and usage. • Level 3 – Managed Care (work order response time can be lengthy, and facilities’ condi- tions remain stagnant) Maintenance activities appear to be somewhat organized, but they remain peo- ple-dependent. Equipment and building components are mostly functional, but they suffer occasional breakdowns. Service and maintenance call response times are variable and sporadic without apparent cause. Buildings and equipment are periodi- cally upgraded to current standards and usage, but not enough to control the effects of normal usage and deterioration. • Level 4 – Reactive Maintenance (facilities’ conditions deteriorate at an accelerated rate) Maintenance activities appear to be somewhat chaotic and people-dependent. Equipment and building components are frequently broken and inoperative. Service and maintenance calls are typically not responded to in a timely manner. Normal usage and deterioration continue unabated, making buildings and equipment inade- quate to meet present usage needs. • Level 5 – Crisis Response (maintenance staff can only respond to emergencies) Maintenance activities appear chaotic and without direction. Equipment and build- ing components are routinely broken and inoperative. Service and maintenance calls are never responded to in a timely manner. Normal usage and deterioration continue unabated, making buildings and equipment inadequate to meet present usage needs. Using the APPA formula for maintenance staffing (http://www.appa.org/), the following table shows the num- ber of FTE positions the district would need for each level of service: APPA Maintenance Staffing Calculation Level of Service District Sq. Ft. 1 ,191,148 # of FTE Level 1 - Showpiece Facility 4 7,220 25.2 Level 2 - Comprehensive Stewardship 6 7,456 17.7 Level 3 - Managed Care 9 4,439 12.6 Level 4 - Reactive Maintenance 1 18,049 10.1 Level 5 - Crisis Response 2 36,098 5.0 FCMAT has not verified the underlying data used in this calculation. The maintenance subdivision has 25 FTEs assigned in the following manner: • Three foremen (electrical, mechanical, and structural) Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 38 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division • Four maintenance persons - electrical (including one low voltage technician) with one main- tenance person – electrical position vacant at the time of fieldwork • Two maintenance persons - mechanical • Five maintenance persons - structural • Six maintenance/grounds assistants with one position vacant at the time of fieldwork • One garage foreman • Two mechanics • One maintenance technician • One maintenance logistics clerk The subdivision includes vehicle mechanics, a vehicle foreman and two employees that work in the ware- house. Additionally, because of the rotating manner of the maintenance/grounds assistant position, includ- ing in the warehouse subdivision, these 11 positions cannot be counted in the APPA calculation. Based on this, the district has 14 FTEs performing maintenance duties. Using the APPA staffing calculation above, the maintenance subdivision provides managed care, or Level 3, facility service to the district’s schools. FCMAT made site visits to a random sample of the district’s schools, and its observations confirmed this level of service. Moving to a Level 2 of care will require the district to consider increasing staffing by four FTE. The level of staffing needed will depend on a trained workforce, funding, clear leadership structures, a formal preventive maintenance plan and an adopted level of service that is acceptable to meet the needs of students, staff, and the community. The following two methods will assist in this process: • A thorough analysis of the current maintenance subdivision positions by the Human Re- sources Department or an independent reviewer to determine if the workforce is equipped to perform the essential functions of their job descriptions. and/or • An extensive, trade specific training program utilizing local vendors, community colleges, and various online trainings and webinars to ensure maintenance personnel can perform the essential functions of the job descriptions. Preventive Maintenance The district does not have a formalized preventive maintenance plan. The maintenance subdivision oper- ates in a reactionary mode, with a run-to-fail strategy. This is considered a hands-off approach with the goal of keeping maintenance costs low; however, this type of program has proved to be costly in the long run. When equipment fails without warning, it creates a need for immediate repair, resulting in higher costs. Ad- ditionally, when equipment fails during a critical time, it can create an uncomfortable or potentially unsafe environment for students and staff. A preventive maintenance plan would benefit the district, and multiple building systems should be includ- ed in such a plan, including but not limited to roofs, HVAC, walls, electrical, gas lines, plumbing supply and waste lines, and fire alarms. A preventive maintenance plan has multiple outcomes including: • Improved operating efficiency Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 39 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division • Fewer breakdowns • Lower operating costs • Improved safety • Improved customer satisfaction • Decreased disruptions resulting from reactionary maintenance activities The chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer should develop a written schedule and establish maintenance priorities to effectively utilize maintenance funding and materials in the plan. Implementation of a preventive maintenance plan will require the chief facilities, maintenance & operations officer to work with all the trades in the maintenance subdivision. This should help promote trust with the foremen of the different trade shops. The steps for implementing a preventive maintenance plan include the following: • Create a department policy regarding preventive maintenance and included funding sources. • Create an inventory database of all facilities and equipment that require routine preventive maintenance and care. • Create a computer database that stores and displays in chronological order the dates of when equipment should be serviced or potentially replaced. • Establish a financial plan, funding sources and budget codes to track preventive maintenance expenditures. Because the district has not previously implemented this type of a plan and the work required to execute it, this step may require meeting with the assistant superin- tendent of business and administrative services to expand funding available to perform the work. • Develop a calendar for projects that may need to be contracted out. This should be devel- oped in concert with the district’s master facilities plan. • Develop a program to annually update the district’s facilities inventory to document the changes that have occurred because of maintenance, equipment replacement, moderniza- tion, demolition of facilities, or new construction. Work Order System The maintenance subdivision delivers services with an electronic work order system (Facilitron). Site staff enter the work orders, and the maintenance and operations supervisor assigns those tasks to the appro- priate personnel. The district has used this system for approximately 2 1/2 years. Before that, work orders were printed and handwritten documentation recorded all the maintenance activities. With the current system, maintenance staff receive a printed copy of the work order and manually complete the form to document labor, material and a description of the work performed. That document is returned to the main- tenance secretary, who records this information in Facilitron. This is a duplication of work that creates a potential for inaccuracies. An electronic tablet (or other similar device) could be used to document mainte- nance activities. FCMAT’s interviews indicated that staff have mixed feelings about this potential change, with some commenting that some maintenance personnel do not check their email. However, all staff mem- bers who were interviewed use “smart phones” daily, which is comparable to utilizing a tablet. Interviewees expressed concern about the lack of training in the work order system. Additionally, mainte- nance staff reported that the type of information recorded in the work order system varied widely, based Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 40 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division on personal preference. For example, some staff members do not include comments while others provide detailed descriptions. This type of inconsistency erodes the credibility of the subdivision, and a policy to provide a consistent level of detail will ensure that the Facilitron system is the single source of information on the work requested and completed on each work order. District staff interviewed believe the work order system generally meets the organization’s needs. A few perceived that some work orders are ignored or closed without any maintenance work performed. While re- viewing the work order system, FCMAT found that the district only began to track the aging history of work orders for the 2021-22 fiscal year. Information about current open work orders or average turnaround time is not tracked, so reports of this information are not available for analysis. The work order system appears to be cumbersome, with no one district employee having thorough knowledge of the system and staff/ad- ministrators not fully trained in its functionality. The maintenance and operations management staff does not have a method to routinely audit the turnaround time and completion rates of work orders and ensure any outstanding work orders are addressed in a timely manner. Purchasing FCMAT’s interviews indicated inconsistencies in the district’s purchasing procedures. No standard exists regarding procurement authority, with some interviewees reporting that the preapproval process is written and others stating it is verbal. Additionally, some tradespersons maintained an excessive stock of on-hand material in their trucks while others made purchases as needed. This type of erratic purchasing policy does not ensure timely, efficient, or economic procurement of material. The best practice would be to develop and implement a policy that identifies acceptable procurement instruments (i.e., POs, blanket/open POs, credit cards, etc.), strives to maintain open and full competition and includes codes of conduct, procure- ment authority, cost/price analysis, and record-keeping. Inventory FCMAT did not conduct a site visit to the Maintenance and Operations Division building but reviewed lists of vehicles at each site. The lists lacked detail on the contents of the vehicles, and the maintenance subdivision did not have an inventory of items (e.g., parts, tools, ladders, etc.) in stock. Consequently, the following is based on industry standards and best practices. The district should inventory the content of the Maintenance and Opera- tions Division buildings and vehicles. This is a critical step to determine the efficiency of the division. Without an estimated inventory value or stock report, the district risks purchasing unnecessary equipment or tools. While maintaining a warehouse of maintenance-related repair parts may appear to be an effective way to save money, the cost of operation, potential for theft, or obsolescence or damage of supplies, can often outweigh actual savings experienced in bulk-rate purchases. Identifying equipment, materials and parts that offer the best savings when kept on hand will help ensure the lowest impact to school sites and ensure that repair parts are kept to a minimum yet assist in immediate repairs. For other supplies, the district may want to consider just-in-time options. Vendors can offer competitive pricing on common inventory items and deliver them directly to the location. Just-in-time can be more expensive when comparing individual items, but the convenience and availability of goods is greater. Uniforms/ID Badges Article 13.1 of the SEIU collective bargaining agreement provides the maintenance subdivision staff with uniforms and/or a uniform allowance. The contract further states “[d]istrict specified clothing…will be pro- vided and worn during duty hours”; however, based on FCMAT’s observations during interviews and site visits, staff are inconsistent in wearing the uniform. The requirement for all department members to wear the district-supplied standard uniform benefits the district by allowing students, staff and the community to Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 41 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division identify maintenance subdivision staff members. Uniforms also create a consistent appearance and fos- ter a sense of unity among the staff. Uniforms also prevent the employee’s personal clothing from being damaged while mixing chemicals or working with machinery. Staff also indicated that the district provides identification badges, but employees did not regularly wear them, which can affect safety. Recommendations The district should: 1. Ensure that job descriptions for foremen positions include the ability to address conflict or performance issues. 2. Update board policies and administrative regulations to reflect current law and circumstances. 3. Provide professional development to supervisory personnel to build skills such as accountability, organizational skills, and coordination. 4. Build trust between department management and line staff employees by improving communication, recognizing and rewarding staff for achievements, incorporating a sense of belonging and developing accountability and transparency at all levels. 5. Provide training based on the EPA’S Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP Rule). 6. Use local vendors, community colleges, and various online trainings and webinars to ensure maintenance personnel have up-to-date knowledge and skills. 7. Ensure that the Human Resources Department screens candidates for future open positions in the maintenance subdivision to determine whether they hold relevant certifications and possess adequate work experience and training for the specific position being filled (e.g., HVAC, plumbing, electrical, etc.). 8. Expend all RRMA funds each fiscal year to ensure the district’s and state’s investment in capital facilities is preserved. 9. Establish the APPA level of service that the district wishes to maintain for its facilities. If that level is determined at Level 2, consider increasing its maintenance staff by four FTE to attain that level of care. 10. Ensure that the Human Resources Department or an independent reviewer evaluates the maintenance subdivision’s workforce ability to perform the essential functions of their job descriptions. 11. Develop and implement a preventive maintenance plan using the steps outlined above. 12. Consider issuing electronic tablets (or other similar device) to document maintenance activities in the Facilitron system. 13. Create policies and procedures that identify the level of detail that should be recorded for maintenance activities in the work order system. 14. Provide in-depth initial and annual training for all staff/administrators who use district specific technology such as email, work order system/Facilitron, and the financial system. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 42 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division 15. Develop a method to routinely audit the turnaround time and completion rates of work orders, and ensure any outstanding work orders are addressed in a timely manner. 16. Develop a department policy and procedure for procurement of materials and supplies. 17. Complete the inventory of the Maintenance and Operations Division facility, vehicles and their contents. 18. Identify materials and parts that offer the greatest savings and help ensure the lowest impact to school sites and have them on hand. Consider using a just-in-time system for other parts/materials. 19. Require the maintenance subdivision to wear district-provided uniforms and identification badges. Grounds Subdivision Subdivision Overview The district’s grounds staffing consists of seven FTE centralized groundspersons including the following: • One grounds foreman • Two grounds III/pest controllers • Three groundspersons II • One maintenance/grounds assistant – this position was vacant at the time of fieldwork The district groundskeepers are responsible for maintaining large turf areas with riding mowers, mainline irrigation repair, paint striping of sports fields, fencing, playground repairs, asphalt painting, and performing other miscellaneous tasks. The grounds subdivision has a grounds foreman position that sets the mowing schedule and assigns work orders to staff. The current schedule requires two FTE to spend 80% of their time mowing. This leaves approximately 4.5 FTE for the maintenance of 9,610,207 square feet of field turf. The district also uses a job description titled maintenance/grounds assistant, and seven positions (with two vacant) rotate between various trades/subdivisions. This position is intended to provide on-the-job training for employees who want to promote to skilled positions (see also Maintenance and Operations Division/ Subdivision Training above). Staffing Grounds management depends on well-trained personnel with skills in a variety of areas. Like other mainte- nance 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 Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 43 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division The CASBO does not have a formula for grounds maintenance staffing; however, the Florida Department of Education (FDE) has performed extensive research in this area and included its findings in a document enti- tled “Maintenance and Operations Administrative Guidelines for School Districts and Community Colleges.” Among other things, the document establishes a formula for staffing school district grounds maintenance personnel. 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, general grounds functions are performed by school custodians, while large open areas and athletic fields are maintained by district grounds crews. The recommended formula for determining the number of specialized grounds workers and athletic field grounds workers is the total acreage of the school facility divided by 40, plus one FTE grounds person, plus one FTE grounds person per 500,000 square feet of athletic fields. The district provided FCMAT with precise measurements of the grounds allocated to playfields at each school site in acres. FCMAT used the district-provided acreage numbers to produce the following calcula- tion. By applying the FDE formula, FCMAT calculates that the district should have at least 27.13 FTEs to be adequately staffed. FDE Staffing Calculation Sq ft per Acre Facilities Acreage Athl Flds S/F 43,560 621 S. Orchard 1.76 60,548 1.39 Alamo Elementary 9.11 332,798 7.64 Browns Valley Elementary* 8.72 283,576 6.51 Buckingham High School 4.63 133,294 3.06 Callison Elementary 7.51 236,095 5.42 Cooper Elementary 7.29 229,126 5.26 Education Services Center 2.27 78,408 1.80 Elmira School 10.00 390,733 8.97 Fairmont Elementary 12.25 470,448 10.80 Hemlock Elementary 9.60 307,969 7.07 Kairos Academy & Warehouse 8.33 282,704 6.49 Kimme Charter/WRAP 1.68 42,689 0.98 Maint/Trans/Community Day 7.18 290,545 6.67 Markham Elementary 10.00 122,404 2.81 McMurtry Property 20.51 893,416 20.51 Orchard Elementary 10.68 425,146 9.76 Padan Elementary 9.29 293,594 6.74 Sierra Vista K-8 8.15 267,458 6.14 Vaca Pena Middle School 20.26 745,747 17.12 Vacaville High School 37.18 1,135,609 26.07 Will C. Wood High School 40.40 1,415,700 32.50 Willis Jepson Middle School 29.66 1,172,200 26.91 Subtotals 276.46 9,610,207 220.62 Groundskeepers: Hours FTE Current Staffing (FTE): 7 Min Contracted Time 4 0.5 Calculated Required Staffing: 27.13 Block (MinCTB) (in hours) Practical Required Staffing: 27.5 Max Contracted Time 8 1 Current Staffing Compared to Formula 25% Block (MaxCTB) = 1 FTE (hours) *FCMAT adjusted the acreage based on Google Earth calculations FCMAT has not verified the underlying data used in this calculation. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 44 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division Based on this formula, grounds staffing for the district appears to be drastically inadequate. The district should ensure that grounds staffing, and grounds functions are aligned with the district’s priorities. Land- scape maintenance complements a district’s buildings and its general atmosphere. A campus’ physical condition can greatly affect the learning environment and the attitudes and impressions of the district’s stu- dents, staff, parents and community. The district will need to review its level of grounds care and determine if the conditions on its campuses support its educational mission and meet the community’s standards. As the district increases the department’s staffing, the district should consider adding a supervisory po- sition. FCMAT previously indicated Maintenance and Operations Division staffing violates the concept of span of control. Adding 20 FTE in employees to the district’s organizational structure would exacerbate the situation. Job Descriptions None of the grounds personnel’s job descriptions reviewed during fieldwork had been updated since Oc- tober 2011. Although job descriptions are not meant to list the exact number of tasks performed or every possible scenario, they should include the general scope and level of the work. The groundsperson I, II, and III job descriptions lack detailed information on specific responsibilities such as irrigation pump and timer repair, and landscape fertilization. A best practice is to review job descriptions every two to three years and update them as needed to ensure they reflect current laws and industry standards. Equipment FCMAT found that equipment in the grounds subdivision such as blowers, hedgers, tree trimmers and weed whips, were in good repair. Employees reported that the district’s riding mowers are well maintained and appropriate for their assigned use. The district provided FCMAT with its White Fleet Replacement Sched- ule, which included vehicles for the entire Maintenance and Operations Division, large pieces of grounds equipment and vehicles/equipment for other departments. Of the 36 vehicles and pieces of equipment listed for the grounds subdivision, nine were overdue for replacement and were three to 19 years past their useful lives. This list has clearly not established a grounds equipment replacement budget based on the life cycle of grounds equipment. It is best to stagger the purchase of grounds equipment so that replacements can be budgeted over several years, and multiple pieces of grounds equipment do not reach the end of their life cycles at the same time. FCMAT did not verify that all of the grounds subdivision equipment was listed. However, since 25% of the subdivision’s listed equipment is well past its useful life, these two princi- ples may not have been followed, and an even larger budget will be necessary to bring the equipment up to date. Training and Safety The district has no formal training program for its grounds personnel. As a result, most training was re- ceived from prior employers or gained on the job. The district provides limited safety training, such as for the safe use of forklifts, ladders, boom lifts, and the avoidance of heat exposure. Grounds personnel indi- cated that personal protective equipment is readily available to them, and they are trained in its proper use. Grounds maintenance is one of the more hazardous positions in a school district because these employees use rotating and cutting equipment. The district should establish a budget for a grounds staff development program, including sending one groundskeeper to trainings on water conservation. This training should include the use of drought resistant vegetation, turf management and irrigation repair, which should assist the district with water usage issues that lead to cost savings. Specialized training should also reduce haz- ards to subdivision personnel. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 45 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division Purchases Grounds personnel indicated that all department members are authorized to make purchases; however, they were inconsistent about the threshold for supervisor approval. All personnel who make purchases were aware of the process to record the work order number on the receipt and submit it to the Maintenance and Operations Division administrative staff for tracking. The district developed a Purchasing Manual, which was last revised on July 28, 2021, that includes dollar limits for purchasing equipment and using open/blanket purchase orders. The district also has a Credit Card Program Guide for Cardholders and Approvers revised October 2018; however, it does not include monetary parameters for purchase approvals. These documents should be reviewed annually and updated as needed, and all members of the grounds subdivision should be trained in their use. Providing a specif- ic threshold for grounds workers to use before supervisor approval is required in making purchases may be necessary in the next set of revisions to these manuals to provide clearer direction. Periodic review of purchasing patterns can identify potentially improper purchases or abuses without delaying or hindering needed repairs. Uniforms/ID Badges Unlike the maintenance and the custodial subdivisions, Article 13.1 of the SEIU collective bargaining agree- ment does not specifically provide the grounds subdivision staff with uniforms and/or an allowance unless the term “maintenance” has been determined to include grounds personnel. If this is an oversight in the SEIU collective bargaining agreement, grounds subdivision personnel should also wear uniforms and badg- es for the reasons detailed above. Recommendations The district should: 1. Adopt the Florida Department of Education grounds maintenance staffing formula as a general guideline for adding or reducing grounds maintenance personnel. 2. Consider adding up to 20 FTE in grounds positions based on the Florida Department of Education formula. 3. Consider adding a supervisor position to oversee additional grounds staff. (Further discussion is included in the Maintenance and Operations Division Reorganization below.) 4. Align grounds staffing and functions with district priorities. 5. Update job descriptions to include changes in skill requirements and current law. 6. Establish a grounds equipment replacement budget based on the life cycle of grounds equipment. 7. Stagger the purchase of grounds equipment so that replacements can be budgeted over several years, and multiple pieces of grounds equipment do not reach the end of their life cycles at the same time. 8. Provide professional development for the grounds personnel, including training on water conservation and specialized trainings to reduce hazards. 9. Determine a single-purchase limit for all grounds personnel. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 46 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division 10. Ensure that the district’s Purchasing Manual and Credit Card Program Guide for Cardholders and Approvers are reviewed/revised annually. 11. Consider providing a specific threshold for grounds workers to purchase prior to supervisor approval in the next set of revisions to these manuals. 12. Ensure that all members of the grounds subdivision are trained in the contents of the district’s Purchasing Manual. 13. Consider adding a periodic review of purchasing patterns in the grounds division to identify potentially improper purchases in the district’s Purchasing Manual. 14. Require district-provided uniforms to be worn by the grounds subdivision staff in conjunction with district-provided identification badge. Custodial Subdivision Subdivision Overview The organizational structure of the district’s custodial subdivision is site-based. Secondary school sites have head custodians, and elementary school sites have lead custodians, both of which work the day shift. These classifications of employees perform site management, create work assignments for night custo- dians, and perform minimal custodial cleaning tasks. Each site has a night lead custodian and additional custodians working various schedules. The subdivision has no management level positions; however, the maintenance and operations supervisor provides leadership for all maintenance, grounds, and custodial employees. As has been noted previously, this supervisor’s span of control is approximately 90 full-time employees, which is excessive. When determining the span of control, there is no one optimal number. The nature of the work, the size of the organization and the attention each subordinate requires must be considered. FCMAT’s interviews found that the maintenance and operations supervisor was overloaded, requiring too much task direction, support, and supervision. Additionally, FCMAT observed role confusion during its site visits, specifically with site administrators. Because there is no clear directive on who is responsible for the supervision, eval- uation, and management of custodial positions, principals/assistant principals were unsure of their role with site custodians. The district would benefit from creating a district level custodial supervisor who reports to the Maintenance and Operations Division head. This district level position could perform the following: • Develop and implement a district cleaning standard as well as a division policies and pro- cedures handbook to publicize these standards • Conduct training specific to industry best practices • Conduct employee discipline and performance evaluations • Audit work schedules A hybrid supervision model could be implemented to support implementation of a custodial supervisor position. The hybrid model includes a coordinated evaluation procedure performed by the custodial super- visor and the site-based administrator. The custodial supervisor should evaluate the employee’s technical skills, which would include cleaning methods, vacuuming, dusting, mopping, stain removal, glass cleaning, sink cleaning, efficient use of time, etc. The site administrator would evaluate “people” skills, including inter- actions with staff, students, community, attendance, dependability, work attitude, etc. During FCMAT’s site Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 47 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division visits, some site administrators commented they do not feel comfortable evaluating technical skills because they are not familiar with the requirements of custodial operations and lack the level of expertise needed to effectively assess performance or provide procedural guidance. The information above is not all-inclusive but designed to provide suggestions to indicate how a dual-input evaluation could be performed. Using this method will increase the standards of care and raise the level of accountability of custodial employees. Many custodial staff members have been employed in the district for more than 15 years and have substan- tial historical knowledge. However, this knowledge has not been translated into an up-to-date policies and procedures manual. The Custodial Handbook provided to FCMAT was last revised in September 2016, mak- ing the district inefficient by relying on institutional knowledge. Without policies, procedures and standard- ization, the district has become fragmented and unable to maintain a unified cleaning expectation. This lack of procedures has also created inefficiencies when new employees are hired or substitute employees are used. These two groups of employees frequently must learn their responsibilities with little or no formalized training. Some custodians reportedly maintain a portion of their respective campus’ landscaping. This creates confu- sion between the custodial and grounds subdivisions about who is assigned to care for ornamental flower beds throughout the district’s campuses. This has resulted in a significant difference in levels of care for landscape maintenance between school sites. Caring for ornamental plants is more difficult when they are not well-suited to the site selected or are improperly planted. The district would benefit from clarifying the responsibilities between each subdivision. A custodial handbook can identify the level of care expected for flower bed maintenance and clearly identify how and when a day custodian can perform that task. Addition- ally, a list of approved planting material should be maintained by the district. Levels of Care (Standards) While there is no nationwide standard for cleanliness, the U.S. Department of Education has established five levels of cleaning. Each cleaning level presumes that an eight-hour shift includes two 15-minute breaks, a 30-minute lunch break, and the custodian has been provided the proper supplies and equipment. • 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 can clean approximately 10,000 to 11,000 square feet in an eight-hour shift. • Level 2 cleaning is the uppermost standard for most school cleaning and is generally re- served for restrooms, special education areas, kindergarten areas, or food service areas. This level of service for classrooms includes vacuuming or mopping floors daily and sanitiz- ing all surfaces. At this level, a custodian can clean approximately 18,000 to 20,000 square feet in an eight- hour shift. • Level 3 cleaning is the norm for most school facilities. It is acceptable to most parties and does not pose any health concerns. Classrooms are cleaned daily, which includes dumping trash, emptying pencil sharpeners, and cleaning sinks if applicable. Vacuuming floors and sanitizing frequent contact surfaces such as door handles are alternated every other day. At this level, a custodian can clean approximately 28,000 to 31,000 square feet in an eight- hour shift. • 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. At this level, a custodian can clean approximately 45,000 to 50,000 square feet in an eight-hour shift. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 48 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division • Level 5 cleaning can very rapidly lead to an unhealthy situation. Trash cans may be emp- tied and carpets vacuumed weekly. One custodian can clean 85,000 to 90,000 square feet in an eight-hour shift. The figures above are estimates, and the actual number of square feet that a custodian can clean per shift will depend on variables such as the type of facility, flooring, wall coverings, the number of windows, re- stroom layout, gym and athletic facilities, offices, and community use. Based on FCMAT’s site visits and interviews, the district cleans at a level of between 3 and 4; however, that may not be the target for district facilities. The district should develop and adopt cleaning standards and expectations for custodial work, based on the five levels described above. These standards should be developed collaboratively and include a range of employees from cabinet level members to site-based cus- todians. Once these standards are created and adopted by the governing board, detailed work schedules can be created to ensure that adequate time is planned to complete the required tasks. Staffing The CASBO has established a staffing formula that is generally accepted as a standard for school districts throughout the state of California. This formula considers square footage and the number of students, teachers, classrooms, offices, and general-purpose areas. The CASBO formula is as follows: • 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 • A factor for community use based on the type of school • A factor for school with enrollment of less than 450 students The total staffing is the sum of the above, divided by four to indicate the number of custodians needed to clean a building. FCMAT reviewed the district’s staffing calculation, comparing its current staffing to that of the CASBO standard. FCMAT did not verify the underlying information used in the district’s CASBO calculation. The district’s calculations are as follows: • Custodians (current employees with scheduled cleaning tasks) 40 FTE* • Daytime head custodian or elementary lead custodian • (current employees without scheduled cleaning tasks) 15 FTE** • Secondary mid-shift custodians • (employees with limited cleaning task - .75 FTE in calculation) 3.75 FTE • CASBO formula recommends 56.5 FTE *This number disagrees with the position control reported provided by the district for FCMAT. That report shows 37.0 FTE for custodian positions. **This number is not contained in the district’s CASBO calculation chart. FCMAT was provided a position control report and this inclusion is a result of our analysis of that report. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 49 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division In the analysis of documentation provided by the district, FCMAT determined the following: • 37 FTE custodians • 11 FTE lead custodians elementary • Five FTE lead custodians middle/high • Two FTE head custodians I middle school • Two FTE head custodians II high school This calculation indicates that the custodial subdivision has 57 FTE and is overstaffed by .5 FTE compared to the CASBO calculation. However, additional factors should be considered when determining final staffing calculations, and these show the district as understaffed: 1. Daytime head custodians or elementary lead custodians are not considered in the district’s CASBO calculations because they do not perform scheduled cleaning tasks, yet they absorb an FTE in the district’s list of division employees. For this study, daytime head custodians or elementary lead custodians should be considered as a required employee for each comprehensive school site, but be removed as an FTE for purposes of the CASBO staffing calculation. 2. With the creation of a custodial supervisor, the midshift custodians can be assigned cleaning tasks for all their work schedule, and added to the district’s current personnel count in the CASBO formula. 3. The district should clearly identify the custodians’ responsibilities in relation to interior campus landscape maintenance. Using the CASBO staffing calculation and comparing that to FCMAT’s FTE counts above results in the dis- trict being understaffed by 14.5 FTE calculated as follows: • CASBO’s Staffing Calculation 56.5 FTE • District Current Custodian Staffing (37.0) FTE • Mid-Shift Custodians (per No. 2 above) (5.0) FTE • Custodial FTE Needed 14.5 FTE Because the district lacks standardization, cleaning processes, and procedures, the lack of staffing could be made up through efficiencies gained by implementing numbers 1, 2, and 3 above. Additionally, daytime head custodians or elementary lead custodians could be assigned a small area of cleaning during their daily work schedule. Material and Equipment FCMAT’s review of district-supplied equipment lists indicates that the equipment used in the custodial subdi- vision is operational and there is an adequate supply for all its staff members. However, interviews indicated the types of equipment provided to each site are not standardized, and employee preference is considered in ordering or replacing equipment. This lack of uniformity makes it difficult to train substitute custodians, make repairs to equipment and maximize efficiency. The district also loses purchasing power when ordering random pieces of equipment rather than purchasing multiples. The district would benefit from maintaining an equipment replacement plan that focused on minor repairs until the equipment has reached the end of its life cycle, and seeking discounts in purchasing multiples of replacement standardized equipment. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 50 **** This chart was created by the district. FCMAT has not verified the underlying data used in the calculation. **** Daytime Head and Lead Custodians are not included in total custodian count due to limited area cleaning **** Secondary Midshift Custodians count as .75 person towards total VUSD custodians assigned Totals 1,191,148 661 13,057 655 50.38 40.18 50.85 66.17 3.98 0.60 56.48 56.50 40.00 (16.50) 22 Will C. Wood High 185,963 86 1,682 75 5.77 5.18 6.62 10.33 0.50 0.00 7.47 7.50 5.75 (1.75) 21 Vacaville High 162,256 90 1,943 87 6.69 5.98 6.92 9.01 0.50 0.00 7.65 7.75 6.25 (1.50) 20 Vaca Pena Middle 92,643 45 934 43 3.31 2.87 3.46 5.15 0.25 0.00 3.95 4.00 2.75 (1.25) 19 Transportation 4,208 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.23 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.00 0.06 0.06 18 Sierra Vista K-8 51,137 30 584 29 2.23 1.80 2.31 2.84 0.25 0.00 2.54 2.50 1.75 (0.75) 17 Padan Elem 51,950 37 634 40 3.08 1.95 2.85 2.89 0.06 0.00 2.75 2.75 2.00 (0.75) 16 Orchard Elem 31,449 20 393 24 1.85 1.21 1.54 1.75 0.06 0.30 1.95 2.00 1.00 (1.00) 15 Markham Elem 62,212 43 911 36 2.77 2.80 3.31 3.46 0.25 0.00 3.33 3.25 2.75 (0.50) 14 Maintenance 4,783 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.27 0.00 0.00 0.07 0.00 0.06 0.06 13 Kimme Charter 29,195 18 347 24 1.85 1.07 1.38 1.62 0.50 0.30 2.28 2.25 1.50 (0.75) 12 Jepson Middle 102,875 45 934 43 3.31 2.87 3.46 5.72 0.25 0.00 4.09 4.00 2.75 (1.25) 11 Hemlock Elem 38,441 30 413 25 1.92 1.27 2.31 2.14 0.06 0.00 1.97 2.00 1.00 (1.00) 10 Fairmont Preschool 4,571 4 80 6 0.46 0.25 0.31 0.25 0.00 0.00 0.32 0.25 0.25 0.00 9 Fairmont Charter Elem 53,892 31 566 34 2.62 1.74 2.38 2.99 0.06 0.00 2.49 2.50 2.00 (0.50) 8 ESC 41,584 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.31 0.25 0.00 0.83 0.75 1.00 0.25 7 Dally Complex 20,930 6 120 10 0.77 0.37 0.46 1.16 0.25 0.00 0.94 1.00 0.25 (0.75) 6 County Day 3,256 2 15 2 0.15 0.05 0.15 0.18 0.00 0.00 0.13 0.25 0.13 (0.12) 5 Cooper Elem 54,036 39 794 38 2.92 2.44 3.00 3.00 0.06 0.00 2.90 3.00 2.00 (1.00) 4 Jean Callison Elem 49,236 36 705 37 2.85 2.17 2.77 2.74 0.06 0.00 2.69 2.75 2.00 (0.75) 3 Buckingham High 51,137 25 500 26 2.00 1.54 1.92 2.84 0.50 0.00 2.58 2.50 1.00 (1.50) 2 Browns Valley Elem 55,956 41 789 37 2.85 2.43 3.15 3.11 0.06 0.00 2.94 3.00 2.00 (1.00) 1 Alamo Elem 39,438 33 713 39 3.00 2.19 2.54 2.19 0.06 0.00 2.54 2.50 1.75 (0.75) @ 13 @ 325 @ 13 18000 Use Allowance Custodians Needed Needed Custodians Assign School/Building Bldg S/F # Classrooms # Students # Teachers Teachers Enrollment Classrooms Sq Ft @ Community <450 Student CASBO Total Practical Custodians VUSD Total Difference VACAVILLE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT CUSTODIAL PERSONNEL Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 51 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division Because of the lack of standardization, the district uses two types of vacuums, an upright and a back- pack-style. While each type of vacuum has its pros and cons, the International Sanitary Supply Association reports that upright vacuums are the most inefficient units, even when properly maintained, and spread dust. Standardization of the custodial equipment could increase efficiencies. FCMAT reviewed the district-supplied equipment inventory and found discrepancies between what site personnel reported and what the custodial subdivision inventoried. Equipment inventory discrepancies are not uncommon largely because of human error. Common causes could include incorrect recording, organi- zational problems or theft. These discrepancies indicate a breakdown in inventory management. One of the best ways to effectively track equipment is by performing maintenance checks. Equipment control requires continuous tracking. To assist in inventory controls, the district could designate a certain time each quarter or yearly to conduct a physical count of equipment inventory. Interviews indicated that the Fiscal Department has developed a standard list of cleaning products that are supplied from the district’s warehouse; however, this document was not provided to FCMAT. While this has increased efficiency through bulk purchasing, the district lacks internal controls for material requisitions. School sites use employee memory to order material rather than a procedural-based ordering system. Ad- ditionally, because of the excessive span of control for the maintenance and operations supervisor, school sites maintain an irregular stock of chemicals and materials, which can result in waste. Creating an addition- al layer of approval routing through the new custodial supervisor using the district’s Escape online ordering system can help alleviate unnecessary ordering, waste and create transparency and accountability. Safety and Training The district employs a risk manager who has been proactive in conducting safety training. FCMAT inter- viewees indicated various types of training topics are provided, but this does not include subject matter specific to the trade. To increase efficiencies in the subdivision, routine meetings should be used to discuss industry best practices, proper chemical use, chemical mixing, and equipment usage. With the ever-chang- ing roles and responsibilities of custodians, a meaningful professional development plan should be imple- mented to improve knowledge and hone skills. Professional development can also be effective in maintain- ing and boosting staff morale. New custodians in the district are typically hired from within its substitute employee pool. The district maintains no training program for its substitute employees, which results in employees being unprepared when they begin permanent employment. Creating a substitute employee training program will benefit the district and could be performed by the new custodial supervisor with a basic curriculum of chemical usage and mixing, required daily tasks, and expectations of professionalism, attendance, and interactions with students and staff. Communication FCMAT found that the maintenance and operations supervisor was overloaded, causing communication problems. Site administrators are unsure of their role and have limited input into the day-to-day oversight of the custodians at their sites. Custodians also report that information and standards are inconsistent from site to site. Irregular and inconsistent information has created division among staff, eroding collaboration, trust and unity. Strengthening collaboration and inclusion within the custodial subdivision would benefit the district. Keeping the lines of communication open through employee feedback would help accomplish this goal. With the implementation of a hybrid supervision model, site-based administrators become included in decision-making. An updated custodial handbook would help ensure a consistent message is conveyed based on the district’s goals and mission and allow for positive interaction and cooperation. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 52 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division Uniforms/ID Badges Article 13.1 of the SEIU collective bargaining agreement provides the custodial staff with uniforms and/or an allowance for a standard uniform. The contract further states “[d]istrict specified clothing…will be provided and worn during duty hours”; however, staff members are inconsistent in wearing the uniform. While the district provided an identification badge, employees did not regularly wear it, which can affect safety. The benefits of wearing a uniform are described above. Recommendations The district should: 1. Consider creating a custodial supervisor position to oversee custodial staff - see further discussion in Maintenance and Operations Division Reorganization below. 2. Consider a hybrid supervision model in which both the newly created position of custodial supervisor and site administrators work together to complete performance evaluations of site custodians. 3. Revise and update the district’s Custodial Handbook. 4. Clearly identify the responsibilities between the custodial and grounds subdivisions in maintaining the ornamental flower beds. 5. Create a list of approved planting material. 6. Develop districtwide cleaning standards adopted by the governing board and implemented through its Custodial Handbook. 7. Consider increasing its custodial staff by 14.5 FTE according to FCMAT’s analysis of the district’s CASBO formula. 8. Standardize the type of custodial equipment used to increase efficiencies, which also improves purchasing power at the time of replacement. 9. Create and maintain an equipment replacement plan. 10. Designate a certain time each quarter or yearly to conduct a physical count of equipment inventory. 11. Create an internal procedure for material requisition approvals to prevent unnecessary ordering and waste. 12. Create a thorough and industry-specific training program of best practices. 13. Establish a substitute employee training program when they are hired to ensure new employees in the division are thoroughly prepared when they become permanent. 14. Establish clear and consistent communication from the district level to ensure uniformity in direction and expectations. 15. Require district-provided uniforms and identification badges to be worn by the custodial staff. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 53 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division Warehouse Subdivision Subdivision Overview Although the district warehouse has been officially eliminated, its functions continue. Approximately five years ago, oversight of warehouse operations was removed from the former Purchasing Department and moved to the Maintenance and Operations Division. During this reconfiguration, multiple positions were eliminated, including the warehouser and the head warehouser. While those positions were eliminated, the job responsibilities remained, and the two remaining employees, under new job titles, have continued to perform the tasks required to operate the warehouse. This is becoming unsustainable. With this reconfigu- ration, the remaining warehouse employees moved to the maintenance subdivision, essentially closing the warehouse, and no deliveries were allowed to be processed from the central warehouse. To help increase efficiency, the district started allowing school sites to order directly from vendors, and shipments were de- livered to school sites. However, this method of operation was inefficient for the following reasons: 1. When deliveries are made at the site, the receiving person often does not check for accuracy or damage. As a result, the district receives incorrect quantities, incorrect items, or damaged items. 2. When items are received, packing slips are not returned to the accounts payable office, creating a delay or nonpayment issue with some vendors. 3. School sites are closed during the summer, causing some items to be returned because no personnel are present to accept deliveries. 4. Items valued at more than $500 are not properly tracked as a fixed asset. The district has also encountered problems with mail delivery. Mail is delivered to 19 sites three days per week. During staff interviews, FCMAT determined that staff attempts to operate like a centralized ware- house, but limited staffing and inconsistent use of the district’s Purchasing Manual create frustration among staff and school sites. For example, the district’s Purchasing Manual indicates packing slips/shipping docu- mentation should be returned to accounting within three business days. In actual practice, there are often delays in their return if they are returned at all. The district has recognized the disadvantages of having limited warehouse operations and has begun to explore reopening the warehouse. Since the district has never abandoned the related functions, the ware- house subdivision should be reestablished. The remainder of this section will focus on the industry’s best practices with the goal of operating a centralized warehouse. Staffing At the time of FCMAT’s visit, the following staff in the maintenance subdivision were providing services for the warehouse subdivision: • One FTE – maintenance technician • One FTE – logistics clerk • One FTE – maintenance/grounds assistant (with this position rotating every three months) The duties performed by these staff members are generally consistent with their job descriptions with these positions reporting to the maintenance and operations supervisor. Interviews stated that this report- ing structure was implemented because warehouse operations were moved under the supervision of the Maintenance and Operations Division. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 54 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division Receiving/Inventory The district’s Purchasing Manual has written policies and procedures for receiving materials and supplies; however, it was written to exclude a centralized warehouse. These policies and procedures will need to be revised if the district reestablishes the warehouse subdivision. Refresher training will also need to be pro- vided to make staff aware of policy changes. Interviewees reported a lack of consistency in how individual sites perform the receiving function. Depend- ing on the site, different individuals (e.g., teachers, custodians, or office staff) receive deliveries, and the lev- el of inspection for these deliveries varies. This inefficiency has created significant problems in ensuring the proper product and quantity is received and created delays in processing invoices for payment. If deliveries are shorted or damaged, the district’s accounting staff is provided with the information so it can follow up, but the process is inconsistent, creating further delays in invoice processing. The best practice is to verify orders within 48 hours of their arrival and have warehouse staff confirm short- ages. Calls to vendors to report and rectify errors should be made within 72 hours. Receiving documenta- tion should be sent to accounting staff immediately upon receipt of goods (if all is in order) or upon resolu- tion of shortages/errors with appropriate notes of those arrangements. If the district maintains a centralized warehouse, the Purchasing Manual would need to be revised to incorporate best practices. Reestablishing the warehouse subdivision should bring a higher level of employee accountability, a greater opportunity to replace damaged product and correct discrepancies, preventing lost revenue and eliminating delays in invoice processing. A warehouser/receiving position would best perform these tasks and would allow the warehouse to be staffed all day and all deliveries to be directed to a central location. This will relieve pressure on the school sites and create a higher level of accuracy when determining complete orders or when a delivery is dam- aged as well as decrease delays in processing invoices for payment. The district has a warehouser job description, but it was last revised in January 2015 and would need to be reviewed and updated before it is used for recruitment purposes. The warehouser/receiving position could also be responsible for tagging equipment as it arrives so the district would comply with Education Code Section 35168 and 2 CFR 200.313. However, page seven of the district’s Purchasing Manual states that each site is to apply an inventory tag obtained from any of three dif- ferent departments. This section of the Purchasing Manual will need to be revised if the warehouse subdivi- sion is reestablished. The current form is inefficient and allows for items to be received but not inventoried in violation of state and federal law. Deliveries Information provided by the district indicates mail delivery takes place three times per week. Site adminis- trators reported this schedule can be difficult when mail is not delivered daily. When large mailings such as report cards or progress reports are sent, deliveries and mail service is reduced even further. Some sites indicated they ran out of items such as trash can liners. This may have been related to global supply chain problems and/or internal staffing limitations. Whatever the case, sites overordered material in case the supply problem recurred. Overordering can cause hoarding or result in items that are expired, unusable or obsolete. Reinstating the centralized warehouse streamlines tracking and managing of inven- tory. By reestablishing the warehouse subdivision, the district can store, ship and distribute products more efficiently. If material is running low or out of stock, centralized staff will know immediately, allowing for efficient reordering, while providing alternative options instead of leaving sites waiting for material. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 55 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division A centralized warehouse can help bridge those gaps related to increased global supply chain problems over the past two years. Various factors have been blamed for disruptions; however, a centralized distribution center improves site fulfillment, minimizes risk and potentially unnecessary fees, or increased alternative expenses. Under the district’s current structure, orders that are not delivered directly to the sites are delivered by the logistics clerk two days a week, the days when mail is not delivered. Interviewees reported that the Main- tenance and Operations Division routinely receives requests for special deliveries. This has decreased the division’s efficiency and created frustration with employees. Regardless of whether the district reestablishes the warehouse subdivision, special dates should be con- sidered to pick up surplus material and equipment, collect textbooks, and should be structured to ensure travel efficiency. Assistance with moving furniture and equipment should be scheduled by appointment and accommodated efficiently. The district has a mail clerk description; however, it does not contain a date when it was last revised and would need to be reviewed and updated prior to using it for recruitment purposes. Additionally, the ware- houser and mail clerk job descriptions should be reviewed in tandem to ensure continuity in the duties being performed while optimizing resources in the most efficient manner. The duties that would be transferred to the warehouser/receiver and mail clerk are those that are already being performed by the maintenance technician and maintenance logistics clerk. The district will need to determine if the positions in the maintenance subdivision will continue or whether the savings from those positions would be used to reestablish the warehouse subdivision. Stores The district’s warehouse continues to stock a variety of office, instructional and custodial supplies, and maintains a minimal inventory of these items even without a formal centralized warehouse. FCMAT did not review the actual stock on hand or review records of adjustment because of picking errors, obsolescence or damage. The central warehouse has no policies and procedures guide other than the district’s Purchasing Manual. This manual does not contain information on conducting a store inventory. Consequently, the district has no policies and procedures for conducting an inventory of the items in its warehouse. Equipment/Safety Interviewees indicated the warehouse has delivery trucks and warehouse equipment that are in good work- ing order, and the number of pallet jacks is appropriate. Employees stated that they know about Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS a.k.a. SDS) and can identify the location of the binder that contains this informa- tion at their site. According to the Hazardous Communication Standard 29 CFR 1910.1200(g), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that the chemical manufacturer, distributor or importer provide SDSs for each hazardous chemical to users to communicate information on these hazards. OSHA requires hazardous communication training because employees have the need and the right to know the hazards of chemicals they are exposed to when working. They also need to know the protective measures available to prevent adverse effects. The district’s centralized warehouse stores several cleaning products used by the custodial staff. Although there are safety measures, staff did not indicate spill kits were available for emergency clean up. OSHA rec- ommends that facilities housing chemicals have a spill kit containing safety goggles, absorbent pads, gloves, disposal bags, etc. and ensure that all warehouse staff are familiar with the chemicals stored in the ware- Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 56 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division house. The OSHA pocket guide on Worker Safety Series Warehousing can be found at: https://www.osha.gov/ Publications/3220_Warehouse.pdf Recommendations The district should: 1. Consider officially reestablishing the warehouse subdivision. 2. Immediately review and revise its Purchasing Manual to incorporate the reestablishment of the warehouse subdivision as well as the best practices outlined above. 3. Ensure refresher and annual training for all applicable district staff on the written policies and procedures contained in its Purchasing Manual to establish accountability for all purchasing, delivery and receiving responsibilities. 4. Consider establishing a warehouser/receiving position such as the district’s previous warehouser position to ensure the warehouse is staffed all day, allowing for deliveries and inventory tagging. 5. Consider reestablishing the mail clerk position. 6. Review and revise job descriptions for any positions reestablished/added to the warehouse subdivision before using them for recruitment. Review the warehouser and mail clerk job descriptions in tandem to ensure continuity in the duties performed while optimizing resources in the most efficient manner. 7. Determine whether to continue to have the maintenance technician and maintenance logistics clerk positions with the addition of the warehouser and mail clerk positions. Determine if the positions in the maintenance subdivision will continue or whether the savings from those positions would be used to reestablish the warehouse subdivision. 8. Establish special dates for picking up surplus material and equipment or collecting textbooks, and structured in a way that ensures efficiency. Schedule assistance with moving furniture and equipment by appointment and accommodate these efficiently. 9. Limit warehouse items to high-demand goods and maintain an inventory management system to ensure accurate counts for ordering and rotation. 10. Develop a policies and procedures manual for the central warehouse, or revise the district’s Purchasing Manual to include a process for stores inventory. 11. Ensure warehouse staff becomes familiar with the chemicals stored in the warehouse by reviewing the SDS sheets. 12. Ensure that a spill kit is available containing safety goggles, absorbent pads, gloves, disposable bags, etc. Maintenance and Operations Division Reorganization The district’s organizational structure does not serve the Maintenance and Operations Division and has left that side of the department with one person responsible to supervise, manage and evaluate approximately 90 employees for several years. This violates the concept of span of control. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 57 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division This report further speaks to adding approximately 40.5 FTE – four FTE in the maintenance subdivision, 20 FTE in the grounds subdivision, 14.5 FTE in the custodial and two FTE in the warehouse subdivision (assum- ing the maintenance technician and maintenance logistics clerk positions remain in the maintenance subdi- vision) if the district decides to formally reinstate that subdivision. Adding 40.5 FTE to an already burdened workload would be untenable and further exacerbate the district’s issues between management and staff. Nonetheless, the report also recommends the district consider adding supervisory positions in the grounds and custodial subdivisions. This would help the maintenance and operations supervisor with the duties of supervising staff; however, FCMAT believes that instead the division should establish a director of main- tenance and operations who would report to the assistant superintendent of business and administrative services. Below the director would be two maintenance and operations supervisors who would split the subdivisions as follows: • One supervisor would handle the custodial subdivision. That subdivision has 57 FTE but could add another 14.5 FTE if the district implements FCMAT’s full recommendation. That would total a potential 71.5 FTE under this supervisor. • The other supervisor would handle the maintenance, grounds and warehouse subdivisions. Those three have 32 FTE but could add another 26 FTE if the district implements FCMAT’s full recommendations. That would total a potential 58 FTE under this supervisor. While this still leaves the two supervisors with unequal workloads, in terms of the number of FTE that they supervise, this organizational structure would not only allow for the director of maintenance and opera- tions to assist either of the supervisors with supervisorial duties should those be needed but also provide cross-training in the division. The organizational chart for the division would be as follows: Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 58 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division Assistant Superintendent of Business and Administrative Services Director of Maintenance and Operations Staff Secretary Administrative Assistant I Maintenance and Maintenance and Operations Supervisor Operations Supervisor Custodial Maintenance Grounds Warehouse Head Custodians Foreperson Foreperson Warehouseperson Lead Custodians Maintenance Persons Groundspersons I, II, III Mail Clerk Maintenance Maintenance/Grounds Custodians Technicians/Low Assistants Voltage Technicians Mechanics Maintenance Logistics Clerk Maintenance/Grounds Assistants FCMAT was not provided with a job description for a director of maintenance and operations. If one exists or is developed, it should be reviewed in conjunction with the job description of the maintenance and oper- ations supervisor. This would allow the job duties/responsibilities of both positions to be changed to allow for the sharing of supervisorial/evaluation/disciplinary duties with the maintenance and operations supervi- sors (if needed) as well as eliminate major overlap areas. The job description FCMAT was provided for the maintenance and operations supervisor does not contain a date of last revision and will need to be reviewed to ensure that, since the division now has two such po- sitions, the duties will not overlap. The description should also be carefully reviewed to ensure it complies Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 59 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division with current laws/regulations, and any changes should be made to ensure duties do not overlap with those of the new director. As with any other position, the district can hire from within or seek candidates from outside. The Main- tenance and Operations Division has not had an effective, hands-on leader in the last few years, so any candidate that the district selects to fill this seat should have the following: • Solid leadership skills • The ability to help staff with the issues raised in this report • The ability to deal with the tense situation described in the Classified Bargaining Unit sec- tion above Recommendations The district should: 1. Consider restructuring the Management and Operations Division. 2. Consider adding a new director of maintenance and operations position to manage and supervise the district’s Management and Operations Division. 3. Consider adding one additional maintenance and operations supervisor. 4. Review and revise, or develop, if necessary, a job description for the director of maintenance and operations. Do this in conjunction with the job description that exists for the maintenance and operations supervisor so that their job duties/responsibilities can be refined to allow for the sharing of supervisorial/evaluation/disciplinary duties with the maintenance and operations supervisors (if needed) as well as eliminate major areas of overlap. 5. Review and revise the maintenance and operations supervisor job description to ensure it complies with current laws/regulations and make any necessary changes so duties do not overlap with those of the new director. 6. Ensure that the candidate for the director of maintenance and operations has solid leadership skills and abilities to help deal with the issues raised in this report and especially to deal with the tense situation described in the Classified Bargaining Unit section above. Interdepartmental Relations Under the plan that is being suggested by FCMAT above, the Facilities, Maintenance and Operations De- partment will have two division heads: A director of facilities and a director of maintenance and operations both reporting to the assistant superintendent of business and administrative services. While these two administrative positions have different responsibilities, it is important for them to work together because projects and activities between the two divisions frequently overlap. Construction or modernization proj- ects undertaken by the Facilities Division benefit from Maintenance and Operations’ Division information, and vice versa. Therefore, it is important that the two administrative positions communicate regularly. A co- operative relationship helps the two divisions function well and promotes the cost-effective use of district funding, including bond money, by developing efficiently planned and managed construction projects. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 60 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division In developing the new organizational structure, these positions and their staffs could work to develop a cooperative process and procedure for the following: • Improving communication and developing the steps necessary for new projects or activi- ties (including bond and nonbond construction projects, requests from site users for new items). • Involving trade departments in the review of construction plans at the various plan devel- opment stages. The best practice is to perform reviews during initial plan development, at 50, 75, 90 percent completion of plan development and a final review prior to bidding projects. • Redirecting any request made by a teacher for facilities/maintenance projects (including small and volunteer projects) back to the site principal to be reviewed for need, feasibility, priority and funding availability. This is particularly important when a project may fall under the jurisdiction of the DSA for fire and life safety, structural integrity or compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If a project is initiated without appropriate regulatory approvals, the district may be exposed to liability claims for noncompliant construction. • Working with the contracted construction manager to develop written procedures on train- ing and the turnover of new projects from the Facilities Division to the Maintenance and Operations Division after the warranty period is over. FCMAT observed a strained relationship between and among the two divisions. Friction in and between the divisions causes ineffective operations and lack of staff cohesion. While both division heads should make efforts to create a more professional working relationship with one another and between staff members, this may not be possible because of well-entrenched beliefs held by various members of their staffs. If these efforts prove to be difficult or fruitless, the district’s Human Resources Department should help. The district could also consider a third-party intermediary or facilitator to coordinate a few meetings between the two divisions to improve communication and promote more professional behavior. Staff members who fail to adhere to the district’s principles/policies of professional behavior, nondiscrimination, civility and ethi- cal conduct, should be reminded of these and disciplined accordingly. Recommendations The district should: 1. Implement interdepartmental regularly scheduled meetings between the Facilities and Maintenance and Operations divisions. 2. Develop policies and procedures between the Facilities and Maintenance and Operations divisions on items such as communication for new projects, review of design plans, teacher-requested projects and turnover of completed projects after the warranty. 3. Require professional behavior among all levels of the Facilities and Maintenance and Operations divisions’ leadership and staff. Seek assistance from the Human Resources Department or a third-party intermediary or facilitator, if needed. 4. Ensure adherence of the Facilities and Maintenance and Operations divisions’ staff to the district’s principles/policies of professional behavior, nondiscrimination, civility and ethical conduct. Remind them of those policies and discipline offenders accordingly. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 61 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division Staffing Comparison Data for a comparison of the Facilities, Maintenance and Operations Department’s staffing was solicited from three other California unified school districts with student enrollments similar to that of Vacaville Uni- fied. Vacaville Unified provided FCMAT with nine districts that it had used as comparable districts in col- lective bargaining. Of those, eight were eliminated because they were much larger than Vacaville Unified, much smaller or were not unified. While FCMAT intended to include the ninth district from that list, Vallejo City Unified School District, as a comparative district in this study, its assistant superintendent of opera- tions failed to respond to multiple telephone messages seeking to gather information for this study. FCMAT established email contact with Vallejo City’s chief business official; however, she failed to respond to those messages and provide FCMAT with any of the requested information. Consequently, FCMAT could not include Vallejo City as a comparative district. FCMAT’s research identified Simi Valley Unified School District as similar to Vacaville Unified. Simi Valley’s associate superintendent of business and operations, like those of Chico Unified and Burbank Unified, agreed to be a comparative district. The result is that the comparison districts surveyed for this study were Simi Valley (Ventura), Chico (Butte) and Burbank (Los Angeles) unified school districts. Although comparative information is useful, it should not be considered the only measure of appropriate staffing levels. School districts are complex and vary widely in demographics and resources. Careful eval- uation is recommended because generalizations can be misleading if unique circumstances are not con- sidered. FCMAT considered district type, student enrollment, English learner percentage, free and reduced meal percentage, and general fund expenditures per ADA in choosing the comparison districts. Statistical data for each comparison district was also taken from CDE’s Dataquest and Education Data Partnership (Ed-Data) websites, and division staffing information was obtained directly from the comparison districts. Vacaville USD Simi Valley USD Burbank USD Chico (Butte) (Solano) (Ventura) (Los Angeles) Grade Level TK-12 TK-12 TK-12 TK-12 Number of School Sites/Other Sites 18/4 28/2 22/2 20/2 Number of Surplus Sites 2 2 2 0 2020-21 Enrollment per EdData* 13,025 15,951 13,909 14,704 2020-21 English Learner Percentage per 7.6% 10.7% 5.2% 10.0% EdData* 2020-21 Free/Reduced Meal Percentage per 38.1% 29.4% 48.2% 32.5% EdData* 2019-20 Expenditure of Education per ADA $11,204 $11,847 $12,220 $11,586 (EC 41372)f Dude Solutions formerly Work Order System Facilitron Dude Solutions formerly Schooldude Dude Solutions formerly Schooldude Schooldude 3-year Average of Work Orders 3,988 6,152 2,713 3,895 Last Bond Issue: Name/Amount/Year Passed Measure A/$194 Million/2014 Measure X/$239 Million/2016 Measure K/$152 Million/2016 Measure S/$110 Million/2013 2021-22 Total Facilities Budget $73,780,004 $913,338 $18,503,010 $239,672 2021-22 Total RRMA Budget $5,402,235 $7,076,650 $5,273,224 $5,894,334 2021-22 Total Grounds Budget $487,614 $1,982,648 Included in RRMA Budget $985,243 Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 62 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division 2021-22 Total Custodial Budget $1,125,483 $4,939,828 $8,673,786 $5,528,783 Total Acreage Tended by Grounds Division 276.46 4,446 65.69 174.00 Total Square Footage Cleaned by Custodial 1,191,148 1,761,250 1,448,336 1,454,037 Division Warehouse No Yes Yes Yes Divisions and Positions^ Facilities Division Assistant Superintendent of Busi- Associate Superintendent, Business & Assistant Superintendent, Busi- Reports to: ness and Administrative Services Facilities ness Services Chief Facilities, Maintenance and Director of Facilities & Construc- Division Head: Director of Facilities & Planning (1.0) Operations Officer (1.0) tion (1.0) Construction & Operations Secretary Administrative Secretary I (1.0) Administrative Assistant (1.0) Administrative Specialist (1.0) (0.5) Administrative Services Assistant II (1.0) Facilities Planner & Construction Supervisory Staff: Facilities Manager (1.0) Bond Program Manager (1.0) Supervisor (1.0) Construction Project Manager (1.0) Construction Manager (1.0) Construction Manager (5.0) Facilities Use Coordinator (1.0) Construction Records Technician Support Staff: Accountant (1.0) (1.0) Administrative Assistant (1.0) Maintenance & Operations Division Assistant Superintendent of Busi- Associate Superintendent, Business & Assistant Superintendent, Busi- Assistant Superintendent of Administra- Reports to: ness and Administrative Services Facilities ness Services tive Services Chief Facilities, Maintenance & Director of Maintenance, Opera- Director of Facilities and Planning Director of Facilities (1.0) Operations Officer tions & Transportation (1.0) Division Head: Administrative Secretary I (1.0) Administrative Services Assistant II (1.0) M&O Coordinator (1.0) Building Services Secretary (1.0) Construction & Operations Secretary (0.5) Maintenance and Operations Supervisory Staff: Maintenance Manager (1.0) M&O Manager - Maintenance (2.0) Custodial Grounds Supevisor (1.0) Supervisor (1.0) Custodian Services Supervisor (1.0) M&O Manager - Custodial (1.0) Building & Trades Supervisor (1.0) Grounds Supervisor (1.0) Custodial Supervisor (2.0) Head Custodian I - Middle School Custodial Staff: Lead Custodian (24.0) Senior Custodian (20.0) Lead Custodian, Seconary (10.0) (2.0) Head Custodian II - High School Custodian (48.97) Custodian (59.5625) Senior Custodian (15.0) (2.0) Lead Custodian - Elementary (11.0) Custodian Specialist - Carpet (1.0) Custodian (42.5) Lead Custodian - High School/ Plant Manager I (2.0) Swimming Pool Custodian (1.0) Middle School (5.0) Custodians (37.0) Plant Manager II (1.5) School Safety/Utility Custodian (4.2) Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 63 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division School Safety/Utility Custodian (0.5)** Senior Maintenance Worker - Maintenance Staff: Electrical Foreman (1.0) Maintenance Technician (8.0) Facilities Services Lead (1.0) Carpenter (2.0) Senior Maintenance Worker - Garage Foreman (1.0) Maintenance Specialist - Carpenter (1.0) Maintenance Lead (1.0) Electric (1.0) Senior Maintenance Worker - Mechanical Services Foreman (1.0) Maintenance Specialist - Electrician (2.0) HVAC (3.0) Senior Maintenance Worker - Structural Foreman (1.0) Maintenance Specialist - HVAC (4.0) Carpenter (2.0) HVAC Refrigeration (1.0) Senior Maintenance Worker - Maintenance Specialist - Locksmith (1.0) Electrician (3.0) Painter (2.0) Senior Maintenance Worker - Maintenance Specialist - Plumber (1.0) Glazier/Carpenter (1.0) Plumber (2.0) Maintenance Person II/Electrical Senior Maintenance Worker - Maintenance Specialist - Paitner (1.0) HVAC Mechanic (3.0) (3.0) Sprinklers (1.0) Low Voltage Technician (1.0) Skilled Maintenance Specialist (2.0) Maintenance Workers (11.0) Locksmith (2.0) Mechanic (2.0) Plant Manager I (1.0) Locksmith (1.0) Low Voltage Electrician (1.0) Maintenance Person II/Mechanical Plant Manager II (0.75) Painter (3.0) (2.0) Maintenance Person II/Structural Plasterer/Cement Finisher (1.0) (5.0) Maintenance Technician (1.0) Plumber (2.0) Maintenance Logistics Clerk (1.0) Vehicle & Equipment Mechanic (1.0) Maintenance/Grounds Assistant Facilities Workers (4.0) (6.0) Plant Engineers (2.0) Grounds Staff: Grouds Landscaping Foreman (1.0) Senior Mechanic (1.0) Senior Groundsworkers (6.0) Grounds Lead (1.0) Maintenance Specialist - Irrigation (2.0) Groundsworkers (5.0) Senior Grounds Technician (1.0) Grounds III/Pest Controller (2.0) Lead Groundskeeper(5.0) Telecommunication Specialist (1.0) Grounds Technician (7.0) Groundskeeper Special Edquipment Groundsperson II (3.0) Irrigation Technician (1.0) Operator (3.0) Maintenance/Grounds Assistant Groundskeeper (15.0) (1.0) Plant Manager I (1.0) Plant Manager II (0.75) Use of Facilities Coordinator/Senior Other: Staff Secretary (1.0) Work Control Specialist (10) Administrative Assistant (1.0) Accounting Clerk (1.0) Administrative Clerk (1.0) Warehouse Subdivision Assistant Superintendent of Busi- Associate Superintendent, Business & Assistant Superintendent, Busi- Reports to: Director of Facilities ness and Administrative Services Facilities ness Services Chief Facilities, Maintenance & Director of Nutrition Services Reprographics/District Warehouse Division Head: Director of Purchasing (0.25)~ Operations Officer (0.05)~ Manager (0.1) ~ Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 64 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division Supervisory Staff: Warehouse Supervisor (1.0) Support Staff: Warehouse Distribution Specialist II (1.0) Storekeeper (1.0) Warehouse Worker (0.625) Warehouse Distribution Specialist I (2.0) Stock Clerk (1.0) Utility Driver (1.0) Delivery Driver (1.0) Delivery Driver (0.1875) h Other: Total Facilities, Maintenance and Operations 95.00/92.00 152.22/138.22 129.8/123.80 119.925/119.425 Department FTE Facilities Division As shown in the staffing comparison chart above, Vacaville Unified and its three comparison districts have issued general obligation bonds ranging from $239 million to $110 million within the last nine years. All four districts have also reported that they have construction/modernization projects in process; however, they each chose a different way to accomplish those projects. Burbank Unified has a position that divides time between the Facilities and Maintenance and Operations divisions, with that position providing clerical services, and Burbank Unified relies solely on vendors for its facilities construction/modernization program. Simi Valley has 14 FTE in its Facilities Division and uses no vendors to perform construction/project management duties. Chico Unified is midway between the other two districts with six FTE in its Facilities Division. Vacaville Unified has chosen to have a limited number of district staff (three FTE) in its Facilities Division and uses vendors to perform its construction/project man- agement duties. As a result of the disparity in how each district handles its facilities construction/modernization programs, it is impossible to make comparisons between the four districts and the total FTE for Vacaville Unified and each comparative district are shown by two numbers. The first is that of the total Facilities, Maintenance and Operations Department. The second reflects the FTE in the Maintenance and Operations Division. FC- MAT’s analysis will utilize the latter when discussing district staffing because it provides a more consistent approach for comparisons between all districts in the study. Maintenance and Operations Division The comparison districts surveyed reported that their Maintenance and Operations Division within the parameters of this study consisted of between 119.425 FTE and 138.22 FTE, with an average of 127.15 FTE. Vacaville Unified’s staffing totals 92 FTE, placing it at 35.15 FTE below the three-district average and below the bottom end of the group included in the staffing comparison survey. Across all four districts, the Maintenance and Operations Division had a division head. While the title of that position varied, all reported to an assistant or associate superintendent of business. Each district also in- cluded at least one clerical-support level position to assist the division head. Some districts had additional staff positions to support the division, and FCMAT will discuss them in combination, both the clerical posi- tion supporting the division head and other clerical-support level position(s). Only one district had a single clerical/other clerical-support position, Chico Unified. The other three districts have multiple positions: Vacaville has two FTEs, Simi Valley has four, and Burbank has 2.5. One of Burbank’s positions also provided clerical services to its Facilities Division and relies on vendors for work beyond clerical Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 65 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division duties. As a result, .5 FTE was eliminated from the position in the Maintenance and Operations Division to pro- vide a uniform comparison between the four districts. Using the information above produces a comparative district average of 2.5 FTE across the three comparative districts and places Vacaville .5 FTE (or a four-hour employee) below the average. The district’s clerical ranks include an administrative assistant and a staff secretary. The administrative assistant’s primary duties are to process contracts and work orders along with day-to-day correspondence. The staff secretary handles scheduling for the custodial staff such as finding substitutes and dealing with leaves and absences as well as preparing and closing work orders. FCMAT’s review of these two job de- scriptions found that they contained many of the same or comparable duties. However, seven of the staff secretary’s 15 essential job functions in the job description were related to students. The Maintenance and Operations Division functions have nothing to do with student information, educational records, transfers, withdrawals or work permits. Based on this analysis, Vacaville Unified appears to be sufficiently within the clerical/other clerical-support level of the Maintenance and Operations Division; however, some modifica- tions to the job description may be necessary. With 15 essential functions potentially being eliminated from the staff secretary’s job description, the best practice would suggest performing a time study to determine if her time is utilized efficiently. Maintenance Subdivision Vacaville’s maintenance subdivision is the only one of four districts in the comparison that has only one supervisory position. The three comparative districts have between three FTE and four FTE for an average of 3.33 FTE. This places the district 2.33 FTE below average. This analysis shows that the district appears to be markedly understaffed in supervisory staff for the maintenance subdivision. The maintenance subdivision staff at the district totals 25.0 FTE with the three comparative districts rang- ing from 21.75 to 27.0 FTE. This provides an average of 24.25 FTE between the three comparative districts. Based on this analysis, the district appears to be slightly overstaffed in its Maintenance and Operations Division staff. Beyond the average of FTE in this category, FCMAT requested the three-year average number of work or- ders for all four districts. Using that information and dividing by the number of maintenance and operations staff (excluding supervisory positions), produces the number of work orders per staff member. That formula produces a workload of between 113 to 283 per staff member for an average of 180. The district’s ratio is 160 work orders per staff member, which is lower than the average of the comparison district and points to the district’s overstaffing in the Maintenance and Operations Division staff. While this measure uses one criteria, it conflicts with the APPA analysis above. Since the APPA analysis is a much more detailed study of Vacaville Unified’s staffing, FCMAT would defer to the APPA formula for reviewing and adjusting staffing levels. Custodial Subdivision The district’s custodial subdivision is staffed with 57.0 FTE. The three comparative districts have staffs with- in 6.36 FTE of one another. They range between 73.2 and 79.5625 FTE and average approximately 76.75 FTE between the three. While this appears to mean that the district is understaffed by approximately 20 FTE, there are additional factors to take into consideration. To provide additional analysis of the comparison districts, FCMAT requested the number of square feet cleaned by each custodial subdivision and divided that by the number of FTE performing that work. This provided a range of 18,204 to 22,735 square feet cleaned per FTE for an average of 20,267 square foot Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 66 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division cleaned per FTE. The district’s square footage per FTE was 20,897, or approximately 630 square feet more cleaned per FTE than the average and indicating that the district was understaffed in its custodial subdivi- sion. The CASBO staffing formula discussed earlier in the report uses square footage and five other factors. Both the CASBO formula and this short comparative analysis concluded that the district is understaffed in the custodial subdivision; however, because of the thoroughness of the CASBO formula, FCMAT would defer to it in reviewing and adjusting custodial staffing. Grounds Subdivision Staffing at the three comparison districts ranges from 10 FTE to 27.75 FTE and produces an average of ap- proximately 16.58 FTE. The district’s grounds subdivision staff totals 7 FTE, which appears to show that the district is understaffed by approximately 9.58 FTE in grounds staffing. All three comparative districts provided FCMAT with the total acreage tended by the grounds staff, which ranged between 65.69 to 4,446 acres for an average of approximately 1,562 acres. Vacaville Unified’s acreage is reported at approximately 276 acres. However, having one district with such a vastly divergent acreage size skews the information generated to the point of making it meaningless. Nonetheless, FCMAT has provided a more detailed method of analyzing the district’s grounds subdivision staffing through that generated by the Florida Department of Education. FCMAT would defer to its use in the district’s review and adjustment of its grounds subdivision staffing. Warehouse Subdivision While the district does not have an official warehouse subdivision, the other three comparative districts have fully operational and staffed warehouses. Consequently, Vacaville Unified’s lack of the subdivision on its organizational chart does not preclude using the comparative districts’ information to determine a recommended staffing level. FCMAT also assumes the district has decided to reestablish the warehouse subdivision for purposes of its recommendations below. Each comparative district reported a division head; however, all three utilized a split position. One divid- ed those duties with its Child Nutrition Program, another with its Purchasing Division and the third with its Reprographics Division. Therefore, the duties appear to not warrant assignment to a single position. In any restructuring, the district need not change its prior reporting structure, which has the chief facilities, mainte- nance & operations officer, or the replacement title of this position, leading this subdivision. The largest comparative district (Simi Valley) is also the only district whose warehouse subdivision includes supervisory staff. Vacaville Unified has 10 fewer schools than Simi Valley and is in the formational stage of potentially bringing back its warehouse subdivision. Therefore, the best fiscal practice would be to wait until staff have been hired and see what duties/services are necessary before adding a supervisor staff position. Using the number of school sites and total FTE of warehouse support staff reported by each compara- tive district, FCMAT developed the following chart which shows an 9.51:1 school site to support staff ratio among the three comparative school districts: Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 67 Findings and Recommendations Maintenance and Operations Division Simi Valley Chico Burbank Average Total Sites 28 22 20 23 Total Warehouse Staff by FTE* 4.25 3.2375 1.725 3.07 Sites per Warehouse Staff Member 6.59 6.80 11.59 8.33 * Excludes Supervisory positions Applying the average, minimum and maximum of sites per staff computed above to the number of Vacaville Unified school sites indicates that the warehouse support staffing should range between 1.462 and 2.61 FTE as shown below: Vacaville Vacaville Vacaville Total Sites 18 18 18 Total Warehouse Staff by FTE* Using Average 2.16 Total Warehouse Staff by FTE* Using Minimum (Simi Valley USD) 2.647 Total Warehouse Staff by FTE* Using Minimum (Burbank USD) 1.553 Sites per Warehouse Staff Member 8.33 6.80 11.59 * Excludes Supervisory positions While these three numbers are precise, they do not represent standard measures of positions in school districts, consequently, the range above would be translated into 1.5 FTE to 2.6 FTE. Using the lower level of staffing allows the district to conservatively budget for the cost of these services and increase hours as additional services become necessary. Recommendations The district should: 1. Consider revisions to the staff secretary job description to eliminate the duties related to students and align it with the actual duties. 2. Consider adding up to 2.0 FTE in supervisory staff (the director of maintenance and operations and one additional maintenance and operations supervisor discussed above) for the Maintenance and Operations Division. 3. Use the APPA analysis discussed previously in this report to review and adjust its maintenance subdivision staffing. 4. Consider assigning the staff secretary position to perform a time study to determine if her time is used efficiently. 5. Consider adding custodial staff based on the CASBO custodial staffing formula discussed earlier in this report. 6. Utilize the Florida Department of Education formula discussed previously in this report to review and adjust its grounds subdivision staffing. 7. Monitor supervisory staffing needs as the warehouse subdivision is reestablished and add supervisory staff when those duties/services are necessary. 8. Consider reinstating between 1.5 and 2.6 FTE in support positions in the warehouse subdivision. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 68 Appendices Maintenance and Operations Division Appendices A: Administrative Project Report B: Study Agreement Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 69 Appendices Appendix A - Administrative Project Report APPENDIX _____ Sample Administrative Meeting Report Vacaville Unified School District Project Report Status Facilities Planning No. XX Vacaville, CA 95688 Phone:(707) 453-6114 PROJECT TITLE: Director’s Admin. Rept MEETING DATE: X/XX/2022 LOCATION: Assistant Supt’s Office SUBJECT: Project Status DID INITIALS ATTENDEE NAME COMPANY NAME ATTEND X Assistant Superintendent, Business & Administrative Services X Director of Facilities X __________________________________ ITEM STATUS STARTED DUE Admin Responsible SAMPLE PROJECT and COMMENTS DISTRICT OFFICE MASTER PLAN Open Director of Facilities 10/8/2015 - Waiting for decision from Superintendency regarding which layout to use and/or modify 11/5/2015 – Given to the architect, Changes to the layout have been made and approved. The architect already has made those changes and is continuing on with the drawings. Can we discuss budget & Schedule? 12/10/2015 – Met w/Architect worked out some minor office floor plan issues. Discuss w/Assistant Supt - roofing and update of electrical equipment issue. 1/7/2016 – Architect working on constructions documents and plans ELEMENTARY PORTABLES Open Facilities Planner II Inspection & Construction 10-8-15 Fire flow done as of 10-7-15. DSA Review will start very soon now. 11-5-15 Gathering information for Flood zone “AO” for architect. I have set up a meeting on Friday to discuss what options we have. 11/19/2015 - DSA #TBD - Re-evaluating site for flood mitigation. Met with Business Office & Principal for options on new location for Portable village that will satisfy DSA’s flood zone. Found location North of Bus Barn that would eventually free up the outdoor courts too. Working on the layout with Architect this week to finalize draft to show everyone for approval. 12/10/2015 – Working out new flood control issues. School site has said to proceed with present design and get it done. FOOTBALL STADIUM Open Facilities Planner III 12/10/2015 – Moving ahead with a (2) two phased plan w/ estimated cost increase cost $100,000 – 150,000. Work with PG& E with some possible savings to make up some of the difference. Bidding documents are being prepared for a January bidding. We are planning an additional meeting with Business staff and Assistant Supt. to go over the plan to submit to Principal. We will submit the phasing, logistics and schedule for final approval. Contracts for Environmental consultant are being prepared. Called County representative 1/7/2016 – Pre bid walk yesterday, bid opening on 1/20/16. Facilities planning staff are working with Architect and CM to respond to RFIs. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 70 Appendices 1/21/2016 – Civil engineer has finalized the dust control plan and SWPPP inspections plans. SJVAPCD (San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District) is meeting on 1/19/2016 on whether to enforce the New ISR Regulations we should kow by our meeting. This will be very expensive and begin to be inforced on all modernizations. HIGH SCHOOL MODERNIZATION Open Director of Facilities/ Facilities Planner III – Design 9/9/2015 – RFQ Submittals are in delayed Interviews will move to October per your direction 11/5/2015 – Discuss status of RFQ and architectural interviews first week of January 2016 with a start date of mid-January. 12/10/2015 – Architectural Interviews have been moved to Dec 18th tentatively for Board award on Dec 21st. 1/7/2016 – Architect awarded contract. They are starting the work on Design Development. Facilities administration has walked the project with Architect to review scope of work. CAREER & TECHNICAL ED. REGIONAL TRAINING CENTER SCHOOL (CTERTC) Open Facilities Planner III - Design 9/8/2015 – Land Testing - Testing Street to see if Arsenic can be placed under street improvements. Request to City will approve placement. 9/9/2015 – Discussed arsenic contamination w/ CDE representative in charge 9/10/2015 – Continuing meeting w/ Instructional Services for Magnet School / Board presentation. Explain CDE position they believe there is a solution so we can purchase. We will work closely with CDE. 9/24/2015 – Facilities Planning is preparing RFQ for Architectural service for this project. 10/8/2015 - RFQ is being prepared but will not be able to be completed until final decisions are made as to what is going into the project. 11/5/2015 – Discuss status of RFQ and architectural interviews first week of January 2016 with a start date of mid-January. 11/19/15 - Approval of board on 11/16/15. RFQs are going out on 11/23/15. Assist Director, Facilities is reviewing the documents. 12/10/2015 – RFQ submitted 12/9, Architectural Interviews have been moved to Dec 18th tentatively for Board award on Dec 21st. 1/7/2016 – Architect awarded contract. They are starting the work on Design Development. 1/21/2016 – Had kick-off meeting 1/15/2016 agreed to start meeting Jan. 28, 2016 with weekly commitment. Met with CEQA consultants and other members providing the necessary documentation to get CDE approval. LIBERTY SCOREBOARD Open Facilities Planner I OR II 11/4/15- Architect has an OTC apt schedule at 9:45 today. DSA approved project and we have an item requesting the board for authorization to go to bid. 11/19/2015 – Meet with LHS yesterday, plans are approved and ready to go to bid. It was noted the site DOES NOT have the funds raised currently, they are about half way according to their information. They do not plan to start construction until after graduation. 12/10/2015 – DISCUSS W/ Assistant Superintendent, Business & Administrative Services DIGITAL LIBRARY Open Facilities Planner II Inspection & Construction 9/24/15 – Going through scans done my staff, consider buying a server for digital library. 10/8/2015 – We need to buy a server to handle the electronic storage information. Existing server will be full very soon. Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 71 Appendices 11/5/15 – Adding projects to archive as time allows. Is Assistant Supt OK with purchasing the new equipment? 12/10/2015 – Need to talk to IST to find out the best recommendation for large file storage. 1/7/2016 – No change MPI SETTLEMENT Open Director of Facilities & Legal Counsel 9/9/2015 – Still working to get all claims settled. This has been delayed due to the bonding company’s tardiness but should be out of the District hands soon. 12/10/2015 – No further progress still waiting in bonding company to clear stop notices. District’s attorney is still working with the bonding company. 1/7/2016 – No further progress still waiting in bonding company to clear stop notices. District’s attorney is still working with the bonding company. FUTURE PORTABLES Open ____________________________ 9/9/2015 – Preparing Portables Bid Package for February Bidding 11/5/2015 – Discuss next year’s portables determine plan. Kelly do you want a RFQ each year or can we do the RFQ as one, contract renewable for 5 years? 11/19/2015 – Bus. Serv. has put it on the Dec board for permission to bid. 12/10/2015 – DISCUSS W / ASSITANT SUPERINTENDENT, Business & Administrative Services UPDATING SPECIFICATIONS Open Facilities Planner III/Project Manager - Design 9/9/2015 – I have met with M&O’s departments to get their updates for the specifications and have been updating the specifications, and will be completed with them, prior to beginning the design for the the next elementary school and high school mods. 12/10/2015 – No Change 1/7/2016 - Have made some changes to specifications OLD DSA CERTIFICATIONS Open Facilities Planner III/Project Manager - Design 9/9/2015 – I have been working on certifying with DSA several very old M&O projects. Today, the final documents for a ABC Auditorium project were sent to DSA. I have one last project that I am going to start, to acquire DSA Certification. 2 remaining, one has been resubmitted. Should know in about three months. 1/7/2016 – No Change. Does the RCC need the building or should we demolish it? OPSC AUDIT CERTIFICATIONS Open Director of Facilities & Business Services 9/9/2015 – XXX Continuation High School Audit has been closed and fully funded. 12/10/2015 – Fiscal services is presently trying to get 5 audits closed. They are as follows: VHS Ag Bus CTE Foothill Ag Science CTE 1/7/2016 – Completed and resubmitted, these audits should be closed in about a month. FUTURE PROJECTS LIST Open Assistant Supt & Director of Facilities Career & Technical Education Regional Training Center (Magnet School) Regional Occupational Center Lab Expansion High School Modenization – 20XX Vacaville Modernization – 20XX Future Districtwide Surveillance Camera System District Office Remodel – Board Rm Offices Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 72 Appendices 9/24/2015 – Are you ok with preparing a hypothetical financial bible (Lack of defined term)? Kelly: Yes, she agrees with this approach and to proceed. Kelly said do with 8 year projection. 12/10/2015 – I met with Fiscal services, and we have begun developing the future financial bible. We have established the budgets for each, but we need to meet with you to discuss timing. I need to set up this meeting after she has finished the states delinquent expense reports. NEW DISCUSSION ITEMS SMALL PROJECTS RFQ. Open Facilities Planner III RFQ for architects will be ready 11/5/15. It will go out this week. 11/19/2015 - Approval of board on 11/16/15. RFQs going out 11/23/15. Assitant Director, Facilities is reviewing them. 12/10/2015 – RFQ submitted 12/9, Architectural Interviews have been moved to Dec 18th tentatively for Board award on Dec 21st. 1/7/2016 – Second set of interviews with architects is schedule for 1/7/2016 STAFFING COMMENTS/ISSUES & STEPS TAKEN Jane Doe Non preforming employee - Status? Explain current situation New Concerns and Issues from Assistant Superintendent, Business & Administrative Services? 1. 2. Etc. Prepared By: Director of Facilities Signed: ________________________________________ Dated: March XX, 2022 Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 73 Appendices Appendix B - Study Agreement FCMAT - • FISCAL CRISIS&. MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE TEAM July 14, The Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMA T), hereinafter referred to as the team, and the Vacaville Unified School District, hereinafter referred to as the district. mutually agree as follows: The team provides a variety of services to local education agencies (LEAs). 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 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 I 200, the county superintendent will be notified of this agreement between the district and FCMA T and wi 11 receive a copy of the final report. The final report will also be published on the FCMAT website. A. Scope and Objectives of the Study I. Conduct an organizational and staffing review of the Facilities. Maintenance and Operations Department (including maintenance, grounds. custodial and facilities) and make recommendations for staffing improvements or reductions, if any. 2.FIESvCaAluLa tCe RthIeS wISo r&k flMowA NanAdG dEisMtribEuNtiTon A oSfS fIuSnTctAioNnCs Ew iTthEinA tMhe department listed above and mSTakUeD reYc oAmGmReEndEaMtioEnNs Tfo r improved efficiency, if any. 2021 3. Review the operational processes and procedures for the department listed above and make recommendations for improved efficiency, if any. 1. BASIS OF AGREEMENT B. Services and Products to be Provided I. Orientation Meeting -The team wil I 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 Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 74 2. SCOPE OF THE WORK Appendices Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 75 Appendices Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 76 Appendices Maintenance and Operations Division Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 77 Appendices Maintenance and Operations Division Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Vacaville Unified School District 78