Comprehensive Review

Vallejo City Unified School District Assessment and Improvement Plan Second Six-Month Progress Report November 30, 2005 Administrative Agent Larry E. Reider Office of Kern County Superintendent of Schools Chief Executive Officer Thomas E. Henry Executive Summary Introduction This report, dated November 30, 2005, is the second of three six-month progress reports required by Senate Bill 1190 (Chapter 53, Statutes of 2004). These progress reports monitor the district’s efforts to address the recommendations in the Vallejo City Unified School District Assessment and Improvement Plan, issued on November 1, 2004 by the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assis- tance Team (FCMAT). These reports provide data to the district, community and Legislature to assist the district in achieving fiscal solvency, building the capacity within the district to promote student learning, and working toward the return of local governance to the governing board of trustees. The Assessment and Improvement Plan issued in November 2004 provided an assessment of the district in the five operational areas of community relations and governance, personnel manage- ment, pupil achievement, financial management, and facilities management, utilizing 415 profes- sional and legal standards of school district operations. Each standard was evaluated on a scale of 0 (not implemented) to 10 (fully implemented and sustained) as to the degree of implementa- tion. The ratings provided baseline data of the district’s status at that point in time in meeting the standards, and recommendations were developed by the FCMAT review teams for use as a basic improvement plan for successfully addressing the standards. In collaboration with the California Department of Education and the State-appointed Adminis- trator, FCMAT subsequently identified a subset of standards in each operational area for the dis- trict to address to return to local governance. These standards were selected as having the most probability, if successfully implemented, of assisting the district with recovery. It was agreed that an identified subset of 129 of the original 415 standards would become the focus of the ongoing six-month progress reviews. Selecting a smaller subset of standards enables the district to more quickly achieve a return to governance. Criteria for the return of powers were also established to indicate the level of progress substantial enough for a recommendation to be made to the Super- intendent of Public Instruction for the incremental return of governance of an operational area to the Vallejo City USD Governing Board. Additional information on the identified subset of standards and the established criteria can be found in another section of the executive summary of this report. FCMAT issued the first six-month progress report on May 1, 2005. The district requested that the two subsequent six-month progress reports be issued at the end of November and May instead of on the first of the month so as not to impede the district’s efforts to open the 2005 school year efficiently. FCMAT and the California Department of Education concurred with this request, so that this second six-month progress report is being issued on November 30, 2005 instead of the first of November. FCMAT assessment teams conducted on-site fieldwork in the district in late August, September and October 2005, meeting with staff, parents and community and board members, preparatory to issuing this November 30, 2005 six-month progress report. Senate Bill 1190 required FCMAT to provide three follow-up six-month reports monitoring the district’s progress in implementing the recommendations of the identified subset of standards. The last progress report required by this legislation will be issued in May 2006. Executive Summary 1 Background Senate Bill 1190, which was signed into law on June 21, 2004, required the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to assume all the legal rights, duties and powers of the Governing Board of the Vallejo City Unified School District (VCUSD) and to appoint, in consultation with the Solano County Superintendent of Schools, an administrator to act on his behalf in exercising authority over the school district. The bill appropriated $60 million as an emergency loan to the Vallejo City USD, and authorized the school district to sell property owned by the district and use the proceeds from the sale to reduce or retire the emergency loan. The bill, except as speci- fied, requires the school district to bear the costs associated with the implementation of the bill’s provisions, and prohibits the district from being eligible for financial hardship assistance under the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 from June 2004 through June 2006. The bill further authorized the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) to conduct comprehensive assessments and improvement plans for the Vallejo City Unified School District in five major operational areas: community relations/governance, pupil achievement, personnel management, fiscal management, and facilities management. It was the intent of the Legislature that the governing board, staff and community of Vallejo City USD fully participate in this assessment and improvement process. The improvement plans referenced under Educa- tion Code section 41327.1(b) are distinct and unique from the recovery plans required by the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) and referenced under Education Code section 41327 (a)(1)(2). Assembly Bill 2756 (Chapter 52, Statutes of 2004), which was signed into law on June 21, 2004, made substantive changes to the provisions governing the existing law that provided emergency apportionments for school districts that have become insolvent. As AB 2756 preceded SB 1190, the district is subject to the changed provisions. One of the changes included Section 41328 of the Education Code which was amended to read, “The qualifying district shall bear 100% of all costs associated with implementing this article, including the activities of the County Office Fis- cal Crisis and Management Assistance Team or regional team.” The district drew down $50 million of the $60 million state loan authorized by SB 1190 on June 23, 2004, within two days of the signing of the legislation. A state administrator was appointed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction on June 23, 2004 but was not able to start full-time in the district until late July 2004. The state administrator assembled a team of several individuals with expertise to assist in the district’s improvement efforts and to serve as a leadership cabinet. 2 Executive Summary Study Guidelines FCMAT’s approach to implementing the statutory requirements of SB 1190 is based upon a commitment to a standards-based, independent and external review of the Vallejo City Unified School District’s operations. FCMAT performed the initial assessment of the district and devel- oped the improvement plan in collaboration with three other external providers selected through a competitive process. Professionals from throughout California contributed their knowledge and applied the identified legal and professional standards to the specific local conditions found in the Vallejo City Unified School District. The initial assessment, entitled Vallejo City Unified School District Assessment and Improvement Plan, November 1, 2004, was presented to the district on November 1, 2004. The same teams of professionals have continued to assist FCMAT with the May 1, 2005 and this November 30, 2005 six-month progress reports for the district. Prior to beginning work in the district, FCMAT adopted five basic tenets to be incorporated in the assessment and improvement plans. These tenets were based on previous assessments conducted by FCMAT in school districts throughout California and a review of data from other states imple- menting external reviews of troubled school districts. These tenets formed the basis of FCMAT’s work in the district. The five basic tenets are: 1. Use of Professional and Legal Standards FCMAT’s experience indicates that for schools and school districts to be successful in program improvement, the evaluation, design and implementation of improvement plans must be stan- dards-driven. FCMAT has noted positive differences between an objective standards-based approach versus a nonstandards-based approach. When standards are clearly defined, reachable, and communicated, there is a greater likelihood they will be measured and met. In order to participate in the process of the Vallejo City Unified School District review, potential providers responded to a Request for Applications (RFA) that identified these standards as the basis of assessment and improvement. Moreover, the providers were required to demonstrate how the FCMAT-identified standards would be incorporated into their work. It is these standards on which the improvement plans for the Vallejo City Unified School District were based. The standards, while identified specifically for the Vallejo City USD, are benchmarks that could be readily utilized as an indication of success for any school district in California. Every standard was measured on a consistent rating format, and each standard was given a scaled score from zero to 10 as to its relative status of completeness. The following represents a defini- tion of terms and scaled scores. The single purpose of the scaled score is to establish a baseline of information by which the district’s future gains and achievements in each of the standard areas can be measured. Not Implemented (Scaled Score of 0) There is no significant evidence that the standard is implemented. Partially Implemented (Scaled Score of 1 through 7) A partially implemented standard lacks completeness, and it is met in a limited degree. The de- gree of completeness varies as defined: 1. Some design or research regarding the standard is in place that supports preliminary de- velopment. (Scaled Score of 1) Executive Summary 3 2. Implementation of the standard is well into the development stage. Appropriate staff is engaged and there is a plan for implementation. (Scaled Score of 2) 3. A plan to address the standard is fully developed, and the standard is in the beginning phase of implementation. (Scaled Score of 3) 4. Staff is engaged in the implementation of most elements of the standard. (Scaled Score of 4) 5. Staff is engaged in the implementation of the standard. All standard elements are devel- oped and are in the implementation phase. (Scaled Score of 5) 6. Elements of the standard are implemented, monitored and becoming systematic. (Scaled Score of 6) 7. All elements of the standard are fully implemented, are being monitored, and appropriate adjustments are taking place. (Scaled Score of 7) Fully Implemented (Scaled Score of 8-10) A fully implemented standard is complete relative to the following criteria. 8. All elements of the standard are fully and substantially implemented and are sustainable. (Scaled Score of 8) 9. All elements of the standard are fully and substantially implemented and have been sus- tained for a full school year. (Scaled Score of 9) 10. All elements of the standard are fully implemented, are being sustained with high quality, are being refined, and have a process for ongoing evaluation. (Scaled Score of 10) 2. Conduct an External and Independent Assessment FCMAT employed an external and independent assessment process in the development of the Vallejo City Unified School District assessment and improvement plans. FCMAT’s reports rep- resent findings and improvement plans based on the external and independent assessments from various professional agencies. The following agencies assisted in the November 1, 2004 compre- hensive Assessment and Improvement Plan, the May 1, 2005 First Six-Month Progress Report and this November 30, 2005 Second Six-Month Progress Report: • California School Boards Association (CSBA) – Community Relations/Governance • Community Training and Assistance Center (CTAC) – Pupil Achievement • School Services of California (SSC) – Personnel Management • School Services of California (SSC) – Facilities Management • Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) – Financial Management Collectively, the three professional agencies that assisted FCMAT constitute FCMAT’s providers in the assessment process. The external and independent assessments of FCMAT and its provid- ers serve as the primary basis for the reliability, integrity and credibility of the review. 3. Utilize Multiple Measures of Assessment For a finding to be considered legitimate, multiple sources need to be utilized to provide the same or consistent information. The assessments and improvement plans were based on multiple measures. Testing, personal interviews, group meetings, public hearings, observations, review and analysis of data all provide added value to the assessment process. The providers were re- 4 Executive Summary quired to utilize multiple measurements as they assessed the standards. This process allowed for a variety of ways of determining whether the standards were met. All school district operations with an impact on student achievement, including governance, fiscal, personnel, and facilities were reviewed and included in the improvement plan. 4. Empower Staff and Community The development of a strong professional development plan for the board and staff is a criti- cal component of an effective school district. All FCMAT reports include the importance of a comprehensive professional development plan. The success of the improvement plans and their implementation are dependent upon an effective professional development process. For this reason, the empowerment of staff and community is one of the highest priorities, and emphasiz- ing this priority with each of the partners is critical. As a result, a strong training component for board, staff and administration is called for consistently throughout the report. Of paramount importance is the community’s role of local governance. The absence of parental involvement in education is a growing concern nationally. A key to success in any school district is the re-engagement of parents, teachers, and support staff. Parents care deeply about their chil- dren’s future and most want to participate in improving the school district and enhancing student learning. The community relations section of the reports provides necessary recommendations for the community to have a more active and meaningful role in the education of its children. 5. Engage Local, State and National Agencies It is critical to involve various local, state and national agencies in the recovery of the district. This was emphasized through the Request for Applications (RFA) process, whereby state-recog- nized agencies were selected as partners to assist with the assessment and improvement process. The city and county, professional organizations, and community-based organizations all have expressed and shown a desire to assist and participate in the improvement of the Vallejo City Unified School District. Executive Summary 5 Study Team The study team was composed of the following members: For the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team – Administration and Report Writing Roberta Mayor Laura Haywood For the California School Boards Association – Community Relations/Governance Scott Plotkin Marge Peterson Ben Bartos Dan Walden Martin Gonzalez Diane Green Holly Jacobson For the Community Training and Assistance Center – Pupil Achievement Donald Ingwerson Maribeth Smith Sara Accornea Barbara Helms For School Services of California – Personnel Management Carol Berg Sheila Bua John Gray Deberie Gomez For the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team – Financial Management Michelle Plumbtree Barbara Dean Anthony Bridges Michele McClowry Phil Scrivano Linda Grundhoffer For School Services of California – Facilities Management Ron Bennett Jerry Twomey 6 Executive Summary Summary of Principal Findings and Recommendations Section Two of this report provides an in-depth review of the current status of the Vallejo City Unified School District’s progress in addressing the recommendations of the identified subset of 129 professional and legal standards used to assess the district. The following is a summary of the general findings of progress presented in Section Two. This November 30, 2005 Second Six-Month Progress Report represents data collection and analysis at a specific point in time. FCMAT review teams visited the district in late August, Sep- tember and October 2005. This report was distributed to the Vallejo City Unified School District and the Superintendent of Public Instruction on November 30, 2005. The district has taken steps to implement the recommendations in the identified subset of stan- dards in the Assessment and Improvement Plan. Reasonable progress has been made in the areas of Community Relations/Governance and Pupil Achievement in the six months since the team’s last report in May 2005. Modest progress has been made in the areas of Financial and Facilities Management, and minimal progress has been made in the area of Personnel Management. • A district under state administration is required to develop a Management Review and Recovery Plan and a multi-year Financial Recovery Plan [E.C. 41327 (a)(1)(2)]. The dis- trict does not currently have such plans which are critically needed. FCMAT is assisting the district in the development of a multi-year financial projection (MYFP) which could be the basis of the district’s Financial Recovery Plan. While developing the MYFP, the district’s position control system did not always reconcile with the budget figures. The system provides no payroll encumbrances. A reliable position control system is crucial in supporting the district’s efforts to manage personnel costs, the largest component of its budget. • The district and its employee groups have negotiated new bargaining agreements for the next three year period. The teachers’ association, the last employee group to formalize a contract, ratified the agreement in late October 2005. The agreement provides for a 4% incremental salary increase over a three-year period and the shared cost of health benefits by the district and employees. The agreement increases the district’s ongoing expendi- tures and will require additional cuts in other expenditure areas or significant revenue enhancement to fund the salary adjustments. The district should identify the expenditure reductions that will balance the increased costs of the salary agreement for submission to the county office of education to support the collective bargaining public disclosure docu- ments. • The district’s ability to accurately reflect its net ending fund balance throughout the bud- get monitoring process is still a challenge. The 2004-05 unaudited actuals reflected a $4.8 million variance from the estimate made for the 2005-06 adopted budget. This variance indicates that the district may be making financial decisions based on outdated data. The variances need to be resolved so that financial data is more reliable. • As reported in the initial assessment report issued in November 2004, the district drew down $50 million of the $60 million emergency loan authorized by Senate Bill 1190 in June 2004. The district would prefer to preserve the available balance. Fiscal recovery is a fragile process and as the district’s fiscal condition remains precarious, the district may be required to draw upon the remaining balance in the future. Executive Summary 7 The district has made positive gains in several areas as noted below. The district needs to main- tain the progress it has made in these areas. • The state administrator has assembled a team of personnel with expertise in various school district operational areas to assist in the improvement process. In this second year under state administration, the team is focused on building staff capacity to sustain the improvements made. A vertical and horizontal reorganization of central office staff has been implemented to clarify roles, responsibilities and working relationships. The district will need to evaluate the effectiveness of the reorganization on district operations, and must work to recruit capable staff to continue the recovery effort. • Prior reports indicated that there were few established procedures supported by written documentation in any of the five operational areas. The district has begun updating board policies and operating procedures to provide the necessary operational guidance for staff. The pace of the board policy reviews and updates has been slow but steady. Additional policies, particularly those related to instruction, personnel and facilities need to be ad- dressed as soon as possible. • There is a strong focus on improving student achievement in the district, and systems and processes have been implemented to enhance the instructional program. Significant staff development has been provided and the voluntary participation of teachers and principals has been high. Modest, but statistically significant, overall gains for students occurred on the California Standards Test (CST), administered in the spring of 2005. Greater focus is needed on high school improvement, and addressing the achievement gap for minority sub-groups of students. • The May 2005 report indicated that the district was monitoring enrollment and attendance data on a weekly/monthly basis. The district has been making staffing adjustments for the continuing decline in student enrollment. The district’s enrollment projection was more accurate this school year than last. This is an area that requires continual attention as ac- curate enrollment and attendance projections are necessary for building reliable budgets. • The climate in the district is positive. The open communication and access to informa- tion have increased trust in district operations. A good working relationship exists be- tween the advisory board and the state administrator. Staff and community members participated in developing action plans to support the district’s recovery. These plans are now being implemented with some good results. • Internal and external communications have continued to improve and outreach efforts to involve the community in school issues and decision-making are ongoing. The state administrator’s office provides increased and timely communication to both staff and the community. Several community forums have proved an effective means of providing information, obtaining community input, and responding to concerns. A summary of the findings of the review teams’ on-site visits for this November 2005 report fol- lows on the next few pages. Greater detail is provided on each of the identified 129 standards in Section Two of this report. 8 Executive Summary Community Relations and Governance The Vallejo City Unified School District has demonstrated consistent progress during the last six months in involving parents, staff, community members and the board in the refinement and implementation of action plans that address the priority standards identified in the assessment and improvement plan. As the district has implemented the action plans, it continues to make and sustain progress on the standards. Communications The district has continued the practice of holding community forums that are viewed as a reliable way to reach out to a broad segment of parents and the community and provide news and an op- portunity for discussion about issues in the district. The forums continue to be regarded by staff and parents as worthwhile, and the district should maintain its plan to hold additional forums. A continuing priority for the district must be heightened communications with non-English-speak- ing and traditionally less-involved parents. Other communications mechanisms have been strengthened. The district’s Web site is being redesigned, utilizing a simplified navigational structure. Protocols for media relations are in place and are being followed by district staff. The advisory board and state administrator are in the process of reviewing a policy that identifies district spokespersons. As stronger relationships are built with the local media, the district continues to generate news coverage about successes in the district. The district’s broadcast phone system and site-based newsletters continue to provide information to parents about events on campuses. Parent/Community Relations The Vallejo City USD has continued to make strides in engaging the community in forums and providing information to parents. Overall, parent involvement and volunteerism appear to be in- creasing in the district, but still remain inconsistent from site to site and are heavily dependent on the efforts of individual principals. Increasing the involvement of parents and volunteers should be a consistent priority across the district, including an effort to strengthen parent-teacher organi- zations at all sites. To achieve this goal, the district should develop specific activities for parents and volunteers that support the district in meaningful ways and that are aligned to the goals of the district. At the beginning of this school year, the district provided training for staff on the complaint reso- lution process and procedures for addressing parent complaints. Community Collaboratives, District Advisory Committees, School Site Councils The district has continued to build upon the partnerships and collaboratives it has developed with organizations, agencies and businesses in the Vallejo community. The city of Vallejo, the Vallejo Police Department and the Vallejo Chamber of Commerce continue to work closely with the state administrator and the advisory board. The positive and productive relationships between district leadership and the leaders of other community organizations have been maintained. The district has also continued the practice described in the last progress report of using board meetings to recognize community partners for their efforts in the district. The district made effec- tive use of its property advisory committee in the past six months. Executive Summary 9 Policy The district’s advisory board and the state administrator have begun to implement a plan to up- date the district’s policy manual. In the last six months, the district has reviewed, received input and adopted policies on a number of topics, including uniform complaint procedures, interdistrict transfers and a code of ethics. The district continues to work with a law firm to help execute the revisions to reflect current law and district practice. The district’s effort to methodically review policies is a positive step. However, it must prioritize the plans for policy review and adoption to ensure that critical issues are addressed as expediently as possible. District office departments re- quire administrative regulations and policies to carry out their functions, and those priority areas should be identified. The state administrator and the board are aware that policy implementation must be monitored to ensure that the practices at sites across the district reflect the policies. The issue of inconsistent application and adherence to district policies were problems noted in prior progress reports. Prin- cipals and other site staff received training on policies at the beginning of this school year. Board Roles/Boardsmanship The district’s board members have worked together effectively to consider important district matters, even though their current role is advisory. The state administrator and the board continue to work well together, and appear united on the five key goals for the district. Improving achieve- ment for underperforming students is a top district goal, and should remain a focus as the imple- mentation of plans to raise achievement by all student populations continues. The board and the state administrator have integrated these goals into the operations of the district. As time passes, the district’s vision/mission and goals should be periodically revisited and updated. Board Meetings Board agendas continue to demonstrate a clear link to issues of student achievement. Critical fiscal issues and the fiscal recovery plan have been a significant part of board discussions, but each budget proposal at board meetings also includes a rationale describing the impact on student achievement. Board agendas over the past year have included a specific opportunity to recognize community members who support the district and its schools. Board members are positive about the level of information they receive before meetings, and express satisfaction with the data and analysis provided prior to meetings, although some board members expressed a desire for even more information. In Summary The review of Community Relations and Governance included the assessment of the selected subset of 17 professional and legal standards of performance. The average rating of this subset of 17 standards assessed in November 2004 was 3.35 and in May 2005 was 4.24. The average rating for this subset of standards in this operational area as of this November 2005 six-month progress report is 5.24 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 the highest score possible. None of these 17 standards has a rating below a 4. 10 Executive Summary Personnel Management Thirty-five standards in the Personnel Management area were identified for the ongoing prog- ress reviews. The Human Resources Department initially elected to focus on a smaller sub-set of standards and developed action plans to address 10 of the 35 standards by March 2005 and an- other 15 by May 2005. Action plans for the remaining 10 standards were expected to be complet- ed by November 2005. Because of this schedule, some standards reviewed during this six-month period may reflect little progress in ratings. Organization and Planning The Human Resources Department was reorganized in early August 2005 to conform to the district’s horizontal alignment of functions. As a result, there are three director positions that report to the Assistant Superintendent, including a Director-Elementary, a Director-Secondary, and a Director-Staff Support. Alignment of the staff below the level of director is still under way, but must become a matter of priority. Health and Welfare Benefits and Risk Management were moved back into Human Resources from Fiscal Services and assigned to the Director-Staff Support. This arrangement must continue to be monitored, as there is confusion about how the supporting information system functions, and there are concerns regarding the accuracy of the databases that support these functions. A procedures manual has not been developed and the annual calendar has not been completed. Both of these projects should become a higher priority over the next six months. The review of the board policies affecting personnel operations, such as the delivery of services, roles and processes for employment, and employee discipline and dismissal, have been reviewed by a law firm assisting the district in the update of policies. Internal and External Communications The physical layout of the HR office has been redesigned and has resulted in improvements in customer service because more HR staff members are readily available to provide assistance. The HR management team has adopted a mission statement and guiding principles for the depart- ment, but these have not yet been shared with all of the HR staff. These documents need to be further refined into specific standards for the department’s employees to follow, including stan- dards for customer service. Regular meetings should be held for the three sections of HR (el- ementary, secondary, and staff support), as well as with the entire department as a whole. These meetings are critical to ensuring strong communications within the HR department, especially in this time of significant organizational change. Employee Recruitment and Selection The recruitment of teachers for the new school year began rather late in the spring. The Instruction- al Department led the teacher recruitment process. Human Resources did develop a very detailed recruitment procedure for administrative staff that will become the template for all future recruit- ment of management positions. It is essential that Human Resources take the lead in employee recruitment, working cooperatively with the Instructional Department, and develop a very detailed recruitment plan prior to January, when recruitment for the 2006-07 school year should begin. Using the Aeries system, coupled with a manual process, Human Resources was able to provide appropriate information to the Solano County Office of Education for the four-year credential audit process. Approximately 20 misassignments were found, which the district was addressing. Executive Summary 11 Operational Procedures Human Resources has not yet initiated a procedure for updating job descriptions. This project should become a priority as the district reorganizes. While communications between HR and Payroll staff have improved significantly over the past year, the regularly scheduled weekly meetings that were occurring between the two departments have ceased. These meetings need to be re-established so that there is continuous communication between the departments. The staffing process for the opening of the new school year was significantly improved over last year’s experience. Frequent enrollment and staffing meetings were held before school began and during the first several weeks of school to help ensure that the staffing adjustments were appro- priately managed. Use of Technology Since the first progress report in May 2005, the benefits module has been implemented in CECC, and the Health and Welfare Benefits function has been transferred back to HR. Settlements have been agreed to with both bargaining units, which affect employee and district contributions for benefits. As a result, the district is making retroactive changes to employee benefit records, while at the same time shifting responsibilities for benefits and using a new system module. The district should perform a complete audit of the employee benefits records after all of these changes have been made. Staff Training, Evaluation and Due Process The district has provided training on teacher evaluations, employee leaves, and other specific areas, but there is no overall plan for assessing training needs for all personnel district-wide. Human Resources has made progress in monitoring all employee evaluations, and has developed procedures to ensure that evaluations are completed and submitted appropriately. Human Re- sources also developed training for the principals on teacher evaluation time lines and processes. The CECC system is now being used to track teacher evaluations, and a spreadsheet system has been developed to track classified evaluations. Employer/Employee Relations The district has negotiated three-year agreements with each of its bargaining units that includes salary increases, but also reduces the district’s liability for the cost of health and welfare benefits and provides flexibility in other provisions of the contracts to increase savings and further the district’s fiscal recovery. The district now needs to provide training to its management team on the provisions of the new contracts. In Summary The review of Personnel Management included the assessment of the selected subset of 35 pro- fessional and legal standards of performance. The average rating of this subset of 35 standards assessed in November 2004 was 1.34 and in May 2005 was 2.51. The average rating for this subset of standards in this operational area as of this November 2005 six-month progress report is 2.74 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 the highest score possible. Twen- ty-two of these 35 standards have ratings below a 4. 12 Executive Summary Pupil Achievement The district’s emphasis on standards implementation and increased student achievement through the use of high leverage strategies has led to small, but statistically significant, overall gains for students on the California Standards Test (CST), administered in the spring of 2005. While no progress was made in closing the achievement gap, ethnic subgroups mostly kept pace with over- all growth. Gains varied by grade level and subject throughout the district. Also, the district’s efforts gained momentum during the summer with a very high (and voluntary) participation in the state-approved professional development program for teachers and principals. Progress on Planning Processes An organizational chart for the district and new job descriptions for district staff have been created. The chart shows both a traditional vertical organizational model and a horizontal orga- nizational model, which identifies cross-departmental roles and responsibilities. The horizontal model helps the district align resources and systems, clarify accountability, and avoid duplication of effort or letting important strategies fall through the cracks. It is designed to avoid the isola- tion of departments within the district, and reflects the systemic nature of the reform agenda. Several board policies that are key to the curriculum and instruction area are now in draft form, in line for board attention. Among these are policies for vision and goals, core curriculum and high school graduation. Access to Necessary Skills “Access to necessary skills” anchors the district’s new vision statement, and several new initia- tives address the significant element of access: (1) training for differentiation and the implementation of a “universal access and interven- tion” block; (2) the implementation of the Aeries system that gives district and site administrators the ca- pacity to monitor regularly and analyze student attendance and behavior patterns; and (3) the establishment this fall of a student support services division with a director and three coordinators to support principals in the important work of monitoring student behavior and developing intervention strategies for students without school skills and/or support- ive home environments, including reformulating the School Attendance Review Board (SARB) and working with community agencies on behalf of youth. Effective, high quality interventions are critical work for the district. African American and Hispanic students are overrepresented in absentee and suspension data and are performing significantly below Filipino and white youth on the CST. Direct and relentless intervention will be needed to recapture the instructional opportunities that are lost each day for students who are not in school. Additionally, special education students need increased opportunity in the core program that the universal access and intervention block will provide. They comprise more than 10% of the students tested on the CST in 2005, but performed substantially below the state averages for students with disabilities, indicating that they likely have not been systematically instructed in a standards-based environment. Executive Summary 13 Secondary Schools In 2004-05, middle and high schools in the district also posted overall gains on the CST. The 2005-06 school year brings greater focus on the high school reform agenda, including beginning work on small learning communities; Project Personalize; and the development of reform coor- dinator positions to coordinate with district leaders and secondary principals on common course guides, aligned end-of-course assessments, and professional development. Implementing a col- lege preparatory program for all students and increasing the opportunity for advanced placement classes are critical elements of the reform and need to be addressed early and systemically for success. System-wide commitment and support in the early grades is a necessary component of high school reform. Achievement Reform The student achievement reform observed in the district is admirable in its focus, scale, and man- agement. The evidence of early results in the 2005 assessments speaks for the appropriateness of the overall strategy. However, more than 50% of students district-wide are not proficient in English language arts and more than 60% are not proficient in mathematics. As the reform moves forward, the district leadership will need other and/or multiple strategies to impact the thorny issues of underachievement rooted in the schools and community. The new student services divi- sion, the high school reform coordinators, and the universal access and intervention block are indicators that the second tier of reform strategies is under way. In Summary The review of Pupil Achievement included the assessment of the selected subset of 23 profes- sional and legal standards of performance. The average rating of this subset of 23 standards as- sessed in November 2004 was 2.39, and in May 2005 was 3.45. The average rating for this subset of standards in this operational area as of this May 2005 six- month progress report is 5.09 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 the highest score possible. None of these 23 standards has a rating below a 4. 14 Executive Summary Financial Management The district has made steady progress in addressing many of the recommendations of the As- sessment and Improvement Plan and in initiating systemic changes in its financial management operations. Internal Control Environment Internal fiscal controls have improved. Board policies have been adopted addressing ethical behavior, fraud prevention, the misuse of funds and conflicts of interest. Administrators in all de- partments are beginning to set standards of behavior for all employees. The administrators must communicate these policies and expectations to employees and find ways to rebuild trust at all levels, as not all employees are cooperating or making the changes in attitude or work ethics that are necessary to reach maximum efficiency. Employee evaluations must be conducted, and man- agers and supervisors must be held accountable for completing evaluations in a timely manner. Inter- and Intra-Departmental Communications Although departmental communications have improved, the district has not yet developed new procedures manuals or similar resources for business-related functions. These resources should explain in detail the processes and procedures that are mandated by law, as well as those required by board or district policies and procedures. They should also function as a training tool for staff. Communications related to the district’s financial position (such as interim reports) continue to be developed and approved but are not always timely, and the packet of information included with the reports does not contain all necessary components. The district has given high priority to improving communications with the Governing Board and the community so they can assist the district in gaining financial recovery and stability. Interviews confirm that the data shared pub- licly is more understandable and is viewed as trustworthy. Internal Audit The internal auditor position was filled in October 2005 and reports to the State Administrator/ Superintendent. Policies need to be developed that cover the functions of the position, establish a process and procedure for requesting and reporting internal audits, and specify the types of audits to be done. A calendar should be established for scheduling audits. Budget Development, Adoption, Reporting and Audits The district has improved the process it uses to analyze resources and allocations and ensure that they align with strategic planning objectives. This process must now extend throughout the year so that budgets are adhered to and fiscal solvency is restored. The district’s ability to accurately reflect its net ending fund balance throughout the budget monitoring process is still a challenge. The 2004-05 unaudited actuals reflected a $4,880,227 variance from the estimate made for the 2005-06 adopted budget. The variance indicates that the district may be making financial deci- sions based on outdated data. Variances need to be resolved so that financial data is more reliable. Budget Monitoring The county’s automated financial system is now in use throughout the district. The online pur- chase order system module has been introduced to sites and departments and will be phased in throughout the 2005-06 fiscal year, with full implementation planned for 2006-07. Online budget transfers will be implemented once the purchase order system is fully operational. Executive Summary 15 The district is working toward full utilization of the online position control system, which al- ready drives the payroll function. The district also plans to interface Aeries online attendance with the payroll and the employee absence systems so that employee absence transactions can be properly tracked. Stronger budget monitoring controls are in place, as sites and departments can now run their own budget reports to supplement the monthly reports from the district office. Attendance Accounting Improved attendance accuracy and efficiency is evident in the second year on the Aeries atten- dance system. The high schools now have online attendance in the classroom, with the middle schools coming on line after site modernization is complete. Policies and procedures still need to be developed in this area, including those for independent study and home study. A consul- tant has been hired to develop a handbook, which needs to include forms, common attendance codes, compulsory laws and pertinent education codes. The district has developed an Academic Achievement and Accountability department that has the responsibility of ensuring that sites have developed their bell schedules and that the calculation of instructional minutes is accurate. Principals and site attendance staff must continue to receive training on correct attendance re- porting and methods for increasing attendance rates. The district raised its attendance rate in the 2004-05 fiscal year. Accounting, Purchasing, and Warehousing Board policies for accounting and purchasing have not been reviewed or updated. The State Controller’s 2003-04 financial audit contained numerous accounting findings. Systems and pro- cedures have slightly improved but are not fully developed. Deadlines are not enforced. The dis- trict needs to implement audit recommendations and develop good business practices to ensure timely accounting. Managers and employees must be held accountable for performing job duties accurately. The district’s current spending pattern indicates that, without budget adjustments, the district will face cash shortages over the next two years. The district should develop internal controls and cash management procedures and require all employees to follow them at all times. It should also continue to implement and strengthen procedures for forecasting revenue and expenditures. Multiyear Projections Although multiyear projections are completed and distributed as mandated by the state, the as- sumptions presented with the projection for the subsequent years are not detailed and/or visible, with few exceptions. The projection submitted with the 2005-06 adopted budget did not include thorough assumptions for all years, and the 2005-06 unrestricted ending fund balance in the adopted budget did not match the balance on the multiyear projection. To be useful, these two balances need to be the same. FCMAT is developing a multiyear projection for the district based on district data and FCMAT’s trend analysis. This is being done at the request of the county office and as a tool to assist with the comprehensive study. District administrators must understand the impact of all fiscal deci- sions on future year budgets, which can be easily reflected in properly prepared multiyear projec- tions. 16 Executive Summary Long Term Debt Obligations The district does not have a current financial plan to recognize ongoing unfunded liabilities from employee benefits as a district liability. The latest actuarial study of retiree health benefits was for the period ending June 30, 2002. A plan needs to be established for funding retiree health benefits as the obligations are incurred. Collective Bargaining Agreements The district successfully concluded negotiations with all bargaining groups for a new three-year collective bargaining agreement. The three-year agreement, from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2008, includes a significant reduction in district-paid health benefits. Salary increases totaling 4% will be paid over the next three years, with no re-openers. Management Information Systems The internal workings of the Technology Department have improved. The department still oper- ates in a reactive mode to some extent, as opposed to utilizing purposeful planning and imple- mentation processes. Implementation of the Eagle Software Aeries student information system appears to be going smoothly. The district has switched back to the local county office of educa- tion as its Internet service provider, which has been a smooth transition. The department contin- ues to adhere to proper business practices, including following all procurement policies. Maintenance and Operations Fiscal Controls The district has switched from self-insurance to the State Compensation Insurance Fund for workers’ compensation. The district’s 2005-06 adopted budget was based on the self-insured rate information and payroll surcharge rates. The budget should be adjusted to reflect the State Com- pensation Insurance Fund rates, which are usually higher. The district’s last actuarial review was completed on May 11, 2004, so a new one should be requested. In addition, the district needs to conduct an annual physical inventory of its fixed assets, especially because GASB 34 requires the district to maintain complete and current fixed asset records for use in accounting processes. The June 30, 2004 annual audit completed by the State Controller’s Office could not establish completed accounting records and supporting data for fixed assets. Special Education The district continues to take measures to contain the cost of Special Education services through an ongoing self-review process involving parents and community members. A fiscal employee has been assigned to monitor budgets and validate coding for the special education department and closely reviews position control versus budget and actual expenditures. This has reduced the number of miscoded expenditures. In Summary The review of Financial Management included the assessment of the selected subset of 39 pro- fessional and legal standards of performance. The average rating of this subset of 39 standards assessed in November 2004 was 1.31, and in May 2005 was 2.53. The average rating for this subset of standards in this operational area as of this May 2005 six- month progress report is 3.56 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 the highest score possible. Twenty- four of these 39 standards have ratings below a 4. Executive Summary 17 Facilities Management The district has been implementing its action plans designed to correct the identified deficiencies in the Facilities Management area. The district has shown progress in areas such as training and work order management. However, at the time of this review, neither the board policies nor the policies and procedures manual for this area had been completed. As a result, the district did not improve its rating in many of the standards assessed. Documentation of Policies, Procedures, and Processes The district is revising and expanding its board policies and administrative regulations; however, this process is still in progress. The district has not reviewed or updated the policies related to facilities, maintenance, and operations. The district’s stated goal is to complete its review and update all policies and administrative regulations by the end of 2006. The district’s action plan also calls for the development of a comprehensive Policies and Pro- cedures Manual for facilities, maintenance, and operations. These policies and procedures are intended to address all aspects of the operation of these departments, as well as address the findings and recommendations identified in the Assessment and Improvement Plan. To date, the district has accumulated information, best practices, and sample manuals, and is starting to draft and develop the manual. While the district’s approach and goal is promising, given the workload and other issues confronting the Maintenance and Operations Department, the manual was not complete and available for review at the time of the team’s visit. Communication between Central Office Departments The two departments responsible for district facilities are Student Housing Services, commonly known as Facilities, and Facilities Services, known as Maintenance and Operations. A weekly meeting is held for division staff to facilitate consistent communication between Student Hous- ing and Facilities, and the two directors participate in Cabinet meetings every other week. Overall, communication appears to be improving, but there are still gaps. The completion of board policies, administrative regulations, and departmental policy and proce- dures manuals should help to ensure timely and ongoing communication between the two depart- ments, other central office departments, and sites. Communication between Schools and Central Office In the past, communication between school sites and the Maintenance and Operations Depart- ment has been poor. Sites complained that work orders, e-mails, and voice mails were either not answered or not answered promptly. The work order system was viewed as cumbersome, time consuming, and not user friendly. As a result, the system was not consistently used, which cre- ated problems in managing and tracking work orders. Conversely, when the work order system was used, sites frequently were not aware of the status of any given work order. As a result, mul- tiple work orders were frequently submitted for the same job, which created administrative and tracking issues for the Maintenance Department. The district upgraded its work order/preventive maintenance system and archived old data. This improved the speed of the system, and simplified the process for site staff to review the status of work orders. Feedback from site administrators regarding the upgraded system has been positive. The system ultimately should assist the district to better manage facilities, reduce the actual num- 18 Executive Summary ber of repairs needed, and reduce the number of work orders submitted. The departments should also commit to returning calls and e-mails within a 24-hour period to ensure that site issues are addressed promptly. Fire, Health, and Safety Issues at School Sites The prior review identified fire, health, and safety issues at virtually all the sites visited. Prob- lems included: • Classrooms without fire extinguishers, or extinguishers moved from designated areas • Fire extinguishers lacking current inspections • Access to fire extinguishers and fire alarms blocked • Fire doors or barrier doors blocked open • Unsanitary restrooms During the current review, the district’s performance was improved, particularly in the area of fire extinguishers. Only a few expired extinguishers were noted, virtually all classrooms had fire extinguishers, and access to fire extinguishers was clear at the sites visited. Performance has im- proved in this area. Head custodians are required to perform a monthly inspection of fire extin- guishers and submit a monthly inspection report. The district has hired a contractor to ensure that safety systems such as clocks, bells, and alarms are operating properly and to make repairs as necessary. A few instances of unsanitary restrooms were observed. In response to the need to improve bath- room cleanliness, the district is purchasing restroom cleaning/sterilizing equipment that should improve the quality and efficiency of cleaning. In addition, the district has established a night custodial supervisor position to evaluate the work done by night custodians, including restroom cleaning. Overall, there are fewer sites with issues, and fewer violations. As the district moves forward with formalizing and implementing operating procedures, ongoing improvement is expected to continue. In Summary The review of Facilities Management included the assessment of the selected subset of 15 pro- fessional and legal standards of performance. The average rating of this subset of 15 standards assessed in November 2004 was 2.46, and in May 2005 was 3.13. The average rating for this subset of standards in this operational area as of this November 2005 six-month progress report is 3.87 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 the highest score possible. Five of these 15 standards have ratings below a 4. Executive Summary 19 20 Executive Summary Returning the District to Local Governance Several conditions need to be met for the district’s eventual return to local governance. Senate Bill 1190, Chapter 53, Statutes of 2004, and AB 2756, Chapter 52, Statutes of 2004, provide clarity, condi- tions and intent regarding the return of the designated legal rights, duties and powers to the Governing Board. The authority of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) and his administrator designee shall continue until the SPI determines that the conditions of the law are satisfied. Consistent with Education Code section 41326, the Superintendent of Public Instruction has sole authority to decide when the return of legal rights, duties and powers to the Governing Board occurs. The conditions to be met include the following: 1. One complete fiscal year has elapsed following the district’s acceptance of a state loan or, at any time after one complete fiscal year has elapsed following that acceptance, the ad- ministrator determines, and so notifies the SPI and the county superintendent of schools that future compliance by the district with the improvement plan is probable. The SPI may return powers to the Governing Board for any of the five operational areas if performance for that area has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the SPI. 2. FCMAT completes the improvement plan specified in the Act and has completed a mini- mum of two reports identifying the district’s progress. 3. The administrator certifies that all necessary collective bargaining agreements have been negotiated and ratified and that the agreements are consistent with the terms of the im- provement plans. 4. The district completes all reports required by the SPI and the administrator. 5. The SPI concurs with the assessment of the administrator and FCMAT that future com- pliance by the Vallejo City USD with the improvement plan and the multiyear financial recovery plan is probable. SB 1190, Section 7, provides specific and direct responsibilities to FCMAT in assisting the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Vallejo City Unified School District with recovery. These duties include the following: 1. On or before November 1, 2004, FCMAT shall conduct a comprehensive assessment and prepare an improvement plan for the Vallejo City Unified School District incorporating the following five operational areas: • Financial Management • Pupil Achievement • Personnel Management • Facilities Management • Community Relations Executive Summary 21 The improvement plan for personnel management shall include training for members of the Governing Board, the superintendent and district staff. 2. Based upon the progress reports, FCMAT shall recommend to the Superintendent of Pub- lic Instruction those designated functional areas of school district operations that it deter- mines are appropriate for the Governing Board of the school district to assume. 3. FCMAT shall file written status reports that reflect the progress the district is making in meeting the recommendations of the improvement plans. As required by SB 1190, the November 1, 2004 Assessment and Improvement Plan developed by FCMAT constituted the comprehensive assessment and improvement plan for the Vallejo City Unified School District. The initial report assessed the district using 415 professional and legal standards in five areas of school district operations. The scaled scores for all of the standards in each operational area provided an accurate measure of the district’s status regarding recovery at that time. Each standard was measured for completeness and a relative scaled score from zero (not met) to ten (fully met) was applied. An average of the scores for each operational area was determined. The averages of those scaled scores became the baseline of data against which the district’s progress could be measured over time. For the subsequent six-month progress reviews, including this November 2005 report, a smaller subset of these standards was selected by FCMAT in consultation with the California Depart- ment of Education (CDE) and the appointed State Administrator. The standards were selected as having the most probability, if addressed successfully, in assisting the district with recovery. The selected standards are identified in the Tables of Standards in Section Two of this report, and will be the focus of each six-month review. The Vallejo City Unified School District is not required to reach a scaled score of 10 in every selected standard, but the district is expected to make steady progress that can be sustained, as substantial and sustained progress is a requirement of SB 1190. It is reasonable to expect that the district can reach an average rating of at least a six in each of the five operational areas. In collaboration with the California Department of Education, FCMAT established the following criteria to measure the district’s progress. When the average score of the subset of standards in a functional area reaches a level of six, and it is considered to be substantial and sustainable, and no individual standard in the subset is below a four, FCMAT will recommend to the Superinten- dent of Public Instruction that this particular condition has been met and that this operational area could be returned to the Vallejo City USD Governing Board. The final authority to return gover- nance authority to the district board lies with the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Subject to progress, recommendations every six months will address the functional areas of school district operations that could be returned to the Governing Board of the school district by the SPI. The ultimate return of legal rights, duties and powers is based upon the SPI’s concur- rence with the assessment of his administrator designee and FCMAT that the future compliance by the district with the improvement plans and the multiyear financial recovery plan is probable. 22 Executive Summary Implementation Plan FCMAT assessed the district using 415 professional and legal standards for the November 1, 2004 Assessment and Improvement Plan, providing an in-depth review of these standards in the five operational areas. A subset of standards in each operational area was identified to assist the district in successfully achieving recovery and return to local governance. This subset of stan- dards is the focus of the ongoing six-month progress reviews conducted in the district. Although all professional and legal standards utilized in the comprehensive assessment process are impor- tant to any district’s success, focusing on this identified subset of standards enables the Vallejo City Unified School District to more quickly achieve a return to local governance. FCMAT, with the collaboration of the California Department of Education and the State Admin- istrator, identified the following subset of 129 standards in the five operational areas that are to be reviewed during each six-month progress review. 17 standards in Community Relations and Governance 35 standards in Personnel Management 23 standards in Pupil Achievement 39 standards in Financial Management 15 standards in Facilities Management These standards are identified in bold print in the Table of Standards displayed at the end of each operational area section. In collaboration with the California Department of Education, FCMAT established the following criteria to measure the district’s progress. When the average score of the subset of standards in an operational area reaches a level of six and it is considered to be substantial and sustainable, and no individual standard in the subset is below a four, FCMAT will recommend to the Superinten- dent of Public Instruction (SPI) that this particular condition of SB 1190 has been met and that this operational area could be returned to the Governing Board. FCMAT will assess the district’s progress in each of the five operational areas during each six- month period and determine the operational area, subject to the criteria, that could be returned to the Governing Board of the school district on an incremental basis. The ultimate decision for the return of legal rights, duties and powers will be based upon the SPI’s concurrence with the assessment of his administrator designee and FCMAT that the future compliance by the district with the improvement plans and the multiyear financial recovery plan is probable. The average of the subset of standards in each operational area is indicated below. The ratings for November 1, 2004 provided a baseline of data against which the district’s progress can be mea- sured over each six-month period of review. November 1, 2004: Community Relations/Governance: average rating 3.35, with 11 standards under a 4. Personnel Management: average rating 1.34, with 33 standards under a 4. Pupil Achievement: average rating 2.39, with 23 standards under a 4. Financial Management: average rating 1.31, with 37 standards under a 4. Facilities Management: average rating 2.46, with 11 standards under a 4. Executive Summary 23 May 1, 2005: Community Relations/Governance: average rating 4.24, with 4 standards under a 4. Personnel Management: average rating 2.51, with 25 standards under a 4. Pupil Achievement: average rating 3.48, with 10 standards under a 4. Financial Management: average rating 2.53, with 28 standards under a 4. Facilities Management: average rating 3.13 , with 9 standards under a 4. November 30, 2005: Community Relations/Governance: average rating 5.24, with 0 standards under a 4. Personnel Management: average rating 2.74, with 22 standards under a 4. Pupil Achievement: average rating 5.09, with 0 standards under a 4. Financial Management: average rating 3.56, with 24 standards under a 4. Facilities Management: average rating 3.87, with 5 standards under a 4. Progress in Meeting Criteria for Return of Powers Operational Nov. Nov. May May Nov. Nov. Areas 2004 2004 2005 2005 2005 2005 Average Standards Average Standards Average Standards Rating less than 4 Rating less than 4 Rating less than 4 Community Relations/ 3.35 11 4.24 4 5.24 0 Governance Personnel 1.34 33 2.51 25 2.74 22 Management Pupil 2.39 23 3.48 10 5.09 0 Achievement Financial 1.31 37 2.53 28 3.56 24 Management Facilities 2.46 11 3.13 9 3.87 5 Management 24 Executive Summary Community Relations and Governance The Vallejo City Unified School District has demonstrated consistent progress during the last six months in involving parents, staff, community members and the board in the refinement and implementation of action plans that address the priority standards identified in the assessment and improvement plan. As the district has implemented the action plans, it continues to make and sustain progress on the standards. Community forums continue to be successful in providing information to parents and community members. Further outreach to parents and more language translation services should be integrated into plans designed to engage the community. The district has begun to implement its comprehensive review of board policies. The district should continue with this process and focus additional attention on policy review and adoption. Communications The district has implemented several key initiatives as part of its strategic communications plan. The process for developing the communications plan included input from staff, parents, members of the community and the board. The district has continued the practice of holding community forums. The forums are viewed as a reliable way to reach out to a broad segment of parents and the community and provide news and an opportunity for discussion about issues in the district. The forums continue to be regarded by staff and parents as worthwhile, and the district should maintain its plan to hold additional forums. A continuing priority for the district must be heightened communications with non-Eng- lish-speaking and traditionally less-involved parents. Other communications mechanisms have been strengthened. The district’s Web site is being redesigned, utilizing a simplified navigational structure. It is now easier to locate information and to reference specific items on the Web. The district must ensure that a plan is in place to update and maintain the information on the Web site, including the section on board policies. Also, protocols for media relations are in place and are being followed by district staff, and the advi- sory board and state administrator are in the process of reviewing a policy that identifies district spokespersons. As stronger relationships are built with the local media, the district continues to generate news coverage about successes in the district. The district’s broadcast phone system and site-based newsletters continue to provide information to parents about events on campuses. The district office has maintained a strong role in coordinating and supporting the sites in their communication efforts. District-wide management meetings serve as a means of efficiently distributing information and soliciting feedback from site managers. As noted in prior reports, individual departments within the district office are not always consistent in their dissemination of information. This issue should be addressed as the district continues the implementation of the strategic communications plan. The district has begun to develop the next phase of its communi- cations plans to ensure adequate capacity exists to sustain the communications plan in the long term. Parent/Community Relations The Vallejo City USD has continued to make strides in engaging the community in forums and providing information to parents. The conscientious planning that occurred in the development of district action plans has resulted in ongoing efforts to involve more parents and the entire com- munity. Overall, parent involvement and volunteerism appear to be increasing in the district, but Community Relations/Governance 1 still remain inconsistent from site to site and are heavily dependent on the efforts of individual principals. Increasing the involvement of parents and volunteers should be a consistent priority across the district, including an effort to strengthen parent-teacher organizations at all sites. To achieve this goal, the district should develop specific activities for parents and volunteers that support the district in meaningful ways and that are aligned to the goals of the district. In the past six months, board involvement in community relations has varied, as only one of the three board members whose terms are ending is seeking re-election. As advisory board member- ship changes, the board and district administration must reaffirm and continue their outreach efforts to invite parent and community involvement with the district and schools. At the beginning of this school year, the district provided training for staff on the complaint reso- lution process and procedures for addressing parental complaints. Community Collaboratives, District Advisory Committees, School Site Councils The district has continued to build upon the partnerships and collaboratives it has developed with organizations, agencies and businesses in the Vallejo community. The city of Vallejo, the Vallejo Police Department and the Vallejo Chamber of Commerce continue to work closely with the state administrator and the advisory board. The positive and productive relationships between district leadership and the leaders of other community organizations have been maintained. The district has also continued the practice described in the last progress report of using board meetings to recognize community partners for their efforts in the district. A coordinated district strategy for cultivating these relationships with businesses and community groups is critical to building stronger community involvement in Vallejo city schools. This strategy can also work to ensure that community involvement aligns with the goals of the district. The district made effec- tive use of its property advisory committee in the past six months, and similar efforts to garner broad-based input on key issues, in support of the district’s goals, should be undertaken for future committees as well. Policy The district’s advisory board and the state administrator have begun to implement a plan to up- date the district’s policy manual. In the last six months, the district has reviewed, received input and adopted policies on a number of topics, including uniform complaint procedures, interdistrict transfers and a code of ethics. The district continues to work with a law firm to help execute the revisions to reflect current law and district practice. The district’s effort to methodically review policies is a positive step. However, it must prioritize the plans for policy review and adoption to ensure that critical issues are addressed as expediently as possible. District office departments re- quire administrative regulations and policies to carry out their functions, and those priority areas should be identified. Additionally, only the newly adopted policies are available for the public to review on the district’s revamped Web site. Existing district policies also should be made avail- able to the community. The state administrator and the board are aware that policy implementation must be monitored to ensure that the practices at sites across the district reflect the policies. The issue of inconsis- tent application and adherence to district policies were problems noted in prior progress reports. Principals and other site staff received training on policies at the beginning of this school year and this practice should continue. 2 Community Relations/Governance Board Roles/Boardsmanship The district’s board members have worked together effectively to consider important district matters, even though their current role is advisory. The state administrator and the board continue to work well together, and appear united on the five key goals for the district. Improving achieve- ment for underperforming students is a top district goal, and should remain a focus as the imple- mentation of plans to raise achievement by all student populations continues. The board and the state administrator have integrated these goals into the operations of the district. As time passes, the district’s vision/mission and goals should be periodically revisited and updated to ensure that the statements continue to reflect the beliefs and conditions of the district. Board Meetings Board agendas continue to demonstrate a clear link to issues of student achievement. Critical fiscal issues and the fiscal recovery plan have been a significant part of board discussions, but each budget proposal at board meetings also includes a rationale describing the impact on student achievement. Board agendas over the past year have included a specific opportunity to recog- nize community members who support the VCUSD and its schools. Board members are positive about the level of information they receive before meetings, and express satisfaction with the data and analysis provided prior to meetings, although some board members expressed a desire for even more information. Community Relations/Governance 3 4 Community Relations/Governance 1.1 Communications Professional Standard: The district has developed and implemented a comprehensive plan for internal and external com- munications, including media relations. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has begun to implement the comprehensive communications plan developed during the past year. This plan encourages proactive internal and external communica- tions, integrating input from board members, district and site staff, parents and commu- nity members. Workshops were held this past summer to provide staff with communica- tions training. The district has seen the general perception of the school district improve and has built a positive relationship with the local media. The implementation of the com- munications plan has also resulted in school sites working more closely with the district office to facilitate communications with all parents. The district should sustain these ef- forts and work to monitor their ongoing effectiveness. A redesign of the district's Web site has been undertaken, which allows for easier navigation and the ability to locate informa- tion more quickly. The district should ensure that a plan is in place to update and maintain Web site information. 2. In the last six months, the district has continued to actively engage the media by provid- ing information about important district issues, programs and activities. In particular, the district has worked to promote coverage of students and staff achievements. General per- ceptions about the coverage of events at school sites remain positive. The district has con- tinued several successful means of communicating with the public, including community forums and district newsletters. 3. To sustain the momentum generated by the implementation of the communications plan, the district should periodically assess the effectiveness of two-way communications with staff, parents, and the community. The district should evaluate its efforts through surveys, focus groups or other methods that encourage participants to freely give their opinions about district communications. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: Community Relations/Governance 5 1.2 Communications Professional Standard: Information is communicated to the staff at all levels in an effective and timely manner. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district’s comprehensive communications plan encourages proactive internal commu- nications (see Standard 1.1). As noted in the last six-month progress report, the consis- tent implementation of internal communications strategies should continue to be a focus for the district. Principals' meetings, cabinet meetings, and district-wide meetings of ad- ministrators are perceived to be forums where open discussion and feedback on internal communications issues can occur. The district has successfully created opportunities for two-way communication, and future actions should concentrate on ensuring that staff at all levels continue to have regular opportunities to provide feedback. 2. Input from site-level staff generally suggests that responses to requests for information and assistance from district office staff are provided in a timely manner. However, site staff continue to indicate that responsiveness is not consistent from all departments. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 6 Community Relations/Governance 1.3 Communications Professional Standard: Staff input into school and district operations is encouraged. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district’s communications plan addresses opportunities for staff input and communi- cations through direct contact with supervisors, meetings with district administrators and board meetings. These opportunities also include the forums held by the state administra- tor for staff and the community, staff meetings and suggestion boxes. 2. The district should proceed with the implementation of the staff intranet system as planned and expand other opportunities for feedback to afford staff additional options to provide input and suggestions. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: Community Relations/Governance 7 1.4 Communications Professional Standard: Media contacts and spokespersons who have the authority to speak on behalf of the district have been identified. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. As part of the communications plan, the district has clarified the procedure and protocol for district staff with respect to responding to media and public inquiries and serving as spokespersons. The district is also in the process of reviewing and updating its policy on board spokespersons. 2. District staff continues to demonstrate their awareness of the protocol and procedure regarding public and media inquiries. In the past six months, such requests have consis- tently been directed to the designated staff at the district office. 3. Designated district staff continues to respond promptly to media requests. 4. Additional media training for key district staff, including principals, occurred at the be- ginning of this school year. These trainings should become a regular part of staff training to sustain positive efforts in future school years. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 5 November 30, 2005 Rating: 6 Implementation Scale: 8 Community Relations/Governance 1.5 Communications Professional Standard: Individuals not authorized to speak on behalf of the district refrain from public comments on board decisions and district programs. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The state administrator and advisory board are currently reviewing the policy on district spokespersons. District staff and board members indicate that the protocol set forth in the comprehensive communications plan defining the role of district spokespersons continues to be followed. Additionally, school site staff have expressed a clear understanding of the protocols and procedures for referring media inquiries to the appropriate district office staff. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 5 November 30, 2005 Rating: 6 Implementation Scale: Community Relations/Governance 9 2.4 Parent/Community Relations Professional Standard: Parents’ and community members’ complaints are addressed in a fair and timely manner. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has adopted the required policies on complaint procedures. Information and documentation about the universal complaint procedures and the Williams complaint pro- cedures continue to be available to parents, both in hard copy and in electronic form on the district’s web site. 2. The district should ensure that workshops on complaint procedures continue to be a part of training for district and site staff. As recommended in the prior six-month progress report, the district should also implement processes to assess the effectiveness of its com- plaint procedures and to ensure staff are held accountable for the fair, consistent and thor- ough implementation of the complaint procedures. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 4 Implementation Scale: 10 Community Relations/Governance 2.9 Parent/Community Relations Professional Standard: Board members are actively involved in building community relations. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The members of the board have identified strategies for strengthening community rela- tions and community involvement in the district and its schools through their involve- ment in the development of action plans. These strategies need to be refined periodically to ensure that they continue to be linked to the district’s key goals. At board meetings, the recognition of partners such as businesses and community organizations is now a regularly scheduled part of the agenda. 2. The level of board member involvement and visibility in community relations continues to vary for each individual. Of the three board seats up for election, only one incumbent has chosen to run again. As the composition of the advisory board changes, the board should reexamine the strategies identified to increase opportunities for input by commu- nity members in district action plans. The state administrator and board should continue the practice of building community relations through community forums and encouraging public input at board meetings. The practice of allowing interested community members to sign up for notification of future community forums on the district web site is a posi- tive way of building support for the district while providing information proactively. 3. The board has expressed a desire to engage in training related to communications skills. The board should participate in continuing education specifically related to strength- ening communications skills and building community relations, including working collaboratively with local governments and agencies. 4. As recommended in the prior six-month progress report, the board should periodically as- sess its performance in this area. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: Community Relations/Governance 11 3.1 Community Collaboratives, District Advisory Committees, School Site Councils Professional Standard: The board and superintendent support partnerships and collaborations with community groups, local agencies and businesses. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has maintained collaborations and partnerships with the community to serve students and their families and facilitate sharing of resources. As additional parts of the strategy are implemented, the district must ensure that new and existing partnerships link to the district's goals. Further, the roles and responsibilities of the board and key staff must be identified, including designation of a coordinator to follow up on the district’s implementation of the strategy. The district’s plan must address the issue of adequate staff capacity so it can develop and maintain meaningful relationships with outside groups, agencies and businesses. 2. The district has sustained its efforts in working with the city of Vallejo and the Vallejo Chamber of Commerce. The relationships between district leaders and other organizations are generally regarded as positive and productive. The district has begun to work more closely with the Vallejo Police Department on the issues of student safety and attendance. As noted in the first six-month progress report, the district should develop a plan to culti- vate relationships with additional community agencies and organizations to address ways in which community partnerships may be coordinated at the district level. The district should also continue to work with the Solano County Office of Education to strengthen two-way communications. 3. When a district plan addressing partnerships is developed, the strategies should take into con- sideration ways in which additional support can be provided for site-level efforts, including technical assistance, resources and/or other incentives for participation in collaboration. 4. The district has identified means for regularly providing information about partnerships to parents, staff and the board (see Standard 1.1). These efforts at communication should continue as the district initiates new partnerships and collaboratives. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 4 May 1, 2005 Rating: 5 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 12 Community Relations/Governance 3.2 Community Collaboratives, District Advisory Committees, School Site Councils Professional Standard: The board and the superintendent establish broad-based committees or councils to advise the district on critical district issues and operations as appropriate. The membership of these collaboratives and councils reflects the full cultural, ethnic, gender and socioeconomic diversity of the student population. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The board and state administrator created an advisory committee consisting of parents, staff, community members and board members to provide input on the district’s facilities and property holdings. With this successful example of the property advisory committee in mind, the district should periodically reassess the need for working groups in order to solicit broad-based input on critical district issues. 2. The membership of most district and site-level advisory committees and councils is relatively stable, compared with six months ago. It is still recommended that the district implement strategies to encourage participation on committees by a broader cross-section of parents and community members. Training on the roles, responsibilities and successful outcomes of these groups should be offered periodically for committee members to facili- tate understanding of the group’s purpose. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: Community Relations/Governance 13 4.1 Policy Professional Standard: Policies are well written, organized and readily available to all members of the staff and to the public. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has contracted with a law firm to assist in updating its policy manual. The state administrator and board have developed a process and set criteria for reviewing policies. As each policy is reviewed, a first and second reading is scheduled on the board agenda, to facilitate input from the public. Once the language of a policy has been agreed upon, the policy is then affirmed by the advisory board before being officially adopted by the state administrator. In the last six months, the district has adopted revised policies on interdistrict transfers, complaint procedures and a code of ethics. While these newly adopted policies have been placed on the district Web site, the existing policies previously adopted by the governing board should also be made available for the public to view. The district must continue to quickly and efficiently review and adopt new and revised policies to accurately reflect community expectations and to provide staff with critical administrative regulations, pro- tocols and procedures. As additional policies are revised, added or deleted, the district must also ensure that staff and the public are notified of changes that affect them. It should also continue to use the internal and external communications strategies identified in the district’s communica- tions plan (see Standard 1.1.). Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 4 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 14 Community Relations/Governance 4.6 Policy Professional Standard: Board bylaws, policies and administrative regulations are supported and followed by the board and district staff. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. A new process for policy review and update has been established, with criteria set to en- sure that each policy meets the district’s needs and/or is enforceable. The district should continue to follow this process to adopt new policies and to revise existing policies as needed to provide staff with critical administrative regulations, protocols and procedures. Accountability mechanisms related to adherence to policy (e.g., staff evaluation, periodic reviews of critical policies) should continue to be utilized and the process monitored. Training for district and site staff on the topic of consistent and uniform application of district policies occurred at the beginning of this school year, and this type of training should continue to be provided to staff as often as necessary. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 4 Implementation Scale: Community Relations/Governance 15 5.3 Board Roles/Boardsmanship Professional Standard: The board has established a districtwide vision/mission and uses that vision/mission as a frame- work for district action based on the identified needs of the students, staff and educational com- munity through a needs assessment process. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The five key goals agreed upon by the state administrator and advisory board serve as the framework for district operations. Over the past six months, board agenda items continue to directly relate back to the district’s key goals. The state administrator continues the implementation and monitoring of action plans related to these goals in order to measure progress and hold district personnel accountable. 2. The district has begun to implement the improvement strategies developed by advisory committees that are directly aligned to district goals. 3. As the long-term strategies are implemented, the state administrator and board should pe- riodically engage in an assessment of the effectiveness of strategies designed to meeting students’ needs. The district’s vision/mission and goals should also be reviewed and up- dated as necessary, taking into account input from the board, staff, parents, students and community. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 5 May 1, 2005 Rating: 6 November 30, 2005 Rating: 7 Implementation Scale: 16 Community Relations/Governance 5.4 Board Roles/Boardsmanship Professional Standard: The board makes decisions based on the study of all available data, including the recommenda- tions of the superintendent. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. Although the board does not currently have decision-making authority, it continues to take votes of affirmation. The administration continues to provide appropriate materi- als and information for board members to facilitate thoughtful discussion and raise the appropriate questions. Some members of the board express a desire to routinely receive even more detailed information from the state administrator. Board agendas for meetings during the last six months include a rationale for each item, relating proposals back to the five key goals of the district. Agenda items also continue to include cost estimates, data and staff recommendations. 2. Progress has been demonstrated in implementing systems that will generate more accu- rate and reliable data, including a new student information system. The state administra- tor should ensure that building and sustaining such internal systems and accountability structures are an ongoing focus for the district. 3. As recommended in the last six-month progress report, the board should consider con- tinuing education and training related to understanding budget analysis and data-based decision-making in preparation for resumption of authority. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: Community Relations/Governance 17 5.7 Board Roles/Boardsmanship Professional Standard: Functional working relations are maintained between the board and administration. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The state administrator and board have agreed upon their expected and appropriate roles and responsibilities. Board members speak highly of the administrative team and their level of competence. 2. Regular, proactive communications between the board and the state administrator con- tinue to occur. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 18 Community Relations/Governance 5.8 Board Roles/Boardsmanship Professional Standard: The board publicly demonstrates respect for and support for the district and school site staff. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. Observations and interviews indicate that the board has treated staff members with re- spect both at board meetings and during site visits. The board also focused support and attention on the five key goals of the district. 2. As recommended in the last six-month progress report, the district should periodically as- sess the satisfaction of employees through methods such as surveys and should develop plans to address issues of concern. 3. The district should continue the successful practice of promoting the accomplishments of staff to the media and community as part of the comprehensive communications plan (see Standard 1.1). Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 5 May 1, 2005 Rating: 5 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: Community Relations/Governance 19 5.12 Board Roles/Boardsmanship Professional Standard: The board acts for the community and in the interest of all students in the district. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. Improving achievement for underperforming students is one of the five district goals integrated into action plans developed to address the FCMAT priority standards. The dis- trict must continue the implementation of these plans. The board and state administrator should also continue the practice, as demonstrated at recent board meetings, of using dis- aggregated data to determine the effectiveness of district efforts to raise achievement by all student populations. 2. The district has developed strategies to strengthen community information and involve- ment (see Standards 1.1 and 2.9), including the use of an advisory committee to provide input on district property holdings. The state administrator continues to conduct com- munity forums to invite input from the public. The board and state administrator should continue to focus district efforts on attracting participation by a broader cross-section of the community. 3. Board members and the state administrator continue to attend community forums and other events at school sites. It is still recommended that the board develop a process for regular school site visits to increase their familiarity with site issues. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 5 May 1, 2005 Rating: 5 November 30, 2005 Rating: 6 Implementation Scale: 20 Community Relations/Governance 6.9 Board Meetings Professional Standard: Board meetings focus on matters related to student achievement. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. Agendas for board meetings held in the past six months have begun to focus more on issues of student achievement, while continuing to address the district’s financial situa- tion. The state administrator, together with the board president, has continued to develop meeting agendas where items relate to the district’s key goals for student achievement. As part of agenda development, items addressing high-priority topics have been more clearly defined than in the past. These items are structured to allow for the maximum amount of time to be spent on the discussion and public input of important topics. As the district continues its process of policy review and update, the state administrator and board president must ensure that a sufficient amount of time is devoted to the discus- sion, affirmation and adoption of policy. Also, meeting agendas should periodically in- clude reports to the board on the effectiveness of programs and reform efforts. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 4 May 1, 2005 Rating: 5 November 30, 2005 Rating: 6 Implementation Scale: Community Relations/Governance 21 22 Community Relations/Governance Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 1.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMUNI- CATIONS The district has developed a compre- 1 3 5 ❑ hensive plan for internal and external communications, including media rela- tions. 1.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMUNI- CATIONS Information is communicated to the 3 4 5 ❑ staff at all levels in an effective and timely manner. 1.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMUNI- CATIONS 2 3 5 ❑ Staff input into school and district op- erations is encouraged. 1.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMUNI- CATIONS Media contacts and spokespersons who 3 5 6 ❑ have the authority to speak on behalf of the district have been identified. 1.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMUNI- CATIONS Individuals not authorized to speak on 3 5 6 ❑ behalf of the district refrain from mak- ing public comments on board decisions and district programs 1.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMUNICA- TIONS Board spokespersons are skilled at pub- 3 lic speaking and communication and are knowledgeable about district programs and issues. 2.1 LEGAL STANDARD - PARENT/COMMUNITY RELATIONS Annual parental notice of rights and re- sponsibilities is provided at the beginning 6 of the school year. This notice is provided in English and in languages other than English when 15 percent or more speak other languages (EC 48980, 48985). The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Community Relations/Governance 23 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 2.2 LEGAL STANDARD - PARENT/COMMUNITY RELATIONS A school accountability report card is 7 issued annually for each school site (EC 35256). 2.3 LEGAL STANDARD - PARENT/COMMUNITY RELATIONS The district has developed and annually 6 disseminates uniform complaint proce- dures (Title 5, Section 4621, 4622) 2.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - PARENT/ COMMUNITY RELATIONS Parents’ and community members’ 3 3 4 ❑ complaints are addressed in a fair and timely manner. 2.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - PARENT/COM- MUNITY RELATIONS Board members refer informal public con- 8 cerns to the appropriate staff members for attention and response. 2.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - PARENT/COM- MUNITY RELATIONS Parents and community members are en- 3 couraged to be involved in school activi- ties and in their children’s education. 2.7 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - PARENT/COM- MUNITY RELATIONS Volunteers receive appropriate training 2 and play a meaningful role that contrib- utes to the educational program. 2.8 LEGAL STANDARD - PARENT/COMMUNITY RELATIONS The district has established procedures for 5 visitor registration and posts registration requirements at each school entrance. (Penal Code 627.2, 627.6) 2.9 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - PARENT/ COMMUNITY RELATIONS 3 4 5 ❑ Board members are actively involved in building community relations. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 24 Community Relations/Governance Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 3.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVES, DISTRICT ADVISORY COMMITTEES, SCHOOL SITE COUNCILS The board and Superintendent support 4 5 5 ❑ partnerships and collaborations with community groups, local agencies and businesses. 3.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVES, DISTRICT ADVISORY COMMITTEES, SCHOOL SITE COUNCILS The board and the Superintendent establish broad-based committees or councils to advise the district on criti- 3 4 5 ❑ cal district issues and operations as appropriate. The membership of these collaboratives and councils should reflect the full cultural, ethnic, gender and socioeconomic diversity of the stu- dent population. 3.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVES, DISTRICT ADVISORY COMMITTEES, SCHOOL SITE COUNCILS Community collaboratives and district and 4 school advisory councils have identified specific outcome goals that are under- stood by all members. 3.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVES, DISTRICT ADVISORY COMMITTEES, SCHOOL SITE COUNCILS The district encourages and provides the necessary training for collaborative and 5 advisory council members to understand the basic administrative structure, pro- gram processes and goals of all district partners. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Community Relations/Governance 25 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 3.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVES, DISTRICT ADVISORY COMMITTEES, SCHOOL SITE COUNCILS Community collaboratives and district and school advisory councils effectively fulfill 4 their responsibilities (e.g. researching issues, developing recommendations) and provide a meaningful role for all partici- pants. 3.6 LEGAL STANDARD - COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVES, DISTRICT ADVISORY COMMITTEES, SCHOOL SITE COUNCILS The school site council develops a single 8 plan for student achievement at each school applying for categorical programs through the consolidated application (EC 64001). 3.7 LEGAL STANDARD - COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVES, DISTRICT ADVISORY COMMITTEES, SCHOOL SITE COUNCILS 7 School plans are comprehensive and have sufficient content to meet the statutory requirements (EC 52853, 64001). 3.8 LEGAL STANDARD - COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVES, DISTRICT ADVISORY COMMITTEES, SCHOOL SITE COUNCILS The school site council annually reviews 7 the school plan and the board annually approves or disapproves all site councils’ plans (EC 52853, 52855, 64001). 3.9 LEGAL STANDARD - COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVES, DISTRICT ADVISORY COMMITTEES, SCHOOL SITE COUNCILS 10 Policies exist for the establishment of school site councils (EC 52852.5). 4.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - POLICY Policies are written, organized and 4 4 5 ❑ readily available to all members of the staff and to the public. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 26 Community Relations/Governance Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 4.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - POLICY Policies and administrative regulations 4 are up to date and reflect current law and local needs. 4.3 LEGAL STANDARD - POLICY The board has adopted all policies man- 6 dated by state and federal law. 4.4 LEGAL STANDARD - POLICY The board annually reviews its policies on intradistrict open enrollment and 4 extracurricular/cocurricular activities (EC 35160.5). 4.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - POLICY The district has established a system of 3 securing staff and citizen input in policy development and review. 4.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - POLICY The board supports and follows its own 3 3 4 ❑ policies once they are adopted. 5.1 LEGAL STANDARD - BOARD ROLES/ BOARDSMANSHIP Each board member meets the eligibility 10 requirements of being a board member (EC 35107). 5.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BOARD ROLES/ BOARDSMANSHIP Board members participate in orienta- tion sessions, workshops, conventions and special meetings sponsored by board 4 associations, and have access to pertinent literature, statutes, legal counsel and rec- ognized authorities to understand duties, functions, authority and responsibilities of members. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Community Relations/Governance 27 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 5.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BOARD ROLES/BOARDSMANSHIP The board has established a districtwide vision/mission and uses that vision/ mission as a framework for district 5 6 7 ❑ action based on the identified needs of the students, staff and educational community through a needs assessment process. 5.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BOARD ROLES/BOARDSMANSHIP The board makes decisions based on the 3 4 5 ❑ study of all available data, including the recommendations of the Superin- tendent. 5.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BOARD ROLES/ BOARDSMANSHIP 7 Functional working relations are main- tained among board members. 5.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BOARD ROLES/ BOARDSMANSHIP Individual board members respect the de- 8 cisions of the board majority and support the board’s actions in public. 5.7 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BOARD ROLES/BOARDSMANSHIP Functional working relations are main- 3 4 5 ❑ tained between the board and adminis- trative team. 5.8 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BOARD ROLES/BOARDSMANSHIP The board publicly demonstrates re- 5 5 5 ❑ spect for and support for the district and school site staff. 5.9 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BOARD ROLES/ BOARDSMANSHIP 6 The board demonstrates respect for public input at meetings and public hearings. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 28 Community Relations/Governance Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 5.10 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BOARD ROLES/ BOARDSMANSHIP 6 Board members respect confidentiality of information by the administration. 5.11 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BOARD ROLES/ BOARDSMANSHIP Board members do not involve themselves 8 in operational issues that are the respon- sibility of the Superintendent and staff. 5.12 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BOARD ROLES/BOARDSMANSHIP The board acts for the community and 5 5 6 ❑ in the interests of all students in the district. 6.1 LEGAL STANDARD - BOARD MEETINGS An adopted calendar of regular meetings exists and is published specifying the 9 time, place and date of each meeting (EC 35140). 6.2 LEGAL STANDARD - BOARD MEETINGS The board agenda is made available to the public in the manner and under the time 9 lines prescribed by law (Government Code 54954.1, 54954.2). 6.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BOARD MEET- INGS Board members prepare for board meet- 5 ings by becoming familiar with the agenda and support materials prior to the meeting. 6.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BOARD MEET- INGS 8 Board meetings are conducted according to a set of bylaws adopted by the board. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Community Relations/Governance 29 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 6.5 LEGAL STANDARD - BOARD MEETINGS Open and closed sessions are conducted 5 according to the Ralph M. Brown Act (GC 54950 et seq.). 6.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BOARD MEET- INGS Board meetings proceed in a businesslike 6 manner while allowing opportunity for full discussion. 6.7 LEGAL STANDARD - BOARD MEETINGS The board has adopted bylaws for the 9 placement of items on the board agenda by members of the public. (EC 35145.5) 6.8 LEGAL STANDARD - BOARD MEETINGS Members of the public have an opportu- nity to address the board before or during the board’s consideration of each item 9 of business to be discussed at regular or special meetings and to bring before the board matters that are not on the agenda (EC 35145.5). 6.9 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BOARD MEETINGS 4 5 6 ❑ Board meetings focus on matters re- lated to student achievement. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 30 Community Relations/Governance Personnel Management Thirty-five standards in the Personnel Management area were identified for the ongoing progress reviews. The Human Resources Department initially elected to focus on a smaller subset of stan- dards. The department developed action plans to address 10 of the 35 standards by March 2005 and another 15 by May 2005. These action plans have been completed. Action plans for the re- maining 10 standards were expected to be completed by November 2005. Because of this sched- ule, some standards reviewed during this six-month period may reflect little progress in ratings. The district-adopted format for the action plans includes critical actions to be taken, time lines for implementation, persons/departments responsible, planned documentation, and the fiscal im- pact and resources needed. The completed action plans will be placed on the district’s redesigned Web site. Organization and Planning The review of the board policies affecting personnel operations, such as the delivery of services, roles and processes for employment, and employee discipline and dismissal, have been reviewed by a law firm and generic policies returned to Human Resources. Human Resources has asked that the policies be returned to the law firm for the addition of the legal references. The Human Resources Department was reorganized in early August 2005 to conform to the over- all district horizontal alignment of functions. As a result, there are three director positions that report to the Assistant Superintendent, including a Director-Elementary, a Director-Secondary, and a Director-Staff Support. Alignment of the staff below the level of director is still under way, but must become a matter of priority, since staff is somewhat confused about their roles in the this new organization. Health and Welfare Benefits and Risk Management were moved back into Human Resources from Fiscal Services and assigned to the Director-Staff Support. This arrange- ment must continue to be monitored, as there is confusion about how the supporting information system functions, and there are concerns regarding the accuracy of the databases that support these functions since they were returned to Human Resources. A procedures manual has not been developed and the annual calendar has not been completed. Both of these projects form the foundation for everything else in Human Resources and should become a higher priority over the next six months. Internal and External Communications The redesign of the district’s Web site was being completed at the time of FCMAT’s fieldwork. During this redesign, job postings were minimal and the alignment of postings between the Web site and ED-JOIN had not been completed. The physical layout of the HR office has been redesigned and has resulted in improvements in customer service because more HR staff members are readily available to provide assistance. The HR management team has adopted a mission statement and guiding principles for the depart- ment, but these have not yet been shared with the rest of the HR staff. These documents need to be further refined into specific standards for the department’s employees to follow, including standards for customer service. Personnel Management 1 The department has continued its regularly scheduled meetings of HR management, but not with the rest of the HR staff. Regular meetings should be held for the three sections of HR (elemen- tary, secondary, and staff support), as well as with the entire department as a whole. These meet- ings are critical to ensuring strong communications within the HR department, especially in this time of significant organizational change. Employee Recruitment and Selection The recruitment of teachers for the 2005-06 school year began rather late in the spring. The draft plan developed by Human Resources did not provide the foundation for the recruitment effort; rather, the Instructional Department led the teacher recruitment. Human Resources did develop a very detailed recruitment procedure for administrative staff. The procedure will be the template for all future recruitment of management positions. It is essential that Human Resources take the lead in employee recruitment, working cooperatively with the Instructional Department, and it is essential that a very detailed recruitment plan be developed prior to January, when recruitment for the 2006-07 school year should begin. Using the Aeries system, coupled with a manual process, Human Resources was able to provide appropriate information to the Solano County Office of Education for the four-year credential au- dit process. Approximately 20 misassignments were found, and the district was addressing these during the team’s on-site review. The district has achieved a process that will work, but should pursue full automation of the credential monitoring process. Operational Procedures Human Resources has not yet initiated a procedure for updating the job descriptions. This proj- ect should become a priority as the district reorganizes. There is still the need for HR to prepare operating procedures and individual desk procedures for the department to ensure consistent ap- plication of all activities. While communications between HR and Payroll staff have improved significantly over the past year, the regularly scheduled weekly meetings that were occurring between the two departments have ceased. These meetings need to be re-established so that there is continuous communication between the departments with regard to interpretations of law or contract language, interdepart- mental procedures, and decisions and procedures that can be documented for use by both depart- ments. The staffing process for the opening of the new school year was significantly improved over last year’s experience. Frequent enrollment and staffing meetings were held before school began and during the first several weeks of school to help ensure that the staffing adjustments were appro- priately managed. Use of Technology Since the first progress report in May 2005, the benefits module has been implemented in CECC, and the Health and Welfare Benefits function has been transferred back to HR. The responsibil- ity has been shifted to the Director-Staff Support, with the day-to-day responsibilities moved to a different technician. Settlements have been agreed to with both bargaining units, which affect employee and district contributions for benefits. As a result, the district is making retroactive changes to employee benefit records, while at the same time shifting responsibilities for benefits 2 Personnel Management and using a new system module. The district should perform a complete audit of the employee benefits records after all of these changes have been made. HR staff members continue to participate in the monthly CECC user group meetings, but more training is needed for all staff using this system. There is no progress to report on recommendations to implement an applicant tracking system and to integrate the substitute-calling system with position control and payroll. Staff Training The district has provided training on teacher evaluations, employee leaves, and other specific areas, but there is no overall plan for assessing training needs for all personnel district-wide. There is also no plan for assessing training needs and providing training specifically for leader- ship development and supervision, for managers responsible for other staff evaluations, or for the individual staff members in HR. Evaluation and Due Process Human Resources has made progress in monitoring all employee evaluations, and has developed procedures to ensure that evaluations are completed and submitted appropriately. Human Re- sources also developed training for the principals on teacher evaluation time lines and processes. The CECC system is now being used to track teacher evaluations, and a spreadsheet system has been developed to track classified evaluations. Employer/Employee Relations The district involved its administrators and managers in the review of both the certificated and classified bargaining unit contracts in preparation for the last round of negotiations. It also kept the management team informed as to the status of the negotiations process. The district selected language from other bargaining unit contracts in the state and included the language from those contracts in its initial proposal to address its priority issues, and prepared reports of salary, benefits, and working conditions, as compared to other districts, for discussion in negotiations. Estimates of the fiscal impact of bargaining proposals were prepared by Fiscal Services through- out the process. The district has been able to secure a three-year agreement with each of its bargaining units that includes salary increases, but also reduces the district’s liability for the cost of health and wel- fare benefits and provides flexibility in other provisions of the contracts to increase savings and further the district’s fiscal recovery. The district now needs to provide training to its management team on the provisions of the new contracts. Personnel Management 3 4 Personnel Management 1.1 Organization and Planning Professional Standard: An updated and detailed policy and procedures manual exists that delineates the responsibilities and operational aspects of the personnel office. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The Human Resources Department (HR) had determined that the detailed action plan for this standard would be available in November 2005. However, in response to Standards 4.1 through 4.6 in the operational area of Community Relations and Governance, the dis- trict had developed a detailed action plan for: (4.1) evaluating the existing board policies, providing for staff and public input, and distributing new and revised policies and regula- tions; (4.3) initiating a process to identify missing policies that are legally required and policies that need updating, and identifying persons responsible for development and/or updating and review of existing policies and communicating the results to department managers for review and prioritization for updating; (4.5) after receiving feedback from department managers, developing drafts of new policies and revising existing ones to in- dicate where district decisions/perspective are needed; (4.4) providing for regular policy updates using CSBA Policy Service notifications; and (4.6) providing for the annual re- adoption of policies. 2. In accordance with the Community Relations and Governance detailed plan involving Standards 4.1 through 4.6, HR did submit the following priority policies for review by March 15, 2005: a. Standard 1.2: Board Policies 4000(a), 4115, 4117.4-4117.6, 4118, 4211, 4212, 4214(a), 4215, 4218, 4311, 4313.2, 4315, and 4315.1. b. Standard 3.13: Board Policy 4113. c. Standard 5.4: Board Policy 4213 and 4213. d. Standard 8.1: Board Policy 4131. 3. These policies were reviewed by a law firm and returned to the Director-Staff Support in Human Resources, who has been designated as the HR FCMAT liaison and the person to lead HR policy revision. The Director-Staff Support has requested that these policies be returned to the law firm to obtain the legal references that are required for them. 4. The new policies have been designed to be very brief and broad so that departments can use accepted district procedures and practices to determine the ultimate wording of the policy. While the Director-Staff Support has significant expertise in compliance necessary to document the efforts, that expertise does not extend to all Human Resources functions. Therefore, it is recommended that the Assistant Superintendent coordinate the process of engaging the HR staff to develop the procedures that will complete the wording of these policies. The Assistant Superintendent should ensure that the Consultant to the State Ad- ministrator has returned the policies to the law firm for the purpose of obtaining the legal references, and then should work with HR staff to develop the procedures that will allow the completion of the policies. Personnel Management 5 5. The Director-Staff Support wrote a draft plan that simply states the critical actions to be taken, general time frame (e.g., Spring 2005), responsible department/persons, planned documentation, and fiscal impact/resources needed. That draft has not yet been turned into a detailed action plan for this standard and has not been reviewed and approved by the HR management staff. The Assistant Superintendent should lead the staff in develop- ing the detail for the action plan, including outlining how the development of procedures that will drive the wording of the policies will take place and in what time frame. The plan should also include the detailed process for the ongoing review and updating of the board policies for Human Resources. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 1 November 30, 2005 Rating: 1 Implementation Scale: 6 Personnel Management 1.2 Organization and Planning Professional Standard: The district has clearly defined and clarified roles for board and administration relative to recruit- ment, hiring, evaluation, and dismissal of employees. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. HR had stated that the detailed action plan for this standard would be available in Novem- ber 2005. However, this standard was already being addressed pursuant to a plan that has been developed for all of the district’s policies under the Community Relations and Gover- nance standards (see Standard 1.1). HR has now designated the Director-Staff Support as the staff member responsible for the actions that are assigned to HR within that plan. Foun- dation policies for these functions are a high priority, since they are basic and essential to the operational procedures that will result in the efficiency and success of the HR functions. 2. HR had also stated that the detailed action plan for the completion of the Human Re- source Services Reference Manual would be available in November 2005. The Director- Staff Support drafted a plan for this standard that include critical actions to be taken, time line for implementation, responsible department/person, planned documentation, and fiscal impact/resources. The plan is a framework, not a detailed action plan, and it has not been reviewed and approved by the HR management staff. 3. The procedures linking recruitment, evaluation, and discipline to board policies and col- lective bargaining agreements must be developed by the Assistant Superintendent of HR and the HR staff and then documented through the completion of the HR Services Man- ual. The procedures in this manual will in turn serve as the foundation for the completion of a board policy. The time line for this should be moved up in the department’s priori- ties. 4. The Assistant Superintendent, working with the Director-Staff Support, must engage the HR managers in the task of completing the detailed action plan as soon as possible and then begin implementing the plan that will result in the new HR Procedures Manual. Written procedures for these functions are a high priority, since they are basic and es- sential to the operational efficiency and success of the HR functions and since there is a district expectation that these procedures will drive the completion of the board policy in this area. The time line should reflect the urgency and priority of this task. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 1 November 30, 2005 Rating: 1 Implementation Scale: Personnel Management 7 1.3 Organization and Planning Professional Standard: The Personnel Department has developed a mission statement that sets clear direction for person- nel staff. The Personnel Department has an organizational chart and a functions chart that include the names, positions, and job functions of all staff in the Personnel Department. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The Director-Staff Support drafted a plan for this standard that includes critical actions to be taken, time line for implementation, the responsible department/person, planned docu- mentation, and the fiscal impact/resources. The plan is a framework and not a detailed action plan, and it has not been reviewed and approved by the HR management staff. The May 2005 detailed action plan was not developed. 2. Since the May review, the State Administrator has realigned the district’s organization to reflect a horizontal alignment of functions from department to department. 3. The functions of Health and Welfare Benefits and Risk Management were returned to the Human Resources Department and placed under a Director-Staff Support. The functions of student welfare and attendance, expulsions, intra- and inter-district transfers, parent legal notifications, student behavioral standards, community affairs and compliance, and work permits were removed from HR. 4. A director position was created for service to the elementary schools and another for the secondary schools, thereby achieving the horizontal alignment. 5. The review team was given a list of the individuals in the Human Resources Department with the titles, but an organization chart had not yet been developed. The Assistant Su- perintendent and three directors have not yet determined how to align the department’s support staff within this new structure, nor have they determined the ultimate reporting relationships to enhance and support the horizontal alignment. The alignment had been in place for approximately six weeks at the time of the team’s visit. 6. The HR Department managers met and drafted a new mission statement as follows: “The Mission of the Human Resources Department is to provide the district with diverse and highly qualified staff, and ensure their success by: facilitating, monitoring, directing and coordinating effective and caring support services.” As of the review, this draft had not been finalized nor had it been shared with other staff members. 7. In lieu of the two-day management retreat that was reported to have been planned during the last review, a consultant has worked with HR managers in small groups to begin dis- cussing what they expect of each other. 8. It was noted in the initial report that the current HR Department organization has more management positions than needed. It was recommended that the organization be rede- signed to eliminate redundancy in the workflow of functions associated with recruitment, 8 Personnel Management selection, and hiring. During the first review, no action had been taken because the State Administrator was reorganizing the entire district, including Human Resources, and the department was awaiting his direction. In accordance with the State Administrator’s di- rection, the department has now achieved a new horizontal alignment, and the functional role of the Assistant Superintendent is unclear. The department has 28.5% administra- tive staff, which assumes that all of the managers will all take on clear HR functions, as well as managing the work of others. It is not yet clear how the support staff will provide support to the two directors serving the schools and who will supervise these Human Re- sources operations. These details should be worked out as quickly as possible to reduce the confusion and frustration of the support staff. 9. The detailed action plan for this standard should be developed and should reflect the resolution to the challenges presented by the new horizontal alignment. The time line for completion of these activities and a plan for bringing the entire staff in alignment with the new mission statement must be included. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: Personnel Management 9 1.5 Organization and Planning Professional Standard: The Personnel Department has a monthly activities calendar and accompanying lists of ongoing personnel activities to be reviewed by staff at planning meetings. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. By the May 2005 review, a detailed action plan had been developed to address the need for a monthly activities calendar, which was posted on the district’s Web site. The Web site is now under construction, so the plan is no longer available there. 2. The plan included using the existing HR Services Annual Calendar draft as the base. Using chart paper, staff research, and brainstorming, each month’s activities were devel- oped. Research included staff memory, review of board agendas from the prior two years, review of board policies and administrative regulations, and review of collective bargain- ing agreements. The annual calendar completion date was set for March 31, 2005. The calendar was not completed. The chart paper was taken down for a period of time, but is back on the walls and staff is again adding items. The calendar has not yet been trans- formed into a document for active use by the department. 3. The department must complete the dynamic calendar and create an electronic document in a format that can also be displayed on the district’s Web site as the HR section is creat- ed. There must be a plan for the continuous updating of the calendar by the HR staff. The calendar should be reviewed by the entire staff at the beginning of each month so that it becomes an effective tool for driving the functional activities for each month and helps ensure that important issues are addressed. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: 10 Personnel Management 2.1 Communications: Internal/External Professional Standard: The Personnel Department utilizes the latest technological equipment for incoming and outgoing communications. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The detailed action plan for using the district’s Web site as an HR communication tool has been completed and includes notifying customers via e-mail of new publications. At the time of FCMAT’s fieldwork, the district’s Web site was still being redesigned and was scheduled to be completed in early October. All HR postings (with the exception of job announcements) are on hold until the redesign is completed. The Technology Department currently posts items to the Web site for HR. Once the Web site is ready for full use, sev- eral HR staff members can begin keeping the site updated, since they have already been trained on the process. As recommended in the initial FCMAT report, the district’s Web site should be used as more of a communication tool between the HR Department and its customers. Publica- tions and forms prepared by the department that would have broad interest among cus- tomers should be posted and available. A staff member needs to be designated to keep these items up to date and to notify customers via e-mail when there are new postings. 2. The task of synchronizing the job postings between the ED-JOIN Web site and the district’s Web site is included in the detailed action plan for this standard, and is planned to be accomplished when the redesign of the district’s Web site has been completed. HR staff members can then update both ED-JOIN and the district’s site at the same time to synchronize the job postings. 3. Some additional use of e-mail has been noted within HR, but the department has yet to establish e-mail as the main method for mass communications within the department, and between the department and other departments and school sites. Notices to all employees will still need to be on paper, since not all employees have an e-mail address or access to a computer, but these notices can be posted to the Web site for employees to refer to as needed. 4. The detailed action plan for technology training specifies that, by November 2005, all HR staff members will be trained to generate reports from the systems used in HR. There is no additional progress to report at this time. A technology training plan should be de- veloped for the department and incorporated into the staff development plan so that all department employees can fully utilize technology to gain efficiencies and provide better customer service. 5. HR has made some progress in improving customer service. The physical layout of the department has been redesigned so that more staff members can more readily assist the walk-in customers. Individuals in nonmanagement positions have been moved out of of- fices, except that there are offices available for use as needed for confidentiality purposes. Personnel Management 11 There are two separate entrances and service counters for certificated and classified per- sonnel, but with the reorganization to horizontal realignment—where functions are now primarily split between elementary and secondary levels—the department has not yet determined how to separate the functions between the two entrances. HR management has developed a mission statement and guiding principles for the department, but these have not yet been shared with the rest of the department. These should include a customer service protocol to specify how and when the department’s employees respond to its customers, and should establish acceptable time frames for returning phone calls and e- mails, even if it’s only to say “we’re working on it and will get back to you when we have the answer.” Department employees then need to be held accountable for adhering to the expectations for customer service. 6. The initial FCMAT report recommended training for HR employees in recognizing cus- tomers’ needs and communicating effectively. For example, HR employees could update other departments on the status of recruitment and hiring for positions in that department. In addition, as soon as an employee submits his/her resignation, a quick e-mail copied to Benefits and Payroll could prevent issues of overpayment down the road. The detailed ac- tion plan for this standard includes provisions such as these. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 4 Implementation Scale: 12 Personnel Management 2.4 Communications: Internal/External Professional Standard: The Personnel Department staff is cross-trained to respond to client need without delay. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: The district plans to develop the detailed action plan to address this standard, which includes: 1. Combining like functions across the three sections of the department to streamline activi- ties and provide better and more consistent customer service. This should also improve communications and relationships between the different sections of the department. 2. Developing a cross-training schedule for the critical functions of all positions, and ensur- ing that employees appropriately fill in for each other during absences. 3. Listing the backup employee for each function in the department directory. 4. Establishing career paths for employees within the department, and ensuring that employ- ees are aware of the requirements to move to the next step. The detailed action plan schedules the completion of the above activities for November 2005. There is no further progress to report at this time. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 1 November 30, 2005 Rating: 1 Implementation Scale: Personnel Management 13 2.5 Communications: Internal/External Professional Standard: The Personnel Department holds regularly scheduled staff meetings. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. A detailed action plan to address this standard has been developed and posted to the district’s Web site. The HR management team has established weekly meetings to discuss priorities, departmentwide issues and scheduled activities, and to set goals for the week. The managers should then promptly communicate decisions or information from these meetings to their staff members, but this does not occur consistently. This could be accomplished right after the HR management team meeting through e-mail or by holding a quick section staff meeting with written handouts or procedures, depending on the information to be disseminated. HR management developed the department’s mission statement and guiding principles, but these have not yet been shared with the rest of the department. These need to be aug- mented to include standards for customer service, ideas for team building, addressing the Implementation Plan, and other departmental planning needs. 2. The detailed action plan specifies that each manager hold monthly meetings of his/her section of the department to discuss the outcomes of other meetings in the department, develop plans and goals, discuss projects, review and revise procedures, discuss ideas to improve efficiency, and address other topics of concern. As of the first six-month FCMAT progress report, meetings were occurring more often than monthly, mainly to address a backlog of significant and urgent issues. However, these meetings are no longer held regularly. Each section of HR should set up a schedule of regular monthly meetings as specified in the plan, and document the results of these meetings for staff reference. 3. The entire HR department no longer holds regularly scheduled meetings, as called for in the detailed action plan. These meetings are intended to cover the activities for the month on the HR calendar, as well as the assignment of duties, the monitoring of workload across the department, and any other departmentwide issues that have arisen. Documentation of the actions in departmental meetings, in the form of minutes or revised procedures, should be prepared and distributed to all staff soon after each meeting is held. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 6 November 30, 2005 Rating: 4 Implementation Scale: 14 Personnel Management 3.4 Employee Recruitment/Selection Professional Standard: The Personnel Department has a recruitment plan that contains recruitment goals, including the targeting of hard-to-fill positions such as those in the areas of math, science, special education, and bilingual education. The district has established an adequate recruitment budget that includes funds for travel, advertising, staff training, promotional materials, and the printing of a year-end report, and that effectively implements the provisions of the district recruitment plan. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district had stated that the detailed action plan for this standard would be available in May 2005, but it had not been completed by then. 2. The Director-Staff Support drafted a plan for this standard that includes critical actions to be taken, a time line for implementation, the responsible department/person, planned documentation, and fiscal impact/resources. The plan is a framework, but not a detailed action plan, and it has not been reviewed and approved by the HR management staff. 3. During the May review, HR had proposed but not yet approved a spring recruitment schedule. The schedule listed visits to job fairs in six different locations beginning in late March and extending through April. At least one of the job fairs was specifically targeted for special education, at least two of the job fairs required a registration fee, and one re- quired an overnight stay. The proposed plan was not implemented. Instead, Instructional Services developed a recruitment plan and took the lead role in implementing teacher recruitment for the beginning of school in 2005. The recruitment plan that was developed by Instructional Services included criteria for teacher selection. Teachers were hired late, and, during the review visit in September, there were still openings at the secondary level. 4. HR must develop the detailed action plan that will lead to a comprehensive recruitment plan for the 2006-07 school year based on the overall vision and expectation created by Instructional Services. It is an expectation in the district’s horizontal alignment that HR will work collaboratively with Instructional Services in the development of the recruit- ment plan. Recruitment for the district must begin in January to compete with other dis- tricts for the very best teacher candidates. 5. Written recruitment goals have not been developed for filling certificated and classified positions based on projected needs. These goals should be part of the detailed action plan. The plan must include focused efforts to find and attract candidates in the hard-to-staff areas of special education, math, science, and bilingual education, where needed. 6. The district does not have a recruitment budget, which should also be part of the detailed action plan. At a minimum, the recruitment budget should include registration fees for job fairs and conferences, travel expenses for district recruiters, and marketing materials to be used to attract applicants. Personnel Management 15 Standard Implemented: Not Implemented November 1, 2004 Rating 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 1 November 30, 2005 Rating: 0 Implementation Scale: 16 Personnel Management 3.5 Employee Recruitment/Selection Professional Standard: The district has developed materials that promote the district and community, are attractive, in- formative, and easily available to all applicants and other interested parties. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district had stated that the detailed action plan for this standard would be available in May 2005. This was not done. 2. The Director-Staff Support wrote a draft plan that states the critical actions to be taken, general time frame, the responsible department/persons, planned documentation, and fis- cal impact/resources needed. That draft has not yet been developed into a detailed action plan for this standard. 3. There was no evidence of new recruitment materials as anticipated by this standard. 4. The district still needs to complete the detailed action plan to develop materials that pro- mote the district and community that are attractive, informative, and easily available to all applicants and other interested parties. This detailed action plan should be incorporated into the recruitment plan included in Standard 3.4. 5. The detailed action plan should include providing classified job applicants with materials that promote the district and the community. 6. The detailed action plan should also include provisions for using the district’s Web site as a promotional tool. Once the Web site redesign has been completed, the marketing mate- rials can be posted and additional promotional activities can be developed. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 3 Implementation Scale: Personnel Management 17 3.6 Employee Recruitment/Selection Professional Standard: The district has identified people to participate in recruitment efforts, including principals, dis- trict personnel and others, as appropriate, and has provided them with adequate training to carry out the district’s recruitment goals. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district had stated that the detailed action plan for this standard would be available in May 2005. 2. The Director-Staff Support drafted a plan for this standard that includes critical actions to be taken, a time line for implementation, the responsible department/person, planned documentation, and fiscal impact/resources. The plan is a framework, but not a detailed action plan, and it has not been reviewed and approved by the HR management staff. This plan stated that Standard 3.6 would be completed in October 2005, but there was no detail and no evidence during the review period that progress was occurring leading up to that completion date. 3. During spring 2005, the Instructional Services Department stepped in and took over plan- ning for teacher recruitment, including developing criteria for teacher selection, as well as who would be involved and how teachers would be selected. Teacher recruitment oc- curred late in the year and through the summer. During this review, there were still vacan- cies at the secondary level. 4. Human Resources and Instructional Services must still work collaboratively and imme- diately to develop a teacher recruitment plan that includes designation of the individuals who will be involved. Plans should be included in the recruitment plan for training those who will interview and select teachers. Recruitment teams should be formed no later than January of each year to allow enough time for the training before the spring recruitment activities and job fairs. Participants need to be determined immediately for 2006-07. 5. While the district has continued to fill the gap and recruit teachers, a systematic, continu- ous detailed action plan to accomplish this task is still lacking. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: 18 Personnel Management 3.13 Employee Recruitment/Selection Legal Standard: The district appropriately monitors teacher assignments and reports as required under Education Code Section 44258.9. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. A detailed action plan addresses credential monitoring. It includes review of Board Policy 4113 by HR managers to determine if the affidavit process is desirable. Working with Technology Services, HR managers will consider a systems approach for review of mas- ter schedules and integration with credentials. No progress has been made to automate credential monitoring. 2. The district underwent the four-year credential audit by the Solano County Office of Edu- cation. The SCOE found 20 misassignments that it communicated back to the district. Most of those misassignments were cleared during the review period, but there are still a few CLAD assignments that are being addressed. There was no formal report available from the SCOE at the time of this review. 3. The HR staff completed the procedure for annual review of elementary credentials and semiannual review of secondary credentials by July 1, 2005. Board Policy 4113 has not been revised accordingly. 4. The Uniform Complaint Procedure was updated to include misassignments consistent with the regulations from the Williams case. The district plans an annual credential audit incorporating all of these provisions. Due to the Williams case, there will be an annual audit of Deciles 1 to 3 schools to examine teacher assignments. 5. HR was able to download the master schedules for each school site from the Aeries sys- tem. Lists of teachers by school with their credentials were then downloaded from the CECC system and a manual process was used to reconcile assignments with credentials. HR compiled a notebook that was given to the Solano County Office of Education for its four-year audit process. While the process of comparing the teachers and their credentials to the master schedules is still manual, it is an excellent process that is commonly used in school districts where the technology systems are not yet integrated. This will become an annual process for completing the internal credentials monitoring until technology can be used to automate the process. 6. The procedures and time line developed in No. 5 above will be added to the HR annual calendar, and will be incorporated in the reference and procedure manuals. 7. Site administrators were given a copy of the Site Administrator Credentials Manual so that they can correctly assign their teachers. The process developed above will be re- viewed with site administrators each August during an annual retreat. The district should also include school office managers in the training. Personnel Management 19 8. There should be additional attention and effort toward further automation of the creden- tial monitoring process. Ideally, the systems would allow error reports to occur whenever a misassignment was attempted. Short of that, automation would ensure that the annual audits reduced misassignments to a minimum and the alerts would correct them when they do occur. 9. Board Policy 4113 should be reviewed and acted upon. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 20 Personnel Management 4.1 Employee Induction and Orientation Professional Standard: Initial orientation is provided for all new staff, and orientation handbooks are provided for new employees in all classifications: substitutes, teachers, and classified employees. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district hired almost 200 new employees for this school year, so group orientations were held for teaching staff and for classified staff. The HR department should develop a video presentation of district activities and expectations for new employees, including the detailed information that new employees need about their benefits package, to ensure a uniform and full orientation for each employee and to orient employees in groups. The district provides an online training course on workplace safety that all new employees are required to complete. 2. The district has an old version of a classified employee handbook that needs to be updat- ed. It is provided to all classified employees and is included in the orientation process. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 5 May 1, 2005 Rating: 5 November 30, 2005 Rating: 6 Implementation Scale: Personnel Management 21 5.2 Operational Procedures Professional Standard: Personnel Department non-management staff members have individual desk manuals for all of the personnel functions for which they are held responsible. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has scheduled the completion of the detailed action plan for this standard by November 2005. However, through meetings and resolution of issues, the district is be- ginning to document its processes. With the conversion from the old HR/Payroll system to CECC, the district needs to refine all of its operating procedures, document them, and provide them in desk manuals for the various functions in the Human Resources Depart- ment. Efficiencies could be gained by completing these procedures during the cross-train- ing activities referenced in Standard 2.4. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 1 November 30, 2005 Rating: 1 Implementation Scale: 22 Personnel Management 5.3 Operational Procedures Professional Standard: The Personnel Department has an operation procedures manual for internal department use to establish consistent application of personnel actions. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has scheduled the completion of the detailed action plan for this standard by November 2005. Through meetings and resolution of issues, the district is beginning to document its processes. All of the department’s procedures need to be documented in a manual that can be provided to all of the staff members in HR. Portions of this manual will need to be provided to Payroll staff as well. This action plan should be moved up in the priorities, as it establishes the overall procedures for the department, and should be tied to the review and updating of policies and the annual calendar discussed in Standards 1.1 and 1.5. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 1 November 30, 2005 Rating: 1 Implementation Scale: Personnel Management 23 5.4 Operational Procedures Professional Standard: The Personnel Department has a process in place to systematically review and update job de- scriptions. These job descriptions shall be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district had stated that the detailed action plan for this standard would be available in November 2005. The Director-Staff Support drafted a plan for this standard that includes critical actions to be taken, a time line for implementation, the responsible department/ person, planned documentation, and fiscal impact/resources. The plan is a framework, but not a detailed action plan, and it has not been reviewed and approved by the HR manage- ment staff. 2. The draft plan states that the HR Services Reference Manual will include a process to systematically review and update job descriptions for all jobs, both certificated and clas- sified, and that the job description format will cover: job title, work year (including hours per day and days per week for classified jobs), exempt or nonexempt status, position type (certificated, classified, supervisor, manager, confidential), pay range (monthly, weekly, or hourly as appropriate), a summary statement of duties, specific duties, knowledge/skills/ abilities, and working conditions. However, the manual has not yet been developed. 3. While most of the job descriptions designate the essential functions, a few do not. The essential functions of all job descriptions should be designated to be consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 4. The detailed action plan that HR does develop to address this standard should include a time line for complete review and revision of all job descriptions into the new format. Only significant changes to the job duties of a job description should require approval of the Governing Board. 5. The detailed action plan should also include an ongoing process for the review of job descriptions to be included in the HR Services Reference Manual. For some positions, job descriptions may have an annual review. For others, the job description may require review only when the position is vacated and a new recruitment is taking place. Still other positions may require review on a three- to four-year schedule or whenever technology or other forces cause a change in job duties. 6. Instructions should be developed for the creation of new job descriptions, as well as a process for bringing them through board approval. 7. A long-term plan should be developed for having the job descriptions maintained in elec- tronic format and published on the district’s Web site. 24 Personnel Management 8. A process should be developed for presenting all classified personnel with their job de- scriptions upon employment and with each change of classification. This process should be contained in the HR Services Reference Manual and in the classified employee hand- book when it is developed (see Standard 4.1). Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 1 November 30, 2005 Rating: 1 Implementation Scale: Personnel Management 25 5.5 Operational Procedures Professional Standard: The Personnel Department has procedures in place that allow for both Personnel and Payroll staff to meet regularly to solve problems that develop in the process of new employees, classifi- cation changes, and employee promotions. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The HR Department has completed a detailed action plan to address this standard, and, as of the first six-month FCMAT progress report, was holding weekly meetings with Payroll staff as specified in the plan. These meetings were necessary to address a backlog of is- sues, mostly having to do with employee leaves. The detailed action plan for this standard specifies that, after addressing the backlog of issues, the meetings would be monthly and would involve all Payroll staff and HR staff directly connected with Payroll. Each depart- ment was to submit items for the agenda, and each meeting was to result in the documen- tation of decisions, new procedures, revised procedures, assignments made, and issues that need to be investigated further. Since the first six-month FCMAT progress report, the regular meetings between Payroll and HR have ceased. 2. Other communications between the departments have improved. Individuals in each de- partment contact each other as urgent issues need to be resolved, and special meetings are called if group involvement is needed. 3. The detailed action plan specifies that the meetings between HR and Payroll will be a fo- rum for establishing procedures, some of which have been completed. The district should establish a list of interdepartmental procedures that need to be documented, and use this list to prepare meeting agendas. Afterward, each procedure should be documented and distributed to the employees who need to use it. A schedule of time lines and deadlines between the departments should be prepared, and all employees should be aware of and respect the schedule. 4. HR and Payroll have established a process to work together when issuing joint memos or communications about policies and procedures that affect both departments to the rest of the district. 5. Interpretations of policy, regulation, bargaining unit contract, or law need to continue to be included in the HR/Payroll meetings as the highest priority issues to be discussed. There is a significant need to continue working on interpretations and documenting them to ensure consistent application of these provisions over time and between departments. 6. Between the initial FCMAT report and the first six-month progress report, the district had made progress in delineating the duties between the HR and Business departments. At that time, Benefits had been moved from HR to Business. At the time of the fieldwork for this second progress report, however, Benefits had been moved back to HR and a new technician was designated for this function. There is conflicting information about the new health and welfare module and how it functions (see Standard 7.5). The district 26 Personnel Management needs to clarify the delineation of responsibilities between the two departments so that employees can be trained and held responsible for performing their duties and so that cus- tomers receive more accurate and prompt information. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 5 November 30, 2005 Rating: 4 Implementation Scale: Personnel Management 27 5.8 Operational Procedures Professional Standard: Personnel staff members attend training sessions/workshops to keep abreast of the most current acceptable practices and requirements facing personnel administrators. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. HR has developed a detailed action plan that is available on its Web site. It includes the establishment of a professional development plan for HR management staff, including attending labor law consortium meetings, the ACSA Personnel Institute, annual collec- tive bargaining training, and other events. HR will determine publications that can be purchased for professional development. This plan was to be completed by July 1, 2005, but was not completed by the November review. Professional publications have not been identified. 2. HR managers need to assess the training needs of HR employees through observations and discussions, and a consideration of the following key elements: a. An analysis of who should be trained. b. Identification of who will provide the training. c. Identification of subjects to be covered in training. d. Scheduling of initial and refresher training sessions. e. Identification and development of training materials. f. An analysis of training costs and related resources. 3. The detailed action plan includes an assessment of the HR nonmanagement staff to de- termine the need for training in areas to include, but not be limited to, understanding and proficiency with the CECC system, other database tools, customer service, recruitment/ selection, testing procedures, credentialing, workers’ compensation, retirement systems, and collective bargaining. HR will then work with the Business and Technology depart- ments, the Solano County Office of Education, CODESP, and other identified providers of training and workshops. To minimize costs during this fiscal crisis, the district should consider sending one employee to the training and having him/her present what was learned to the rest of HR. HR staff members have attended training sessions on test devel- opment from CODESP and on the CECC system from the county office of education. 4. According to the action plan, the assessment of needs for staff development for non- management staff members was to be completed by March 1, 2005. During the spring, the Director-Elementary (then Classified) conducted a staff meeting during which staff members reflected on what they needed in terms of professional development and what resources might be available. Other than some computer training of the support staff and training by E-Schools for the substitute management clerk, there has been no follow-up on this initial assessment. The management staff has continued to seek professional de- velopment opportunities on their own through ACSA, the legal consortium, and work- shops. 28 Personnel Management 5. Staff members in HR have begun attending CECC training sessions and user group meet- ings, and the district intends to continue this procedure. 6. The district should continue to seek resources to fund training and professional develop- ment and to seek providers internally and externally. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 3 Implementation Scale: Personnel Management 29 5.10 Operational Procedures Professional Standard: Established staffing formulas dictate the assignment of personnel to the various sites and programs. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district negotiated an agreement with its certificated employee bargaining unit to relax some of the requirements on class sizes, student contacts, and custodial services. This should be further pursued to provide more staffing flexibility and to assist the district in its financial recovery. 2. The district has prepared a detailed action plan for this standard. Staffing formulas for custodi- ans and elementary school vice principals were already in place, but the district has not recent- ly compared these to other similar districts. To prepare for last year’s mid-year classified staff layoffs, the district gathered staffing formulas from other districts and developed a formula for school site clerical staff and campus supervisors. The district’s plan included the preparation of staffing formulas for other site administrators before 2005-06, but this has not been done. Staffing formulas applicable to other positions should be developed and compared with those of similar districts. The formulas should then be incorporated into board policies and adminis- trative regulations, and reviewed annually for staffing adjustments. 3. The staffing formulas developed should specify the number of full-time equivalent positions (daily work hours and number of days per week) to be allocated, as well as the length of the work year, so there is consistency between sites and so the work year matches the workload. 4. A time line was developed for staffing and enrollment preparations for the 2005-06 school year, designating a deadline and responsible person for each task. Enrollment and staffing projections were completed by the end of March, with meetings scheduled with the schools later in the spring, and then regularly as school was opening in the fall. The consensus of staff members is that this year’s staffing for the opening of school was much more effective and much less disruptive to teachers and students. For future years, initial staffing projec- tions should be completed in February and reviewed with schools in early March to ensure meeting the statutory deadlines related to reducing staff, since the district’s enrollment is projected to continue declining. The district has prepared a process for continual monitoring of enrollment, and, as enrollment continues to decline during this year, is prepared to reduce staffing mid-year. This must be accomplished to keep pace with the declining enrollment. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 6 November 30, 2005 Rating: 7 Implementation Scale: 30 Personnel Management 7.1 Use of Technology Professional Standard: An online position control system is utilized and is integrated with payroll/financial systems. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: The district had scheduled the detailed action plan for this standard to be completed in May 2005, but it has not yet been done. 1. Each employee’s leave balance information has been audited and corrected in the system. Leave accruals now occur automatically. 2. As of the first six-month FCMAT progress report, the district had completed an audit of each employee’s health benefit information and corrected it in the system, addressing er- rors in the employee/district premium split. Benefits functions had been transferred from HR to Business. The district had implemented the process of comparing the carrier bill- ings to employee records to ensure proper payments. Since then, the district has designed and implemented a health and welfare benefits module within the CECC system. It was developed on the old platform along with the payroll and accounting modules, but does not interface with payroll. Screen prints of changes in the health and welfare benefits system are still used as the method to notify Payroll to make the necessary changes in the payroll system. It is expected that, as these three modules are moved to the new platform where HR and Budget are functioning, the benefits module will be integrated with payroll and the other modules. This is expected to be accomplished in the spring. Since the last progress report, the Benefits function was moved back to HR from Busi- ness, and there isn’t consensus among staff as to why. In addition, this function was as- signed to another technician within the HR department. There is conflicting information from the two departments as to how the new benefits module functions, whether or not history is kept within the database, and what procedures to follow when updating the da- tabase. There is also conflicting information as to the integrity of the database, especially with the results of the negotiated agreements with the bargaining units, which has already caused one set of retroactive adjustments to employee benefit records and will cause another set based upon the recent settlement with the certificated bargaining unit. The district needs to provide training to staff using the benefits module on how the underlying database works and how to appropriately update employee benefit records and otherwise maintain the database. The district must also conduct a complete and independent audit of all employee benefit records once these retroactive adjustments have been completed. 3. Issues with the system’s audit trail have not yet been addressed. The district needs to determine whether the audit trail identifies the user for each transaction, and whether records can be deleted, leaving no audit trail. Recommendations should be made to the COE through the user group to eliminate any system loopholes, especially since this area relates to internal controls and could cause audit findings if audit trails are not appropri- ately kept. Personnel Management 31 4. Position control procedures have not been completed, so the district needs to include this in its detailed action plan. Staff members in Business and HR have attended more training on the CECC system, and representatives are sent to each user group meeting. Additional training is still needed for staff members who are beginners, as well as staff members who need more advanced training on generating reports. The district should request the county office of education to offer more frequent sessions of the basic overview training so there is timely opportunity for employees to attend. 5. The district has completed the implementation of all positions within the position control system. One of the most significant issues that remains, however, is that there are no pay- roll encumbrances. There are assurances that the system will include this function, but no time line has been provided. Since this is an important component of budget control, the district could continue to pursue the modification of the system to include it. 6. A test version of the CECC system has been set up and is available at the COE for train- ing. The district should work with the county to establish a separate test version of the system that can be accessed by the districts so that users can test scenarios within the software. In addition, before more conversions of data are done (such as when the new benefits module is integrated), users should be able to convert a sampling of data into the test system and verify that the data is correct, that the system functions appropriately us- ing the data, and that the users can maintain the data. 7. HR and Business staff members attend the monthly user group meetings and share perti- nent information with other staff members. This practice should be continued and includ- ed in the detailed action plan for this standard. 8. The district should include the development of procedures in its detailed action plan so that each department involved in position control can verify or audit its own data before going to the next step. The district should train employees on these procedures and ensure that they are done correctly to minimize errors and reduce staff time required to follow audit trails and make corrections. 9. Documents “lost” in process are now a rare occurrence. This is due to increased commu- nication with other departments, especially Payroll, so that processes are streamlined and better understood. The district still needs to automate the personnel requisition process, including electronic authorizations, to eliminate paperwork. 10. HR and Business both prepare information on deadlines and time lines for internal use. However, there is no combined effort to prepare and coordinate information before send- ing it to other departments and sites. These departments need to develop a schedule of re- quirements and deadlines for information from school sites and departments. This should include the requirement that an employee’s hours or status cannot be changed and that a new employee cannot work until the paperwork is completed and approved. Training should be provided and managers held accountable for meeting deadlines and for provid- ing complete and accurate information. 32 Personnel Management 11. HR and Payroll have been working together to establish procedures and guidelines for employee leaves, including how they are designated within the system. This work needs to be completed and documented, with training provided to all managers on how and when to report on employee leave situations. 12. The Budget Department still uses Excel spreadsheets to control FTE allocations by site. The district should improve the system to eliminate this extra step. 13. The district should determine whether tally sheets are still needed, and, if not, eliminate their use and the stipend that goes with them. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 4 May 1, 2005 Rating: 5 November 30, 2005 Rating: 4 Implementation Scale: Personnel Management 33 7.3 State and Federal Compliance Professional Standard: The certificated and classified departments of the Personnel Department have an applicant track- ing system. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. There is no progress to report in this area. The district’s detailed action plan should in- clude exploration of the reporting capabilities of both ED-JOIN and the district’s Web application so that a set of management reports can be generated for use by HR and man- agers in other departments and sites. Training should be provided for managers on how to run and interpret the reports. For example, the district should be able to run reports from the applicant database on the types of certifications and credentials that are represented in the applicant pool. 2. The district’s detailed action plan should include the implementation of an automated sys- tem that carries the application process through testing and interviews to the point of em- ployment, with an automated interface to the main Human Resources system. The district should also investigate the option of developing more functions within the application system that was developed in-house for the Web site versus purchasing applicant tracking software available on the market. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: 34 Personnel Management 7.5 State and Federal Compliance Professional Standard: The Personnel Department has computerized its employee database system including, but not limited to: credentials, seniority lists, evaluations, personnel by funding source, program, and location, and Workers’ Compensation benefits. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. Progress has been made in the areas of employee leave balances, but there are still issues with employee benefit records that need to be resolved (see Standard 7.1). 2. Progress on the test version of CECC is explained in Standard 7.1. 3. The district scheduled completion of the detailed action plan for this standard for May 2005. There is no progress to report other than that detailed in Standard 7.1. The district needs to include an automated interface between the substitute calling system and CECC in its action plan. Properly interfaced, the process of paying substitutes, adjusting the per- manent employee’s leave balance, and docking as necessary could be automated. In addi- tion, it would allow a district-level reconciliation of substitute pay and leave/release time. 4. Until the automated interface is done, the district needs to implement a manual reconcili- ation between the two systems prior to processing the substitute payroll each month. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 4 Implementation Scale: Personnel Management 35 8.1 Staff Training Professional Standard: The district has developed a systematic program for identifying areas of need for in-service train- ing for all employees. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The Cabinet met and discussed where and with whom the responsibility should reside for district-wide training and staff development for all district employees. A consultant has been engaged to ensure that the district has a systematic training program for identifying areas of in-service training for all employees. The plan is for each department to identify the needs internally, plan training and staff development to meet the needs, and submit this information to Human Resources as the central location for keeping track of training and staff development. The Director-Staff Support has been designated as the person to support the consultant and to receive the documentation from each division and depart- ment. At the time of the team’s fieldwork, the Director-Staff Support was just beginning to receive plans. 2. The Director-Staff Support drafted a plan for this standard that includes critical actions to be taken, a time line for implementation, the responsible department/person, planned documentation, and fiscal impact/resources. The plan is a framework, but not a detailed action plan, and it has not been reviewed and approved by the HR management staff. 3. The Director-Staff Support must continue to follow up on the plans from each division and department and support the consultant’s efforts. The district-wide plans should be placed on the district’s Web site. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 1 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: 36 Personnel Management 8.5 Staff Training Professional Standard: The district provides training for all management and supervisory staff responsible for employee evaluations. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district had stated that the detailed action plan for this standard would be completed by May 2005, but it is not yet available. 2. The Director-Staff Support drafted a plan for this standard that includes critical actions to be taken, a time line for implementation, the responsible department/person, planned documentation, and fiscal impact/resources. The plan is a framework, but not a detailed action plan, and it has not been reviewed and approved by the HR management staff. 3. During the August retreat for administrators, HR staff members made a presentation to prin- cipals on teacher evaluations. They delivered a packet that contained: (1) a description of the teacher evaluation process, including who should be evaluated and how often, in accordance with the VEA Contract; (2) a copy of the VEA contract language; (3) an evaluation time line for 2005-06; and (3) the evaluation forms. Follow-up training was scheduled for the week of September 27, 2005. Additionally, HR staff will send e-mail reminders as due dates approach. 4. The detailed action plan, when completed, must address the time line for initial and fol- low-up training for current managers and supervisors, as well as the ongoing training of all new managers and supervisors. This plan should include the specification of the legal time lines required, and processes for reminding managers of evaluation deadlines and holding them accountable for meeting the deadlines. This plan can be part of the plan that addresses Standards 9.1 through 9.5 on Due Process and Evaluation. 5. The action plan should include a provision that all staff members responsible for evaluation must participate in an evaluation refresher in-service training conducted by district staff. 6. While teacher evaluation is now being addressed, there is no progress to report on the training of supervisors and managers of other classifications of employees. The detailed action plan must include evaluation of all employees. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: Personnel Management 37 8.6 Staff Training Professional Standard: The district provides training opportunities to managers and supervisors in leadership develop- ment and supervision. Training topics might include interpersonal relationships, effective super- vision, conflict resolution, cultural diversity, gender sensitivity, and team building. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district had stated that the detailed action plan for this standard would be available in November 2005, but the plan was not yet available. 2. The Director-Staff Support drafted a plan for this standard that includes critical actions to be taken, a time line for implementation, the responsible department/person, planned documentation, and fiscal impact/resources. The plan is a framework, but not a detailed action plan, and it has not been reviewed and approved by the HR management staff. This plan states that the VCUSD In-Service Training Plan for All Employees will include a needs assessment among managers and supervisors seeking input into the leadership training topics. 3. The district should proceed with developing the detailed action plan to outline the con- tent, delivery mechanism, and time line for providing training to managers and supervi- sors in leadership development and supervision. Development of the plan should include the process for conducting a needs assessment among managers and supervisors seeking their input into the leadership training topics. The plan may be part of the plan for Stan- dard 8.5, which is focused on professional development for all employees, including prin- cipals. 4. There are bimonthly meetings of all principals focused on building understanding of the implementation of the curriculum, leadership in curriculum implementation, and using assessment information to guide instruction. Regularly scheduled training sessions for all managers and supervisors should be incorporated into the district’s detailed action plan for this standard. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 0 November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 Implementation Scale: 38 Personnel Management 8.7 Staff Training Professional Standard: The district develops handbooks and materials for all training components. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The Director-Staff Support drafted a plan for this standard that includes critical actions to be taken, a time line for implementation, the responsible department/person, planned documentation, and fiscal impact/resources. The plan is a framework, but not a detailed action plan, and it has not been reviewed and approved by the HR management staff. 2. The district had stated that the detailed action plan for this standard would be available in November 2005, but a detailed plan is not yet available. 3. As training and staff development workshops are designed, the materials for them should include handbooks or other documents the participants can use when they return to work. The plan for this standard may be incorporated into the plan for Standard 8.1, which ad- dresses professional development for all staff. 4. Implementation of this standard is dependent on the implementation of the proposed VCUSD trainings and workshops referenced in the draft plan developed by the Director- Staff Support. 5. There is no progress to report on this standard. Standard Implemented: Not Implemented November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 0 November 30, 2005 Rating: 0 Implementation Scale: Personnel Management 39 9.1 Evaluation/Due Process Assistance Professional Standard: The evaluation process is a regular function related to each employee and involves criteria re- lated to the position. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district stated that the detailed action plan for this standard would be available in No- vember 2005, but no detailed action plan is available yet. 2. A list of teachers who should be evaluated was run from the CECC system. Almost all of the teachers in the district were on it. The list was sent to the principals, who began turn- ing in teacher evaluations from last year. Human Resources has continued to follow up so that evaluations are completed for each teacher in a two-year cycle, and so that the lists sent out at the beginning of each year reflect only the teachers who are to be evaluated for that year. 3. The district should proceed with developing a detailed action plan that makes the evalu- ation process a regular function and ensures it is based on criteria related to the position. The action plan must specifically address Board Policy 4315, which calls for management evaluations to be on a form prescribed by the Superintendent. The certificated bargaining unit contract describes the exact procedure and time lines for certificated employee evalu- ations. The Cabinet should review all board policies that set the foundation for employee evaluations and make modifications in accordance with their current intent for the em- ployee evaluation process. Specific attention must be paid to BP 4315.1, Competence to Evaluate, to determine if this is the desired process. Annual review of this policy is pursu- ant to Education Code, so this task should be added to the HR annual calendar. 4. As a part of its detailed action plan, HR needs to lead the process to review the classified employee evaluation forms and make recommendations for revision. 5. Administrative regulations and the classified employee bargaining unit contract delineate the timing of evaluations for probationary classified employees and the schedule of evalu- ations for permanent employees. There is no schedule for evaluations prescribed in policy or regulation for classified management. Confidential employees are to be evaluated on a schedule consistent with their nonconfidential peers. As a part of its detailed action plan, HR needs to develop detailed procedures, including time lines, for the evaluation of all classified personnel. This information should be presented annually to managers and su- pervisors, along with a list of classified employees to be evaluated. 6. HR should include in the detailed action plan a provision to review and improve the tracking mechanism for both certificated and classified employee evaluations. The CECC system is now being used to accomplish the tracking of completed evaluations, but the process has involved cleaning up data as well as tracking down delinquent evaluations. 40 Personnel Management 7. HR should take the lead, as a part of the detailed action plan, to provide training in evalu- ation, due process, and discipline either in-house or by a third party. 8. As a long-range plan, HR should store the blank evaluation forms on the district’s Web site so that managers and supervisors can download them when needed. 9. HR should begin to develop procedures for managers to use in assisting employees whose performance is less than satisfactory. The procedures should include resources that can be used for assistance with particular performance problems. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: Personnel Management 41 9.2 Evaluation/Due Process Assistance Legal Standard: Clear policies and practices exist for the written evaluation and assessment of classified and cer- tificated employees and managers (EC 44663). Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district had stated that the detailed action plan for this standard would be available in November 2005. The detailed plan is not yet available, and the Director-Staff Support has not yet written a draft plan for this standard. The district should try to address this as soon as possible. The detailed action plan developed for Standard 9.1 should be designed to include this standard so that the policies and practices for written evaluation and assess- ment of classified and certificated employees and managers are clear and up to date. 2. HR has developed detailed procedures, including time lines, for the evaluation of classi- fied personnel. These are delivered annually to managers and supervisors, along with a list of classified employees who are to be evaluated. HR has been keeping a spreadsheet for tracking classified evaluations for the last two years. 3. The Cabinet should review the board policies that set the foundation for employee evalu- ations and make modifications in accordance with the policies’ intent for the employee evaluation process. 4. HR should take the lead to review the classified employee evaluation forms and make recommendations regarding changes. 5. Tracking of classified and certificated evaluations should include an end-of-year report showing any overdue evaluations. This report should be provided to the Cabinet and State Administrator so that appropriate action can be taken when managers fail to evaluate. 6. HR should begin to develop procedures for managers to use in assisting employees whose performance is less than satisfactory. The procedures should include resources that can be used for assistance with particular performance problems. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: 42 Personnel Management 9.3 Evaluation/Due Process Assistance Professional Standard: The Personnel Department provides a process for the monitoring of employee evaluations and the accountability reporting of their completion. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district had stated that the detailed action plan for this standard would be available in November 2005, but a detailed plan was not yet available. The Director-Staff Support had not yet written a draft plan. The action plan should be developed as soon as possible to ensure that the evaluation process for all employees is completed correctly and timely. The plan should also include Cabinet review of the board policies that set the foundation for employee evaluations and modifications made to reflect the current intent for the em- ployee evaluation process. See also Standard 9.1. 2. HR has developed and maintained a spreadsheet showing the status of classified employ- ees’ evaluations for the last two years. At the time of FCMAT’s fieldwork, the Director- Elementary and support staff were preparing to send out the lists of classified employees to be evaluated during the 2005-2006 school year. 3. In September, a list of teachers who should be evaluated was run from the CECC system. Almost all of the teachers in the district were on it. The list was sent to the principals, who began turning in teacher evaluations from last year. Human Resources has continued to follow up so that the evaluations are completed for each teacher in a two-year cycle and so that the lists sent out at the beginning of each year reflect only the teachers who are to be evaluated for that year. 4. The detailed action plan to be developed for this standard should provide for automated reports that can be used to provide managers and supervisors with lists of classified and certificated employees to be evaluated, a process for following up with managers and supervisors on time lines, and a process for receiving and possibly reviewing all evalua- tions. An annual report to the Cabinet and State Administrator should be developed that informs them of the status of all evaluations. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: Personnel Management 43 9.4 Evaluation/Due Process Assistance Professional Standard: The Personnel Department has developed an evaluation handbook and provided due process training for managers and supervisors. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: The district had stated that the detailed action plan for this standard would be available in No- vember 2005. There was no detailed plan available and the Director-Staff Support had not yet drafted a plan. An action plan should be developed as soon as possible. 1. The action plan should include the development of an evaluation handbook. Training us- ing the handbook should be made available to all supervisors and managers each year. See also Standard 9.1. 2. HR should take the lead in providing training in employee evaluation, due process, and discipline. The training may be developed and delivered in-house or by a third party. See also Standard 9.3. 3. Several years ago, the district provided training using the FRISK model, and many of the managers have the FRISK manual to follow. The action plan should include the devel- opment of a handbook of procedures and time lines to follow in situations of employee discipline and due process. The district should consider building upon the FRISK training with follow-up and refresher training. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: 44 Personnel Management 9.5 Evaluation/Due Process Assistance Professional Standard: The Personnel Department has developed a process for providing assistance to certificated and classified employees performing at a less-than-satisfactory levels. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district had stated that the detailed action plan for this standard would be available in November 2005. There was no detailed action plan yet available and the Director-Staff Support had not yet drafted a plan. The district should develop the plan as soon as pos- sible. The plan should include a process for Cabinet members to review and modify the board policies that set the foundation for employee evaluations. Specific attention must be paid to Board Policy 4315.1, Competence to Evaluate, to determine if this is the desired process. Annual review of this policy is pursuant to Education Code, so this task should be added to the HR annual calendar. See also Standards 9.1 and 9.3. 2. HR assistance is provided to site or department managers upon request. This may include training site staff or providing the format for remediation plans. Also, some training on conducting walkthroughs in classrooms has been provided. HR needs to take the lead in providing a full complement of training sessions in employee evaluation, due process, and discipline. 3. As a part of the detailed action plan, HR should plan to store the evaluation forms on the district’s Web site so that managers and supervisors can download them when needed. 4. The district should quickly develop processes and time lines for evaluators to use to assist employees whose performance is less than satisfactory. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: Personnel Management 45 11.1 Employer/Employee Relations Professional Standard: The district has collected data that compare the salaries and benefits of its employees with dis- tricts of similar size, geographic location, and other comparable measures. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. HR has completed the detailed action plan for this standard, including the following com- ponents: a. Identify comparable districts based on size, location, funding, and type of district. This task was completed in February 2005, resulting in a list of similar nearby districts. b. Collect copies of bargaining unit agreements from the comparable districts. This was completed for the certificated bargaining unit. Language from other districts’ contracts was used to develop the district’s initial proposal to the certificated bar- gaining unit for the negotiations just completed (see Standard 11.4). c. Review the collective bargaining unit contracts and statewide databases to com- pare salary levels at the beginning, middle, and top of the salary schedule, as well as the levels of health and welfare benefits. The district has prepared these mate- rials for the certificated bargaining unit, using a statewide database that contains the data. Information on health and welfare benefits for both certificated and clas- sified employees was collected and used as a critical component in the negotia- tions just completed. d. Using the bargaining process described in the detailed action plan for Standard 11.4, analyze comparability on an annual basis. The district needs to specify the time line for this each year, as well as the sources and methods to be used as it develops the procedures to address this area. e. The district should add staffing and enrollment, revenues, expenditures, and other financial data to its plan for comparisons with the comparable districts to help measure level of effort. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 46 Personnel Management 11.2 Employer/Employee Relations Professional Standard: The Personnel Department involves site-level administrators in the bargaining and labor relations decision-making process. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. HR has developed the detailed action plan for this standard, including the responsible staff member(s), to address the standard. The detailed action plan provides for: a. Involving administrators in the development of proposed language for the certifi- cated bargaining unit contract. The district held a number of meetings involving administrators, and used the results of a survey of administrators to establish pri- orities and proposed changes to the contract. This input was used in developing the language contained in the district’s initial proposal as presented in February 2005. The district continued to keep the leadership team informed as revised pro- posals were discussed at the bargaining table throughout the negotiating process. Now that the negotiations are completed, the district has disseminated informa- tion on the general results of the negotiations process. b. Soliciting input from administrators and managers in the development of the district’s proposal to the classified bargaining unit. This was done by way of a survey to all managers for use in developing the initial proposal to the classified bargaining unit in March 2005. As discussed under “a” above, the leadership team was kept informed throughout the negotiations process. c. Now that the successor agreements are in place, providing each member of the leadership team with a copy of each contract so they can make contract interpre- tation notes within the document to track information related to each article, such as: dates and responses to grievances; grievance resolutions; other informal meet- ings with employees or groups of employees related to interpretation of contract language; provisions that are unclear, confusing, or ambiguous; and language that is unworkable or creates a barrier to quality education and/or effective and effi- cient district operations. d. HR staff gathering implementation notes from all leadership team members on or before December 31 of each year and using this information to assist with craft- ing reopener or successor contract language. This information gathering will be completed for the first time by December 31, 2005. Although not specified in the district’s detailed action plan, the HR department’s records on grievance activity and employee meetings about contract issues would be included in this step. e. HR staff meeting with members of the district negotiating teams to review the suggestions and draft reopener language or proposals for successor agreements. Personnel Management 47 f. At the February meeting of the Leadership Team, HR staff engaging administra- tors in a critique of the draft language. g. In collaboration with Fiscal Services, HR staff analyzing the fiscal impact of the proposed language. h. Using feedback from the above steps, HR staff preparing a proposal to sunshine no later than the second board meeting in February for the certificated bargaining unit and March for the classified bargaining unit. 2. Now that the successor agreements have been completed and include years with no re- openers, items d. through h. above will not be necessary during those particular years. The district needs to ensure that this process is followed during the years when proposals will be prepared and sunshined. 3. HR should continue to implement the provisions of this action plan, and refine it to in- clude more specific time frames for each activity. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 48 Personnel Management 11.3 Employer/Employee Relations Professional Standard: The Personnel Department provides all managers and supervisors (certificated and classified) training in contract management with emphasis on the grievance process and administration. The Personnel Department provides clearly defined forms and procedures in the handling of griev- ances for its managers and supervisors. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. HR has completed the detailed action plan to address this standard, with the components as follows: a. Training on leaves of absence, along with a one-page protocol on managing em- ployee leaves, will be provided to the leadership team at the start of each new school year. This was slated to be completed for the first time in August 2005, but was not done. b. Training was to be provided on the evaluation and discipline of classified em- ployees at leadership team meetings starting in August. This training is to be repeated in September of each year. The FRISK model and manuals are to be used for this training. However, this training had not been done as of the time of FCMAT’s fieldwork in September. c. Training will be provided to the leadership team at the start of each school year on the certificated employee evaluation process. This training was provided, in the context of the new horizontal alignment of the district organizational struc- ture, at the leadership team retreat held in August. The training included a review of the pertinent contractual language and how to use the forms, including prepar- ing objectives using the state standards and achievement goals. d. Training will be provided to the leadership team at the start of each school year on the grievance procedures for both certificated and classified employees. This had not yet been done at the time of FCMAT’s fieldwork in September. e. As changes are made to the collective bargaining unit agreements, training will be provided to the leadership team on their implementation and management. HR will also provide clearly defined forms and procedures in the handling of griev- ances. The successor contracts with the bargaining units have just been complet- ed, so the district should schedule this training at one of the next leadership team meetings. f. Purging old forms when new forms are developed to be consistent with new policy or contract language. An online district forms management system will be explored. At a minimum, the forms should be made available on the district’s Web site for administrators and managers to download as needed. This has not yet been done since the Web site redesign is just now being completed. Personnel Management 49 g. Training will be provided annually on contract management and grievances. This will be added to the annual calendar for HR. HR has already prepared information for administrators and managers and has provided some training to the leadership team in such areas as employee leaves and evaluations, but no formal comprehensive training plan has been developed and several training areas that were planned to be provided by now have not been provided. The district’s detailed action plan should continue to be implemented, with regularly scheduled training compo- nents being offered to the leadership team as soon as possible. 2. The detailed action plan for this standard needs to be augmented to provide for contract management training as new managers and administrators are appointed. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30 2005 Rating: 3 Implementation Scale: 50 Personnel Management 11.4 Employer/Employee Relations Professional Standard: The Personnel Department provides a clearly defined process for bargaining with its employee groups (i.e., traditional, interest-based). Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has prepared a detailed action plan to address this standard. The plan contains the following provisions: a. HR will facilitate the process of developing a set of VCUSD Core Beliefs that will be used to guide decision making in the collective bargaining process. 1) These core beliefs will be used in the development of proposed contract language for consistency with the district’s goals and the mandates and expectations set by the state. 2) The core beliefs will be communicated to all employee groups, the Gov- erning Board, and the public. b. In collaboration with the leadership team, HR will adopt a process for bargaining with employee groups that is clearly stated, is consistent with the VCUSD Core Beliefs, is principled, and seeks to build and maintain positive employer/employ- ee relations. The process will ensure that any proposed language is adequately assessed for its fiscal impact and its impact on student achievement. c. In collaboration with Fiscal Services, HR will ensure that any contract proposals made by management have been assessed for their fiscal impact on the district’s operating budget in the current fiscal year, as well as in future years. In the col- lective bargaining processes just completed, the district did implement this provi- sion by securing estimates of the fiscal impact on each revised proposal. d. The HR annual calendar will contain dates for the sunshining of contract re- openers and/or full successor agreements with the certificated bargaining unit in February and the classified bargaining unit in March. For this year, the February 2005 time frame was met for the certificated contract, and the March time frame for the classified contract. Now that the successor agreements are in place and include years with no reopeners, this sunshining process will not be required in those years. However, this process should be included in the HR calendar for each year in which the district will be preparing and sunshining a proposal. e. The process described in Standard 11.2 will be used annually to involve site-level administrators in the bargaining process. The district conducted several planning sessions in preparation for bargaining with the certificated unit. Administrators were asked for input on which contract provisions were Personnel Management 51 the most difficult to implement or provided the most significant impediments to the edu- cational process. Also, collective bargaining contracts from other districts were collected and reviewed to determine options for improving contract language. The input from ad- ministrators and the language options were then reviewed by the district, and the initial proposal to the certificated bargaining unit was prepared to include specific language to resolve the highest priority areas. This initial proposal was formally presented in Febru- ary 2005. The district also solicited input from administrators and managers on the classified bar- gaining unit contract and used this information to prepare its initial proposal in March 2005. 2. In its initial proposal for the certificated bargaining unit contract, the district included language to address most of the areas of concern in the contract. The items not specifi- cally addressed in the district’s initial proposal included: (c) Department Chairs and Team Leaders (3.11), (e) Professional Growth (4.1), (h) Personal Necessity Leave (7.1.4), and (k) Personal Property Damage (9.5). These provisions were not as significant in terms of the financial or educational impact on the district, and can be addressed in future negotia- tions sessions. The district did include the provisions with the most significant financial impact (and therefore the most potential for improvement of the budget picture) in its initial proposal. During the negotiations process just completed, the district continued to be diligent in its information gathering and costing of various proposals as negotiations progressed, to ensure that significant financial relief was provided from the restrictiveness of the contract. In the successor agreement just ratified, the district was able to: a. Secure a cap on the district’s contribution to employee health and welfare ben- efits. b. Reduce the level of effort required of custodial services. c. Increase class-size flexibility at the high schools. d. Increase staffing ratios for nurses and counselors. e. Cap the hourly rate of pay for extra duty. f. Make some improvements in management rights language. The agreement is for three years and includes salary increases but no reopeners. This will allow the district to focus more of its efforts on academic and fiscal recovery, but allows for no further fiscal concessions from bargaining groups until July 1, 2008. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 6 Implementation Scale: 52 Personnel Management 11.5 Employer/Employee Relations Professional Standard: The Personnel Department has a process that provides management and the board with informa- tion on the impact of bargaining proposals, e.g., fiscal, staffing, management flexibility, student outcomes. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has just completed the negotiations process with both of its bargaining units. During this process, Fiscal Services provided information on the fiscal impact of the pro- posals as they were developed and modified. For the future, HR needs to work with Fis- cal Services and other district departments to develop a more comprehensive process that provides management and the board with information on the fiscal, staffing, management flexibility, and student outcome impact of bargaining proposals. 2. Fiscal Services was able to provide the fiscal impact of various proposals to the district negotiating teams for the negotiations process just completed, and this should be con- tinued in future collective bargaining processes. A standard spreadsheet or multiyear projection software should be used to support this effort so that each iteration is clearly portrayed and documented, on a multiyear basis, during the process. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 0 November 30, 2005: 4 Implementation Scale: Personnel Management 53 54 Personnel Management Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ORGANI- ZATION AND PLANNING An updated and detailed policy and 1.1 procedures manual exists that de- 1 1 1 ❑ lineates the responsibilities and operational aspects of the personnel office. 1.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ORGANI- ZATION AND PLANNING The district has clearly defined and clarified roles for board and admin- 1 1 1 ❑ istration relative to recruitment, hiring, evaluation and dismissal of employees. 1.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ORGANI- ZATION AND PLANNING The Personnel Division has developed a mission statement that sets clear direction for personnel staff. The 2 2 2 ❑ Personnel Division has established goals and objectives directly related to the district’s goals that are re- viewed and updated annually. 1.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ORGANIZA- TION AND PLANNING The Personnel Division has an organi- zational chart and a functions chart 0 that include the names, positions and job functions of all staff in the Person- nel Division. 1.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ORGANI- ZATION AND PLANNING The Personnel Division has a monthly activities calendar and accompanying 2 4 2 ❑ lists of ongoing personnel activities to be reviewed by staff at planning meetings. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Personnel Management 55 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 1.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ORGANIZA- TION AND PLANNING The Personnel Division head is a mem- 10 ber of the Superintendent’s cabinet and participates in decision making early in the process. 2.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMU- NICATIONS: INTERNAL/EXTERNAL The Personnel Division utilizes the 2 3 4 ❑ latest technological equipment for incoming and outgoing communica- tions. 2.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMUNI- CATIONS: INTERNAL/EXTERNAL The personnel and business divisions have developed and distributed a menu 3 of services that includes the activities performed, the individual responsible, and the telephone numbers where they may be contacted. 2.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMUNI- CATIONS: INTERNAL/EXTERNAL The Personnel Division provides an 0 annual report of activities and services provided during the year. 2.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMU- NICATIONS: INTERNAL/EXTERNAL The Personnel Division staff is cross- 1 1 1 ❑ trained to respond to client need without delay. 2.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMU- NICATIONS: INTERNAL/EXTERNAL 0 6 4 ❑ The Personnel Division holds regu- larly scheduled staff meetings. 2.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMUNI- CATIONS: INTERNAL/EXTERNAL Various publications are provided on 4 a number of subjects to orient and inform various clients. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2005 report. 56 Personnel Management Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 3.1 LEGAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE RECRUIT- MENT/SELECTION The Governing Board provides equal employment opportunities for all peo- 5 ple without regard to race, color, creed, sex, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, or disability (EC 44100-44105). 3.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT/SELECTION Employment procedures and practices 5 are conducted in a manner that ensures equal employment opportunities. Writ- ten hiring procedures are provided. 3.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT/SELECTION The job application form requests in- 5 formation that is legal, useful, perti- nent, and easily understood. 3.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOY- EE RECRUITMENT/SELECTION The Personnel Division has a recruit- ment plan that contains recruitment goals, including the targeting of hard-to-fill positions such as those in the areas of math, science, spe- cial education and bilingual educa- 0 1 0 ❑ tion. The district has established an adequate recruitment budget that includes funds for travel, advertis- ing, staff training, promotional ma- terials and the printing of a year-end report, and that effectively imple- ments the provisions of the district recruitment plan. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Personnel Management 57 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 3.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOY- EE RECRUITMENT/SELECTION The district has developed materials that promote the district and com- 3 3 3 ❑ munity, are attractive, informative and easily available to all applicants and other interested parties. 3.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOY- EE RECRUITMENT/SELECTION The district has identified people to participate in recruitment efforts, including principals, district person- 2 2 2 ❑ nel and others, as appropriate, and has provided them with adequate training to carry out the district’s recruitment goals. 3.7 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT/SELECTION The district has effectively identified a variety of successful recruitment 2 sources, including Web sites, job fairs, colleges and universities and publica- tions. 3.8 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT/SELECTION The district has developed an annual written summary report of its recruit- ment efforts, including data detailing the goals for the year, sites visited, number of candidates contacted, em- 0 ployees hired as a result of the recruit- ment efforts and plans for any changes for the following year. This informa- tion can be provided as part of the division's annual report of personnel activities as called for in Standard 2.3. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2005 report. 58 Personnel Management Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 3.9 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT/SELECTION The district has developed alternative 0 teacher certification programs and pro- cess (i.e., preintern, intern, committee on assignment). 3.10 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT/SELECTION The district is preparing to address new 5 federal regulations as they relate to the No Child Left Behind Act. 3.11 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT/SELECTION The district systematically initiates 4 and follows up on reference checking on all applicants being considered for employment. 3.12 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT/SELECTION 10 Selection procedures are uniformly ap- plied. 3.13 LEGAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE RE- CRUITMENT/SELECTION The district appropriately monitors 1 4 5 ❑ teacher assignments and reports as required under EC 44258.9. 3.14 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT/SELECTION 4 Appropriateness of required tests for specific classified positions is evident. 3.15 LEGAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE RECRUIT- MENT/SELECTION The district has implemented proce- 1 dures to comply with state legislation governing short-term employees (EC 45103). The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Personnel Management 59 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 3.16 LEGAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE RECRUIT- MENT/SELECTION Not In merit system districts, recruitment appli- and selection for classified service are cable delegated to the Personnel Commission (EC 45240-45320). 3.17 LEGAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE RECRUIT- MENT/SELECTION The Personnel Commission prepares an Not eligibility list of qualified candidates appli- for each classified position that is cable open, indicating the top three candi- dates (EC45272-45278) 3.18 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT/SELECTION Not Classified recruitment results are pro- appli- vided in an annual report to the Per- cable sonnel Commission Board. 4.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOY- EE INDUCTION AND ORIENTATION Initial orientation is provided for all new staff, and orientation hand- 5 5 6 ❑ books are provided for new employ- ees in all classifications: substitutes, teachers and classified employees. 4.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE INDUCTION AND ORIENTATION The Personnel Division has developed a video presentation (e.g., tape, CD- 0 ROM, DVD) of the district activities and expectations for new employee orienta- tion. 4.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE INDUCTION AND ORIENTATION The Personnel Division has developed an employment checklist to be used for all new employees that includes 6 district forms and state and federal mandated information. The checklist is signed by the employee and kept on file. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2005 report. 60 Personnel Management Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 5.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - OPERATION- AL PROCEDURES 4 Personnel files are complete, well-orga- nized and up to date. 5.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - OPERA- TIONAL PROCEDURES Personnel Division nonmanagement staff members have individual desk 0 1 1 ❑ manuals for all of the personnel functions for which they are held responsible. 5.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - OPERA- TIONAL PROCEDURES The Personnel Division has an opera- tion procedures manual for internal 0 1 1 ❑ department use in order to establish consistent application of personnel actions. 5.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - OPERA- TIONAL PROCEDURES The Personnel Division has a process in place to systematically review and 1 1 1 ❑ update job descriptions. These job descriptions shall be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. 5.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - OPERA- TIONAL PROCEDURES The Personnel Division has proce- dures in place that allow for both personnel and payroll staff to meet 0 5 4 ❑ regularly to solve problems which develop in the process of new em- ployees, classification changes and employee promotions. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Personnel Management 61 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 5.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - OPERATION- AL PROCEDURES Wage and salary determination and ongoing implementation are handled 4 without delays and conflicts (substi- tutes, temporary employees, stipends, shift differential, etc.). 5.7 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - OPERATION- AL PROCEDURES Regulations or agreements covering 2 various types of leaves are fairly ad- ministered. 5.8 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - OPERA- TIONAL PROCEDURES Personnel staff members attend training sessions/workshops to keep 3 4 3 ❑ abreast of the most current accept- able practices and requirements fac- ing personnel administrators. 5.9 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - OPERATION- AL PROCEDURES The Personnel Division provides em- ployees with appropriate forms for 5 documenting requested actions (e.g., leaves, transfers, resignations, retire- ments). 5.10 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - OPERA- TIONAL PROCEDURES Established staffing formulas dictate 1 6 7 ❑ the assignment of personnel to the various sites and programs. 6.1 LEGAL STANDARD - STATE AND FEDERAL COMPLIANCE Policies and regulations exist regarding the implementation of fingerprinting 8 requirements for all employees. Educa- tion Codes: 44237, 45125, 45125.1, 44332.6, 44346.1, 44830.1, 45122.1. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2005 report. 62 Personnel Management Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 6.2 LEGAL STANDARD - STATE AND FEDERAL COMPLIANCE The Governing Board requires every 8 employee to present evidence of free- dom from tuberculosis as required by state law (EC 44839, 49406). 6.3 LEGAL STANDARD - STATE AND FEDERAL COMPLIANCE No person is employed as a teacher’s aide unless that person has passed the 4 basic reading, writing, and mathematic skills proficiencies required for gradua- tion from high school (EC 45361.5). 6.4 LEGAL STANDARD - STATE AND FEDERAL COMPLIANCE A clear implemented policy exists on 5 the prohibition of discrimination (Gov- ernment Code 11135). 6.5 LEGAL STANDARD - STATE AND FEDERAL COMPLIANCE All certificated employees hold one or more valid certificates, credentials or 4 life diplomas that allow the holder to engage in school services designated in the document (EC 44006). 6.6 LEGAL STANDARD - STATE AND FEDERAL COMPLIANCE Duties to be performed by all persons in the classified service and other posi- 1 tions not requiring certification are fixed and prescribed by the Governing Board (EC 45109). 6.7 LEGAL STANDARD - STATE AND FEDERAL COMPLIANCE Professional growth requirements for 10 maintenance of a valid credential exist (EC 44277). The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Personnel Management 63 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 6.8 LEGAL STANDARD - STATE AND FEDERAL COMPLIANCE The district has established a process by which all required notices and in- service training sessions have been 8 performed and documented such as those for child abuse reporting, blood- borne pathogens, sexual harassment and nondiscrimination. (EC 44691, GC 8355). 6.9 LEGAL STANDARD - STATE AND FEDERAL COMPLIANCE The district is in compliance with Title IX policies on discrimination and 9 Government Code 12950(a) posting requirements concerning harassment or discrimination. 6.10 LEGAL STANDARD - STATE AND FEDERAL COMPLIANCE The district is in compliance with the 2 Consolidated Omnibus Budget Recon- ciliation Act of 1986 (COBRA). 6.11 LEGAL STANDARD - STATE AND FEDERAL COMPLIANCE The district is in compliance with 1 the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) including posting the proper notifica- tions. 6.12 LEGAL STANDARD - STATE AND FEDERAL COMPLIANCE The district is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 2 in application procedures, hiring, ad- vancement or discharge, compensation, job training and other terms, condi- tions, and privileges of employment. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2005 report. 64 Personnel Management Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 6.13 LEGAL STANDARD - STATE AND FEDERAL COMPLIANCE The district has identified exempt and nonexempt employees and has promul- 1 gated rules and regulations for over- time that are in compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act and California statutes. 6.14 LEGAL STANDARD - STATE AND FEDERAL COMPLIANCE Current position descriptions are estab- 1 lished for each type of work performed by certificated and classified employ- ees (EC 35020) 6.15 LEGAL STANDARD - STATE AND FEDERAL COMPLIANCE The district obtains a criminal re- cord summary from the Department of Justice before employing an indi- 8 vidual, and does not employ anyone who has been convicted of a violent or serious felony (EC 44332.6, 44346.1, 45122.1). 7.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - USE OF TECHNOLOGY An online position control system is 4 5 4 ❑ utilized and is integrated with pay- roll/financial systems. 7.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - USE OF TECHNOLOGY The Personnel Division provides an automated substitute calling system. 5 The system has the ability to input and retrieve data. Data should be distrib- uted to site and program managers. 7.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - USE OF TECHNOLOGY The certificated and classified de- 2 2 2 ❑ partments of the Personnel Division have an applicant tracking system. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Personnel Management 65 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 7.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - USE OF TECHNOLOGY The Personnel Division has a program 0 of providing funds and time for staff training and skills development in the use of computers. 7.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - USE OF TECHNOLOGY The Personnel Division has comput- erized its employee database system including, but not limited to: cre- 3 4 4 ❑ dentials, seniority lists, evaluations, personnel by funding source, pro- gram, location, and Workers’ Com- pensation benefits. 8.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - STAFF TRAINING The district has developed a system- 0 1 2 ❑ atic program for identifying areas of need for in-service training for all employees. 8.2 LEGAL STANDARD - STAFF TRAINING The district makes provisions for de- 0 partment-directed staff development activities (EC 52034(g)). 8.3 LEGAL STANDARD - STAFF TRAINING Teachers and other professional school 4 services personnel are provided with diversity training (EC 44560). 8.4 LEGAL STANDARD - STAFF TRAINING The district has adopted policies and procedures regarding the recognition 9 and reporting of sexual harassment (GC 12940). The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2005 report. 66 Personnel Management Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 8.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - STAFF TRAINING The district provides training for all 2 2 2 ❑ management and supervisory staff responsible for employee evalua- tions. 8.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - STAFF TRAINING The district provides training op- portunities to managers and supervi- sors in leadership development and 0 0 1 ❑ supervision. Training topics might include interpersonal relationships, effective supervision, conflict reso- lution, cultural diversity and gender sensitivity, team building. 8.7 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - STAFF TRAINING The district develops handbooks and 0 0 0 ❑ materials for all training compo- nents. 9.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EVALUA- TION/DUE PROCESS ASSISTANCE The evaluation process is a regular 2 2 2 ❑ function related to each employee and involves criteria related to the position. 9.2 LEGAL STANDARD - EVALUATION/DUE PROCESS ASSISTANCE Clear policies and practices exist for the written evaluation and as- 2 2 2 ❑ sessment of classified and certifi- cated employees and managers (EC 44663). 9.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EVALUA- TION/DUE PROCESS ASSISTANCE The Personnel Division provides a 2 2 2 ❑ process for the monitoring of em- ployee evaluations and the account- ability reporting of their completion. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Personnel Management 67 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 9.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EVALUA- TION/DUE PROCESS ASSISTANCE The Personnel Division has developed 2 2 2 ❑ an evaluation handbook and provided due process training for managers and supervisors. 9.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EVALUA- TION/DUE PROCESS ASSISTANCE The Personnel Division has developed a process for providing assistance to 2 2 2 ❑ certificated and classified employees performing at less-than-satisfactory levels. 9.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EVALUA- TION/DUE PROCESS ASSISTANCE Not The board evaluates the Superinten- appli- dent based upon preapproved goals cable and objectives. 10.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE SERVICES The Personnel Division has developed 4 a program for retirement counseling, including: STRS counseling, PERS coun- seling, and “life after retirement.” 10.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE SERVICES The Personnel Division has developed 0 recognition programs for all employee groups. 10.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE SERVICES The Personnel Division has available to 4 its employees various referral agencies to assist employees in need. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2005 report. 68 Personnel Management Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 10.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE SERVICES Employee benefits are well understood by employees through periodic printed 8 communications provided by the Per- sonnel Division. Timely notification of annual open enrollment periods is sent to all employees. 10.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE SERVICES The Personnel Division provides new hires and current employees with a detailed explanation of benefits, the 5 effective date of coverage, along with written information outlining their benefits and when enrollment forms must be returned to implement cover- age. 10.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE SERVICES Employees are provided the state's 9 injury report form (DWC Form 1) within one working day of having knowledge of any injury or illness. 10.7 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE SERVICES The district notifies the third party administrator of an employee’s claim 9 of injury within five working days of learning of the injury and forwards a completed form 5020 to the insurance authority. 10.8 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE SERVICES The district’s workers’ compensation 3 experiences and activities are reported periodically to the Superintendent’s cabinet. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Personnel Management 69 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 10.9 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE SERVICES The workers’ compensation unit is 5 actively involved in providing injured workers with an opportunity to partici- pate in a modified duty program. 10.10 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE SERVICES The workers’ compensation unit main- tains the California OSHA log for all 5 work sites and a copy is posted at each work site during the month of February as required. 10.11 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE SERVICES The district does not pay temporary 7 disability benefits during those times when an employee is in an extended nonpay status. 11.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOY- ER/EMPLOYEE RELATIONS The district has collected data that compare the salaries and benefits 0 3 5 ❑ of its employees with districts of similar size, geographic location and other comparable measures. 11.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOY- ER/EMPLOYEE RELATIONS The Personnel Division involves site- 0 3 5 ❑ level adminstrators in the bargaining and labor relations decision making process. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2005 report. 70 Personnel Management Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 11.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOY- ER/EMPLOYEE RELATIONS The Personnel Division provides all managers and supervisors (cer- tificated and classified) training in contract management with emphasis 1 3 3 ❑ on the grievance process and ad- ministration. The Personnel Division provides clearly defined forms and procedures in the handling of griev- ances for its managers and supervi- sors. 11.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOY- ER/EMPLOYEE RELATIONS The Personnel Division provides a 0 4 6 ❑ clearly defined process for bargain- ing with its employee groups (i.e., traditional, interest-based). 11.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOY- ER/EMPLOYEE RELATIONS The Personnel Division has a process that provides management and the 0 0 4 ❑ board with information on the im- pact of bargaining proposals, e.g., fiscal, staffing, management flexibil- ity, student outcomes. 11.6 LEGAL STANDARD - EMPLOYER/EMPLOY- EE RELATIONS Bargaining proposals and negotiated settlements are "sunshined" in ac- cordance with the law to allow public 4 input and understanding of employee cost implications and, most impor- tantly, the effects on the children of the district (EC 3547, 3547.5, and GC 41242). The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Personnel Management 71 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 12.1 LEGAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE BEN- EFITS/WORKERS' COMPENSATION The district has its self-insured workers' compensation programs reviewed by an 0 actuary in accordance with Education Code Section 17566 and filed with the county office of education. 12.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - EMPLOYEE BENEFITS/WORKERS' COMPENSATION Timely notice of annual open enroll- 9 ment period is sent to all eligible employees The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2005 report. 72 Personnel Management Pupil Achievement Findings for this second six-month progress report of pupil achievement in the Vallejo City Uni- fied School District are based on data collected during September 2005, which includes a review of evidence provided by the office of Academic Achievement and Accountability, an analysis of student performance on the California Standards Test and other available assessment informa- tion, and interviews with district staff and principals. In 2004-05, the district’s emphasis on standards implementation and increased student achieve- ment through the use of high leverage strategies led to small, but statistically significant, overall gains for students on the California Standards Test (CST), administered in the spring of 2005. While no progress was made in closing the achievement gap, ethnic subgroups mostly kept pace with overall growth. Gains varied by grade level and subject throughout the district. Also, the district’s efforts gained momentum during the summer with a very high (and voluntary) partici- pation in the state-approved professional development program for teachers and principals. Progress on Planning Processes The Academic Achievement and Accountability division took the initial steps to formalize the structure, processes, and policies required to administer pupil achievement, working to imple- ment standards in the schools and providing the essential messages, resources, and professional development to get results. An organizational chart for the district and new job descriptions for district staff have been created. The chart shows both a traditional vertical organizational model and a horizontal organizational model, which identifies cross-departmental roles and responsi- bilities. The horizontal model has both routine and ad hoc activities and helps the district align resources and systems, clarify accountability, and avoid duplication of effort or letting important strategies fall through the cracks. It is designed to avoid the isolation of departments within the district, and reflects the systemic nature of the reform agenda. This division also has created the Vallejo City Unified School District Instructional Plan that includes vision, goals, purpose, objec- tives, benchmark activities, and completion dates. Finally, several board policies that are key to the curriculum and instruction area are now in draft form, in line for board attention. Among these are policies for vision and goals, core curriculum and high school graduation. Access to Necessary Skills “Access to necessary skills” anchors the district’s new vision statement, and several new initia- tives address the significant element of access: (1) training for differentiation and the implementation of a “universal access and intervention” block; (2) the implementation of the Aeries system that gives district and site administrators the capacity to monitor regularly and analyze student attendance and behavior patterns; and (3) the establishment this fall of a student support services division with a director and three coordinators to support principals in the important work of monitor- ing student behavior and developing intervention strategies for students without school skills and/or supportive home environments, including reformulating the School Attendance Review Board (SARB) and working with community agencies on behalf of youth. Pupil Achievement 1 Effective, high quality interventions are critical work for the district. African-American and Hispanic students are overrepresented in absentee and suspension data and are performing significantly below Filipino and white youth on the CST. Direct and relentless intervention will be needed to recapture the instructional opportunities that are lost each day for students who are not in school. Additionally, special education students need increased opportunity in the core program that the universal access and intervention block will provide. They comprise more than 10% of the students tested on the CST in 2005, but performed substantially below the state averages for students with disabilities, indicating that they likely have not been systematically instructed in a standards-based environment. Secondary Schools In 2004-05, middle and high schools in the district also posted overall gains on the CST. The 2005-06 school year brings greater focus on the high school reform agenda, including begin- ning work on small learning communities; Project Personalize; and the development of reform coordinator positions to coordinate with district leaders and secondary principals on common course guides, aligned end-of-course assessments, and professional development. Implementing a college preparatory program for all students and increasing the opportunity for advanced place- ment classes are critical elements of the reform and need to be addressed early and systemically for success. System-wide commitment and support in the early grades is a necessary component of high school reform. Achievement Reform The student achievement reform observed in the district is admirable in its focus, scale, and man- agement. The evidence of early results in the 2005 assessments speaks for the appropriateness of the overall strategy. However, more than 50% of students district-wide are not proficient in English language arts and more than 60% are not proficient in mathematics. As the reform moves forward, the district leadership will need other and/or multiple strategies to impact the thorny issues of underachievement rooted in the schools and community. The new student services division, the high school reform coordinators, and the universal access and intervention block are indicators that the second tier of reform strategies is under way. 2 Pupil Achievement 1.1 Planning Processes Professional Standard: A common vision of what all students should know and be able to do exists and is put into practice. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has developed a draft vision statement that emphasizes access to necessary knowledge and skills, a safe and orderly environment, and systemic supports, including fiscal stability and capacity to sustain improvements. Intense work on implementing these elements has been under way since the fall of 2004. 2. A draft of the revised Board Policy BP 0200 includes the new vision and goals for the district, which are based on the State Administrator’s original set of five goals, and the district’s role in providing for the educational, personal and career needs of students. BP 0200 is on track for board adoption by December 1, 2005, as indicated in the district’s spring 2005 plan for addressing the FCMAT recommendations. 3. The district has developed and begun to implement a comprehensive plan for internal and external communications, including a redesign of the Web site. This plan does not call specifically for the communication of the vision of what students should know and be able to do, but indicates that priorities, policies, programs, and student achievement information will be communicated on the Web site. When BP 0200 is adopted, it should be expressly communicated via the Web site and other district media, including posting in the district office and schools. 4. The vision statement anchors the VSUSD Instructional Plan, which is being implement- ed. When adopted by the board, the vision should also be included in school plans as the starting point. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1,2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: Pupil Achievement 3 1.2 Planning Processes Professional Standard: The administrative structure of the district promotes student achievement. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has developed an organizational schematic that is both horizontal and verti- cal. The vertical dimension is the traditional chart showing the titles and lines of supervi- sion and reporting. The horizontal dimension formalizes the collaborative work going on among district divisions to align people with resources and focus them on the goals and priorities of the district. The horizontal teams include ongoing ones and ad hoc ones. The rationale for the two-dimensional organization is based on reducing duplication of effort, unclear roles and responsibilities, or letting important strategies fall through the cracks. This organizational schematic is accompanied by new job descriptions for all district staff that include titles, responsibilities, and supervisor. An overview of the district office re- organization was provided by the State Administrator at the summer administrator work- shop in August. 2. By May 2005, the district had clarified how principals were to be supervised and evalu- ated. For each level—elementary, middle, and high school—there is a written description of expectations that are the focus of principals’ evaluations for the current and upcoming years. The descriptions are categorized by the State Administrator’s five goals as well as an “other” category that addresses significant organizational factors. The descriptions also contain a time line and process for the completion of the evaluation activity. Interviews with a sample of principals at all levels in September 2005 revealed that they had been evaluated according to the identified process and that evaluations were timely and offered helpful feedback. An emergency communication plan and procedure has been written and a draft policy will be written to address the detail in the written plan. It is the intention of the district to use and revise the communication plan during the current school year. 3. Principals stated that the opening of school for the current year went smoothly, including the implementation of the class size reductions. Several noted that the 2005-06 opening compared with the 2004-05 opening was “like night and day.” With few exceptions, the schools were staffed on the first day because of the hiring plan created in the spring and implemented throughout the summer. Principals reported participating in the recruitment of candidates. A matrix provided by the district showed the objectives for the opening of school, the person responsible, and the target date. Areas included central ordering, purchasing and delivery of textbooks, classroom cleaning, transportation, bell schedules, food services, secondary student schedules, and teacher orientation and buy-back days. This matrix also shows the horizontal teamwork of the district. 4. The State Administrator’s emphasis on communicating high expectations and equal ac- cess was evident in PowerPoint presentations at the Administrator Retreat. Principals reported that these messages are motivating and that there is a high level of trust for the 4 Pupil Achievement State Administrator among school staff members. Though regretful of the district’s fiscal crisis, several principals feel fortunate to have a State Administrator focused on improv- ing achievement as well as fiscal recovery. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: Pupil Achievement 5 1.3 Planning Processes Professional Standard: The district has long-term goals and performance standards to support and improve student achievement. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has completed and is implementing the VCUSD Instructional Plan, which is prefaced by the vision, district goals, and purpose of the plan. The core of the plan is eight essential program components with objectives, benchmarks, due dates and comple- tion dates. 2. The State Administrator’s goals have become the district goals in the Instructional Plan, and a vision statement and board policy have been drafted for adoption later this fall. (See Standard 1.1.) 3. A matrix entitled “General Education and Categorical Programs Working Together” was provided in fall 2005 to show the role of categorical programs in supporting learning and school improvement. The district is working toward greater coherence in a system in which the base programs in the core areas are stable and categoricals funds to support identified students are aligned with the core program. 4. The Director of Assessment provides a cumulative report of progress on the California Standards Test (CST) along with charts that show student performance by subgroups of students. The State Administrator used these charts in his presentations to staff. Datawise also allows for the management and display of assessment data from the state assess- ments. The district leadership has made regular common assessments a priority and is providing support for the use of these assessments in setting classroom priorities and developing interventions. The Datawise system is providing more readable and more frequent data to teachers and staff. Principals report that the assessments, along with aligned material and training, are contributing to greater commitment to and success in standards-based teach- ing. 5. Two significant activities are under way to continuously monitor student attendance and behavior: (1) the Aeries system allows principals to track absenteeism and suspensions and to print reports that show patterns in these areas—and several principals report using these functions; and (2) a Student Services Division has been established in order to de- sign a system for accounting, monitoring and reporting student attendance and behavior, to provide coordination of effective interventions related to student welfare, to provide training, and to coordinate the work of principals and counselors. A director for this divi- sion was hired in the fall. 6. The Coordinator of Student Health and the functions of that area will be supervised by the new student services director, as well as two school support coordinators. 6 Pupil Achievement Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: Pupil Achievement 7 1.6 Planning Processes Professional Standard: The district’s planning process focuses on supporting increased student performance. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. As indicated in Standard 1.3, the district has completed and is implementing the VCUSD Instructional Plan with objectives and benchmarks for the eight essential components. There is a draft of a new core curriculum policy (as yet unnumbered) that lists the key components of the district’s plan “to raise student achievement, close the gap, and ensure equal access.” 2. There are drafts of BP 6000 (b), which describes the criteria for the evaluation of the in- structional program, and of BP 6000 (c), which commits to monitoring and reporting to the board, staff, and community the effectiveness of all programs in addition to outlining the data to be used in the evaluation process. 3. The principals interviewed in fall 2005 reported that they were provided a data package for their schools on the CST data. One principal provided a narrative analysis of school data that he had given to the school staff. The use of data for instructional improvement is a regular item on principals’ meeting agendas. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 8 Pupil Achievement 2.3 Curriculum Professional Standard: The district has clear and valid objectives for students, including the core curriculum content. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. A draft of the Core Curriculum Policy (no number yet) indicates that the California stan- dards will provide the content for district goals and objectives. It further identifies the In- structional Plan as the district’s instrument to guide instructional planning and ensure that student objectives for reaching the standards are met. It identifies 12 key components of the district’s plan “to raise student achievement, close the gap, and ensure equal access.” 2. The district has composed the VCUSD Instructional Plan, showing the relationship be- tween the vision (draft), the district goals and the objectives for instructional program implementation. This plan puts into writing the intended goals for all students and uses many research-based strategies. Evidence of the implementation of objectives is validated by interviews and other documents. 3. The Instructional Plan includes objectives for protecting instructional minutes in high school schedules for English and mathematics and sets a date for the completion of com- mon course guides in the high schools. An action plan for Small Learning Communities (SLC) in the ninth grade at three high schools delineates the actions that will be taken by the principal, reform coordinator, and other staff to implement standards-based require- ments. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: Pupil Achievement 9 2.4 Curriculum Professional Standard: A process is in place to maintain alignment among standards, practices, and assessments. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The May 2005 progress report noted that an alignment model is central to the State Ad- ministrator’s plan to improve student achievement and includes the following: (1) have clear measurable goals; (2) align resources to accomplish goals; (3) monitor progress; (4) use proven instructional materials consistently; (5) develop immediate interventions at the student, teacher and school level; and (6) provide focused, data-driven professional development. At that time the district was in the midst of implementing the model, which is similar to the state’s nine components of program implementation, by focusing on “high leverage” strategies. The alignment work has continued. Principals articulate the elements of the alignment and its goals and results well, and the 2005 California Standards Test (CST) districtwide average scores show statistically significant gains in English language arts (from 26.7 to 31.3% proficient and advanced) and math (from 21.3 to 26.4%). All ethnic groups made gains, though the learning gap remains about the same. (These results vary by grade level and school.) Given the short implementation period prior to the spring assessment, these results testify to the likely effectiveness of the district’s alignment strategy. 2. Progress has been made on AB 466 and AB 75 training. During the summer, about 210 elementary and middle school teachers participated in voluntary English language arts AB 466 training, and 16 of 18 principals participated in the AB 75 training. The written evaluations of the participants and the reports from the principals indicate the workshops were effective and empowering. A schedule of AB 466 and AB 75 ELA and math train- ings through January 2008 has been developed. Math teachers representing all middle schools are participating in a two-year grant-funded program through August 2006 to help more students complete algebra successfully. Efforts are being made to bring teacher evaluation objectives into alignment (see Stan- dard 5.3) and to use reform coordinators to advance aligned practices in the secondary schools. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 10 Pupil Achievement 2.9 Curriculum Professional Standard: Teachers in K-8 are provided with professional development in reading and mathematics by a state-approved provider; teachers in 9-12 are provided with defined professional development in implementing content standards. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. During the 2004-05 school year, the district leadership provided AB 466 training with a state-approved provider in reading for Cooper Elementary teachers and AB 75 training for the Cooper principal. As indicated in Standard 2.4, the district has made significant progress on AB 466 and AB 75 training. During the summer of 2005, 210 elementary and middle school teach- ers participated in the English language arts AB 466 training, and 16 of 18 elementary principals participated in the AB 75 training. The written evaluations of the participants and interviews with principals indicate the workshops were effective and empowering. A schedule of AB 466 and AB 75 English language arts and math trainings through January 2008 has been developed. Math teachers representing all middle schools are participating in a two-year grant-funded program through August 2006 to help more students complete algebra successfully. Principal interviews indicate that the trainings provided just the right boost and that they have been able to work with teachers more effectively as a result of their own training. The Project Personalize Action Plan (small learning communities) together with the job description of the secondary reform coordinators indicate that professional development planning for 9-12 teachers is under way. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: Pupil Achievement 11 3.1 Instructional Strategies – Learning Opportunity Legal Standard: The district provides equal access to educational opportunities to all students regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic standing, and other factors (EC 51007). Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. As documented in previous standards, the district has developed a vision statement say- ing that all students will be provided with “access to the necessary knowledge and skills students need to be prepared for and to access higher level education and career opportu- nities.” There is a communication plan and a newly designed Web site that is more accessible, at- tractive, relevant, and timely, though portions are still being developed. There is no equal access statement on the Web site yet, but when the vision is adopted in policy (BP 0200) and posted on the Web, staff will be able to address this recommendation. There is an “equal opportunity employer” statement on job postings. There is a “how to” section on the site (apply for GATE, Special Ed; file a complaint, etc.) that should improve parent and student access, though it, too, is only partially completed. 2. As of October 30, 2005, the new Web site does not have information or forms in Spanish, except for the emergency form. No publications were reviewed, except for the English Learner Plan, which has not been revised since it was reviewed last fall. 3. The district provided principals and schools with assessment data with a focus on sub- group growth over time along with an information workshop session. The district met its goal to improve student attendance in 2004-05. Average daily atten- dance increased from 91% to 93.55%, which improved access and increased revenue by more than $2,000,000. There is no evidence of routine written reports or analyses of student attendance and behavioral data, though the district and school administration are now able to access at- tendance and suspension data through Aeries. Regular assessment of and interventions in nonproductive school behaviors are essential to provide access, close the achievement gap, and prevent drop-outs. The State Administrator’s opening messages indicate that these will be priority issues for the year. A student support services division with a new director has been established at the district to assist schools in monitoring and to provide intervention strategies for students whose behavior impedes their learning. Examples of strategies assigned to this department include: regular monitoring, alternatives to sus- pension, staff in-service on discipline, site intervention teams, SARB, coordination with community agencies, and health services, as needed. Improvement of access to instructional minutes can be seen in the implementation of class size reduction in third grade and in ninth grade ELA and math. It is also seen in the district’s monitoring of master schedules and student enrollments in ELA and math class- 12 Pupil Achievement es that will prepare them for success on the CAHSEE. Sample middle and high school schedules were provided to show secondary intervention courses. The buy-back staff development day at the beginning of school was dedicated to learning about and structuring for universal access and intervention for K-5. Teachers are learn- ing to use the SIPPS assessment for placing students within three levels of the program. These activities should be data-monitored to ensure that they effectively increase access to core curriculum for English learners and special education students, who are perform- ing significantly below state average. The chart below shows the percentage of special education students at Below Basic and Far Below Basic performance levels on the CST compared to state averages for students with disabilities. Percent of Assessed Special Education Students at Below Basic/Far Below Basic on 2005 CST Grade ELA ELA Math Math Level VCUSD State VCUSD State 2 66% 31% 49% 21% 3 80% 37% 66% 23% 4 76% 23% 76% 24% 5 81% 25% 86% 32% 6 87% 28% 92% 33% 7 86% 27% 92% 36% 8 88% 28% * 9 86% 30% * 10 87% 34% * 11 89% 37% * *Numbers too small for comparative purposes The district’s performance is closer but also significantly below that of Solano (to which district scores contribute) and Alameda counties. More than 10% of the students assessed on the district CST in 2005 are identified as special education students. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: Pupil Achievement 13 3.2 Instructional Strategies Professional Standard: Challenging learning goals and instructional plans and programs for all students are evident. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district staff has developed a draft of a core curriculum policy (not numbered) that identifies the state standards as the basis for learning goals and objectives and ensures equal access to this core. A draft revision of BP 0200 provides a vision and goals for the district in realizing the vision. 2. District leadership developed expectations for a challenging curriculum based on the full implementation of the state standards in reading and mathematics and began to act on these expectations in 2004-05 with several “high leverage” research-based strate- gies: consistent materials adoptions, pacing guides, and regular assessments underpinned with professional development, collaboration, and coaching in K-8. New expectations for high school included a-g requirements for all students, common course guides and end-of-course assessments, and smaller learning communities. For 2005-06, the VCUSD Instructional Plan has been developed to extend, formalize, and benchmark the district’s expectations for a challenging curriculum. Additionally, an action plan called “Project Personalize” outlines the objectives and actions for implementation of Small Learning Communities in the three high schools. 3. A matrix has been developed to demonstrate how categorical and district funds coordi- nate to support the common work in the schools. Other categorical funds go to serve the identified students in their respective schools. Staff development for schools has been directed by the district to keep the focus on the expectations. This ensures that a core of services go to schools, irrespective of their access to categorical funds, and that categori- cal funds are used to support identified students. 4. The formal adoption of new curriculum policies, the workshop provided to administrators on the plans to revise policies, and the VCUSD Instructional Plan that marshals the dis- trict’s focus and resources toward challenging teaching and learning are evidence of dis- trict leadership in looking after all students. Additionally, the district has begun work on a universal access and intervention block that structures support for identified students. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May l, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 14 Pupil Achievement 3.4 Instructional Strategies Professional Standard: Students are engaged in learning, and are able to demonstrate and apply their knowledge and skills. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district’s work on the instructional program has been formalized in an instructional plan with eight program components, objectives, benchmarks, and due/completion dates. Board policies related to the curriculum have been drafted, and when adopted, will con- tribute to providing clarity about what students should be engaged in learning. At the secondary level, School Reform Coordinators have been hired to (1) provide a com- mon, standards-based instructional program for each core course; (2) create and implement a system for monitoring student progress; and (3) use district support structures effectively to meet student needs. The implementation of small learning communities in the ninth grade is under way to increase student engagement through personalization of learning. Other district actions that support student engagement in the learning program include: (1) class size reductions in kindergarten, third, and ninth grade; (2) monitoring of the secondary schedules for student placement in courses leading to graduation and success on the CAHSEE; (3) the establishment of a student support services division to monitor attendance and suspension data and provide timely and effective interventions; and (4) a vigorous and effective effort to provide a smooth opening of school, including qualified teacher staffing, so that instruction could start on the first day of school. 2. In 2004-05, principals and teacher leaders received professional development in the appro- priate use of the new reading materials, pacing guides, and assessments as a means to pro- vide teacher support. During the summer of 2005, 210 teachers began the AB 466 training sequence and 16 of 18 elementary principals began the AB 75 training. There is a written plan to complete the reading and math training sequence over the next two-plus years. 3. The district began using the Datawise system in the first year of the reform to make the common assessment information available, and training was provided. With input from the principals, the 2005 CST data were packaged in a more useful format, providing dis- aggregations. Principals report that data are central to their school and district work. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 4 Implementation Scale: Pupil Achievement 15 3.5 Instructional Strategies Professional Standard: The district and school staffs promote and communicate high expectations for the learning and behavior of all students. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The May 2005 implementation plan for FCMAT recommendations indicates that board policies will be revised to reflect current state and federal requirements, and to provide a blueprint for district expectations for all staff. By September 2005, drafts of the following policy revisions help meet this goal of communicating high expectations: BP 0200 Vision and Goals for the District; BP 6000(b) Evaluation of the Instructional Program; BP 6000c Program Evaluation; BP 6000d Assessment and Testing; BP 6000e Curriculum Develop- ment; BP 6146.1(a) High School Graduation Requirements/Standards of Proficiency. A new unnumbered draft policy for the Core Curriculum designates the California standards as the expected student curriculum, and student guidelines communicate expectations for school behavior. 2. The direction to principals from the district leadership is to share the new policies with the community and school staff. Principals have participated in the development and implementation of new policies through a special retreat and meeting agendas. It is the plan of the district staff and in the design of the new Web site to make the board policies, vision, goals, and expectations available online. 3. The direction to the staff from the State Administrator is that new policies should reflect short and long-range goals in order to build trust and confidence. The goals of the State Administrator and the Board (via BP 0200 when adopted) include seeking a long-term so- lution to the fiscal crisis and a commitment to build the capacity of the district to sustain improvements when local control is returned. The State Administrator’s messages to the staff and community communicate high expectations for students and for the performance of all systems in the district on behalf of students. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 16 Pupil Achievement 3.8 Instructional Strategies Professional Standard: Principals make formal and informal classroom visits. Based on these visits, principals provide constructive feedback and assistance to teachers. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. In 2004-05, the district implemented a formal walk-through plan with a follow-up feedback plan at the elementary level. Principal and lead teacher agendas indicate training has been provided and is ongoing at all levels as a strategy to support standards implementation. The district is moving to align all systems, including formal evaluation, with the district’s achievement agenda. A planning calendar for secondary instructional leadership for the 2005-06 year, with roles assigned, shows the emphasis on aligning the secondary pro- gram with district goals by learning new tools such as a feedback protocol. 2. In 2004-05, the district developed three memoranda with timelines that describe the ele- ments of the principals’ evaluation at elementary, middle, and high school levels. These elements are organized according to the five goals of the State Administrator. Principal supervisors are assigned. The documentation includes a sample of a mid-year progress report. The principals’ evaluations are tied to student achievement. 3. In May 2005, there was much documentation that elementary principals are receiving training in the use of data, in conducting classroom observations and in the analysis of data. A princi- pals’ meeting/workshop agenda (September 28, 2005) shows that they were provided strate- gies to refocus teacher evaluation on student achievement goals, such as helping teachers set objectives linked to district goals and strategies. Principals were provided norms for writing objectives and received a sample evaluation plan. The workshop and materials demonstrated how the contract evaluation form based on the California Standards for the Teaching Profes- sion is used to support the district’s focus on student achievement. (See also Standard 5.7.) Principals reported that they had already received a list of teachers to be evaluated. They had been evaluated themselves (another identified gap) for the 2004-05 school year and found the process very helpful and satisfactory. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: Pupil Achievement 17 3.10 Instructional Strategies Professional Standard: Clearly defined discipline practices have been established and communicated among the stu- dents, staff, board, and community. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district showed a decrease in student absences from 1,620 to 1,096 and increased ADA from 91% to 93.55% during the 2004-05 year. For the current year, the district has reorganized and restaffed to form the Student Support Services Division with a direc- tor and three coordinators whose roles center on assisting all schools with appropriate responses to student attendance, behavior, and health issues, including monitoring and in- tervening as needed and establishing relationships with the community agencies involved with youth. A draft of BP 5000(b) Student Attendance has been written. 2. Aeries, a student information system, has been purchased to assist staff in the ongoing and monthly monitoring of attendance, suspension, and dropout data. Principals and of- fice managers have been trained to use the system and the reports that can be generated from it. Several principals regularly use the reporting mechanism, as well as attendance/ truancy letters and parent notifications required by law, including student behavior stan- dards and basic discipline. 3. The district dedicated a staff development buy-back day in August for staff to learn about and plan for structuring a schoolwide universal access and intervention block to address the diverse needs of elementary students. Teachers also learned to use the SIPPS assessment and placement instrument to place students within the three levels of the elementary program. At the secondary level, intervention courses have been identified, including ones for various lev- els of English language learners, for curriculum support, and for CAHSEE support. 4. Middle school counselors were reinstated for the 2005-06 school year. 5. School staff have been trained in how to use and generate reports from the Aeries system. 6. The new Student Services Division will monitor student behavior and provide interven- tions and options. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005: 5 Implementation Scale: 18 Pupil Achievement 3.11 Instructional Strategies Professional Standard: School class size and teacher assignments support effective learning. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district implemented class size reduction in kindergarten, third, and ninth grade Eng- lish and algebra for the current year. 2. District staff created and implemented a plan to accurately report and assign students to classes. The Staffing and Enrollment Timeline for 2005-06 indicated the activity, due date and who was responsible. Principals report that the work on the staffing plan, along with the more effective recruitment and hiring of teachers, contributed to a smooth opening of school and balanced classes in the fall of 2005. 3. Within the 2004-2005 school year, the State Administrator communicated to the staff and community about the financial issues of the district and efforts to address them while keeping student achievement as the priority. Principals report that there is a great deal of trust at the school sites for the State Adminis- trator and his staff based on the manner in which they have communicated with them and on the fact that they have kept student achievement as the top priority even as the district recovers from its financial crisis. This priority was demonstrated through the reinstatement of class size reduction and the commitment to monitoring teacher average class size loads. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 6 Implementation Scale: Pupil Achievement 19 3.15 Instructional Strategies Professional Standard: Curriculum and instruction for English Language Learners prepares these students to transition to regular class settings and achieve at a high level in all subjects. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The CELDT results from 2004-05 show that 85% of the district’s English learners (2,162 tested K-12) are in the top three proficiency levels (Advanced, Early Advanced, and Intermediate). The implementation of the Universal Access and Intervention block in elementary schools should support English learners at their designated level in meeting state standards. Secondary master schedules identify core courses designed to address designated levels. Principals report that the percentage of teachers with CLAD training is increasing and that they are able to staff appropriately for English learners. 2. In May 2005, the district had a stated objective to shorten the time schools wait for the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) reports to no more than two weeks and to revise the structured interview form for secondary students. Because of per- sonnel changes in the ELL office, these objectives are not yet verifiable. 3. Newsletters, professional development schedules, staff letters, (English and Spanish) news releases and parent letters have been provided and indicate an effort to improve communications. The Web site has been redesigned and is still being developed; it is not yet friendly for Spanish speakers. 4. The redesignation rate for 2005 was 10.6%, below the county rate of 15.3% and above the state rate of 9.0%. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 New Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 20 Pupil Achievement 4.1 Assessment and Accountability Professional Standard: The district has developed content and learning standards for all subject areas and grades that are understood and followed by school site staff. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has developed a draft of the Core Curriculum Policy, which identifies the state standards for English language arts, mathematics, science, and history/social science as the district’s core curriculum. 2. There is no district-developed guide on the standards. However, the district publishes an annual pacing guide for K-8 English language arts and mathematics and is acting strategi- cally to assist school site staff to implement the state standards. The VCUSD Instructional Plan indicates that common course guides/pacing calendars for high school will be developed by convening department committees beginning in August 2006 with core entry level classes, including World Languages, and ending in August 2008 with all core subject courses completed. Other subjects such as art and music are not included in this plan. The job descriptions for the secondary reform coordinators in- dicate that they will “provide a common, standards-based instructional program for each core course so that all students have access to consistent and rigorous instruction and the support to be successful in meeting the new graduation requirements.” 3. Principals report that, with the implementation of standards-based texts, pacing guides, assessments, and professional development, there is greater understanding of and dia- logue about the state standards in grades K-8. 4. Teachers have collaborative time to analyze assessment results and plan, increasing their knowledge of the standards and their skill and accountability in teaching standards-based lessons. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: Pupil Achievement 21 4.2 Assessment and Accountability Professional Standard: Student achievement is measured and assessed through a variety of measurement tools (e.g., standardized test, portfolios, projects, oral reports). Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. Frequent common assessments with timely information to classroom teachers is a cor- nerstone of the district’s strategy for monitoring progress and improving performance in English language arts and mathematics, K-8. Besides the diagnostic and curriculum-em- bedded assessments, there are state assessments (STAR, CAHSEE, CELDT) that include components that are standardized, criterion-referenced, performance-based (writing and physical fitness), and oral (CELDT). High school students are provided opportunities to take the College Boards exams (PSAT, SAT and ACT) as well as three administrations of the CAHSEE. There is work in prog- ress to develop standards-based course guides and end-of-course assessments for 9-12 core courses beginning with Algebra I and math intervention courses. Assessments are modified/differentiated for students in intervention programs, including special education and English language development. 2. Teachers, coaches, and principals are receiving ongoing professional development on analysis and use of assessments. Regular time is set aside on routine meeting schedules to improve skills in administering assessments and using results. An assessment plan for 2005-06, a testing calendar for the year, and a schedule for producing, delivering, and collecting the common assessments demonstrate the level of organization and work re- quired to maintain an ambitious program with a variety of measurement tools. Measure- ment for improvement is clearly a priority. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 22 Pupil Achievement 4.3 Assessment and Accountability Professional Standard: The assessment tools are clear measures of what is being taught and provide information for the administration and staff to improve learning opportunities for all students. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. Assessment in the district is guided by a theory of action that says that regular assessment and professional development will provide leaders with tools to increase achievement and narrow the gap. The Assessment Plan for 2005-06 states four outcomes. The district leadership is implementing this plan of regularly administered common ELA and math assessments, based on the state standards and using the Datawise system to de- velop standards-based assessments from an item bank, assess students, and analyze the results. Reports provide K-8 teachers with data regarding student strengths and gaps. The district monitors the use of data reports and trains teacher leaders to coach teachers in grade level collaboration. Principals and teachers are given STAR data that show student performance levels on the CST and are disaggregated with a focus on subgroup growth. Principals and teachers participate in determining the formats of the data they receive. The results of the high school exit exam (CAHSEE) are used to identify students for placement in support classes. There is no formalized use of College Boards assessment information for improvement. These assessment results should be analyzed routinely and used for increasing opportunities, especially as the district moves to required college pre- paratory curricula. 2. Assessments are aligned with a program of common texts, pacing guides, curriculum- embedded professional development, and teacher collaboration focused on the goal of en- suring that all students have the opportunity to learn essential standards thoroughly. The student achievement monitoring system is well supported and supervised by district and school leadership. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 6 Implementation Scale: Pupil Achievement 23 4.4 Assessment Accountability Professional Standard: Teachers and principals are provided with assessment data in a timely and accessible format and with training in order to analyze, evaluate, and solve issues of student performance. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The school packet for the 2005 data included (1) a cumulative summary of the percent of students at each performance level of the California Standards Test from 2002 to 2005 by grade level and (2) subgroup reports from the 2005 state reports as well as the CAHSEE and CAPA, where applicable. The packet does not contain charts/graphs or subgroup in- formation displayed over time. 2. The districtwide report contains graphs that communicate the changes in ethnic group performance over time. The scale for the graphs goes to 50% rather than 100% and can be misleading. Graphs should be fully scaled or a footnote should be attached. 3. The 2005 STAR and CAHSEE data reports from the state are disaggregated by ethnicity, socioeconomic status, English learner, disability, and gender. 4. Meeting agendas show that principals and teachers had input into the kind of data reports that they would like and chose results over time with a focus on subgroup disaggregation and CST item analyses and individual reports. Principals interviewed in early September reported having these reports along with “how to interpret and use” sessions, and most said that they have delved into the data with their staffs. 5. There is a draft of a new Assessment and Testing policy (BP 6000d), which commits the district to use the standards-based assessments to monitor the effectiveness of educational programs and practices, including underperforming subgroups. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2004 Rating: 6 Implementation Scale: 24 Pupil Achievement 4.6 Assessment and Accountability Professional Standard: A process to identify struggling 9-12 students and intervene with additional support necessary to pass the high school exit examination is well developed and communicated to teachers, students, and parents. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The high schools provide support for the ELA and math sections of the CAHSEE through tutorial and parallel classes. District staff have verified that students who have not achieved a passing score on either or both sections of the CAHSEE are enrolled in these classes. The use of regular assessments in the early grades should provide ongoing information about students who are falling behind and present the opportunity for earlier interven- tions. Secondly, if used well, the CST data can pinpoint curriculum weaknesses (algebraic concepts, for example) early enough to adjust. In the long term, the new secondary reform coordinators working with the high school staffs will prepare students for this test well before their last year in high school. Already, a two-year project to improve the teaching of Algebra I is under way. 2. The newly designed Web site has a place saver for student assessment and achievement information. This should include CAHSEE information, including sample questions and access to support services. All other forms of district communication should also be used with translations and parent sessions available. 3. There is no information on the current use of the student handbooks for the CAHSEE, though they are distributed. 4. Drafts of the revised high school graduation policy and the assessment policy address the exit exam requirement. The draft of the new assessment policy (BP 6000) indicates that the district will apply for waivers of the CAHSEE for special education students. This procedure should be spelled out in regulations well in advance of the spring graduations. Possibly, a separate policy/regulation for the CAHSEE would resolve the issue of having different aspects of it spread out over several policies. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 4 Implementation Scale: Pupil Achievement 25 5.1 Professional Development Professional Standard: Staff development demonstrates a clear understanding of purpose, written goals, and appropriate evaluations. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The VCUSD Instructional Plan includes staff development goals for teachers and princi- pals focused on the district priorities. Samples of district workshop materials show clearly stated purposes and/or objectives. Rationales connect the workshop to the larger district agenda and workshop evaluations are collected to gauge the effectiveness of the work- shops. The intent of BP 4131.6 Professional Development is being met, but the policy should be considered for revision to align with new district goals and practices. In a major professional development event, 210 teachers participated in the AB 466 read- ing training in the summer and 16 principals participated in the AB 75 training. A calen- dar through January 2008 outlines the dates for completion of these two training series, considered by the California Department of Education to be of critical importance to standards implementation. 2. As indicated above, a calendar of professional development events for teachers and prin- cipals is available. There is also a calendar for and description of the ongoing training and work of the teacher leaders who work with teachers. A contracted resource provider works with new teachers on the BTSA program, as shown by a two-year calendar of events. The district also maximizes its professional development resources by structuring and monitoring collaboration time, buy-back days, and routine meeting agendas to sup- port standards implementation. 3. There is a matrix to demonstrate how district and categorical funds are coordinated at the district level to support key district initiatives, including professional development. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 26 Pupil Achievement 5.2 Professional Development Professional Standard: Staff development provides the staff (e.g., principals, teachers, and instructional aides) with the knowledge and the skills to improve instruction and the curriculum. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. District, school, and teacher leaders moved quickly during the 2004-05 school year to provide teachers K-8 with the knowledge and skills to turn student performance around. The plan of action includes aligned materials for reading and mathematics, pacing guides, frequent common assessments of progress, collaboration time, adequate instructional minutes for reading, interventions and support, and teacher and principal professional de- velopment with an outside provider. Teacher leaders are trained to support the new learn- ings. In 2005-06 there is a plan to push the successful agenda into the secondary schools with revised course guides and assessments. Reform coordinators for the secondary schools have been assigned to assist district and site staff in this effort. A two-year project for the improvement of first year algebra instruction is under way. 2. The district provided a STAR data report to each school based on input from teachers and principals about what information they would like to have. 3. The district is providing assessments and reports of progress every six to eight weeks us- ing the Datawise system. Teacher leaders provide training in the use of the data for plan- ning instruction. Data analysis and use is a routine part of district principal meetings. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: Pupil Achievement 27 5.7 Professional Development Professional Standard: Evaluations provide constructive feedback for improving job performance. Professional devel- opment is provided to support employees with less than satisfactory evaluations. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The teacher contract outlines the standards and procedures for evaluation. As reported in May 2005, human resources staff indicated that all teacher evaluations were com- pleted for 2004-05. Principals reported in September 2005 that they had received the names of teachers in their school to be evaluated and will be accountable for completing employee evaluations. They have also been provided with a training session on using the teacher evaluation standards, procedures, and forms to focus teacher evaluation on student achievement goals and were given tools, including norms and sample objectives. The norms for objectives include: (1) linking them to current district, school, grade-level, or department strategies for the standards; (2) describing what a teacher will do; and (3) making objectives measurable or observable. The evaluation sessions are intended to align evaluation with the instructional agenda and lead to evaluations that better reflect the strategies that teachers should master to be successful. The contract provides a Peer Assistance and Review program for teachers who receive an overall rating of unsatisfac- tory or who ask for assistance. 2. The district revised the administrator evaluation for the 2004-2005 year to align with the five goals of the district. Principals reported that they were evaluated and that the process, which included visits, walk-throughs, and narrative feedback, was helpful. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 5 November 30, 2005 Rating: 6 Implementation Scale: 28 Pupil Achievement Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 1.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - PLANNING PROCESSES A common vision of what all students should know 2 3 5 ❑ and be able to do exists and is put into practice. 1.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - PLANNING PROCESSES The administrative structure of the district pro- 2 4 5 ❑ motes student achievement. 1.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - PLANNING PROCESSES The district has long-term goals and performance 0 2 5 ❑ standards to support and improve student achieve- ment. 1.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - PLANNING PROCESSES The district directs its resources fairly and consis- 5 tently to accomplish its objectives. 1.5 LEGAL STANDARD - PLANNING PROCESSES Categorical and compensatory program funds supple- 4 ment and do not supplant services and materials to be provided by the district. 1.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - PLANNING PROCESSES The district’s planning process focuses on support- 3 3 5 ❑ ing increased student performance. 2.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - CURRICULUM The district, through its adopted policies, provides a 0 clear operational framework for management of the curriculum. 2.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - CURRICULUM Policies regarding curriculum and instruction are 3 reviewed and approved by the Governing Board. 2.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - CURRICULUM The district has clear and valid objectives for stu- 2 3 5 ❑ dents, including the core curriculum content. 2.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - CURRICULUM A process is in place to maintain alignment among 3 4 5 ❑ standards, practices and assessments. 2.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - CURRICULUM The Governing Board has adopted and the district is 4 implementing the California state standards and as- sessments. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Pupil Achievement 29 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 2.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - CURRICULUM Sufficient instructional materials are available for stu- 8 dents to learn. 2.7 LEGAL STANDARD - CURRICULUM In subject areas for which the state has adopted standards, sufficient instructional materials are 6 available to students that are aligned with the state standards. 2.8 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - CURRICULUM Students in K-8 have access to standards-based materials; students in 9-12 have access to standards- 6 based materials through an adopted process outlined in board policy and regulation. 2.9 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - CURRICULUM Teachers in K-8 are provided with professional de- velopment in reading and mathematics by a state- 0 2 5 ❑ approved provider; teachers in 9-12 are provided with defined professional development in imple- menting content standards. 2.10 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - CURRICULUM The district has adopted a plan for integrating tech- 5 nology into curriculum and instruction at all grade levels. 2.11 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - CURRICULUM The district optimizes state and federal funding to 6 install technology in its schools. 2.12 LEGAL STANDARD - CURRICULUM HIV prevention instruction occurs at least once in junior high or middle school and once in high school 8 and is consistent with the CDE’s Health Framework (EC 51201.5). 3.1 LEGAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES The district provides equal access to educational opportunities to all students regardless of race, 3 4 5 ❑ gender, socioeconomic standing, and other factors (EC 51007). The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 30 Pupil Achievement Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 3.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRAT- EGIES 3 4 5 ❑ Challenging learning goals and instructional plans and programs for all students are evident. 3.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATE- GIES Every elementary school has embraced the most 0 recent California School Recognition Program Stan- dards. 3.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRAT- EGIES Students are engaged in learning, and they are 2 3 4 ❑ able to demonstrate and apply their knowledge and skills. 3.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRAT- EGIES The district and school staffs promote and com- 2 2 5 ❑ municate high expectations for the learning and behavior of all students. 3.6 LEGAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES The district and school sites actively encourage 3 parental involvement in their children’s education (examples of programs EC 51100-51143). 3.7 LEGAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES Each school has a school site council or leadership team, comprised of teachers, parents, principal and 4 students, that is actively engaged in school planning (EC 52010-52039). 3.8 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRAT- EGIES Principals make formal and informal classroom 2 4 5 ❑ visits. Based on these visits, principals provide constructive feedback and assistance to teachers. 3.9 LEGAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES Class time is protected for student learning (EC 3 32212). The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Pupil Achievement 31 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 3.10 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRAT- EGIES Clearly defined discipline practices have been es- 2 3 5 ❑ tablished and communicated among the students, staff, board, and community. 3.11 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRAT- EGIES 3 4 6 ❑ School class size and teacher assignments support effective student learning. 3.12 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATE- GIES Teachers use a variety of instructional strategies and 3 resources that address their students’ diverse needs and modify and adjust their instructional plans ap- propriately. 3.13 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATE- GIES All teachers are provided with professional develop- 3 ment on special needs, language acquisition, timely interventions for underperformers and culturally responsive teaching. 3.14 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATE- GIES The identification and placement of English-language 4 learners into appropriate courses is conducted in a timely and effective manner. 3.15 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRAT- EGIES Curriculum and instruction for English-language 3 4 5 ❑ learners prepares these students to transition to regular class settings and achieve at a high level in all subject areas. 3.16 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATE- GIES Programs for English-language learners comply with 4 state and federal regulations and meet the qual- ity criteria set forth by the California Department of Education. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 32 Pupil Achievement Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 3.17 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATE- GIES The identification and placement of special education 5 students into appropriate courses is conducted in a timely and effective manner. 3.18 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATE- GIES 5 Individual education plans are reviewed and updated on time. 3.19 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATE- GIES Curriculum and instruction for special education 5 students is rigorous and appropriate to meet special education students’ learning needs. 3.20 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATE- GIES Programs for special education students meet the 5 least restrictive environment provision of the law and the quality criteria and goals set forth by the Califor- nia Department of Education. 3.21 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATE- GIES 3 The criteria for GATE identification is documented and understood by school site staff. 3.22 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATE- GIES 4 Students are regularly assessed or reassessed for GATE participation. 3.23 LEGAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES All incoming kindergarten students are admitted fol- lowing board-approved policies and administrative 4 regulations (EC 48000-48002, 48010, 48011). 3.24 LEGAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES The district provides access and encourages student 5 enrollment in UC and CSU required courses (A-G re- quirement). The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Pupil Achievement 33 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 3.25 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATE- GIES Students are prepared for, and may access, advanced 3 placement or other rigorous courses in core subject areas at all comprehensive high schools. 3.26 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATE- GIES High school guidance counselors are knowledgeable 3 about individual student academic needs and work to create challenging and meaningful course schedules. 3.27 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATE- GIES 4 High school students have access to career and col- lege guidance counseling prior to the 12th grade. 3.28 LEGAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES The district has plans for the provision of extended 5 day programs at its respective school sites (EC 17264). 3.29 LEGAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES The general instructional program adheres to all re- 4 quirements put forth in EC 51000-52950. 4.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ASSESSMENT AND AC- COUNTABILITY The district has developed content and learning 2 3 5 ❑ standards for all subject areas and grades that are understood and followed by school site staff. 4.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ASSESSMENT AND AC- COUNTABILITY Student achievement is measured and assessed 3 4 5 ❑ through a variety of measurement tools (e.g., standardized tests, portfolios, projects, oral re- ports). 4.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ASSESSMENT AND AC- COUNTABILITY The assessment tools are clear measures of what 3 4 6 ❑ is being taught and provide information for the administration and staff to improve learning op- portunities for all students. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 34 Pupil Achievement Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 4.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ASSESSMENT AND AC- COUNTABILITY Teachers and principals are provided with assess- 3 4 6 ❑ ment data in a timely and accessible format, and training in order for them to analyze, evaluate and solve issues of student performance. 4.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ASSESSMENT AND AC- COUNTABILITY The board has adopted and the district is implement- ing a K-8 policy that outlines clearly for teachers, 8 students and parents the benchmarks to be used for intervention, promotion and retention of struggling learners. 4.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ASSESSMENT AND AC- COUNTABILITY A process to identify struggling 9-12 students and intervene with additional support necessary to 3 3 4 ❑ pass the high school exit examination is well-de- veloped and communicated to teachers, students and parents. 4.7 LEGAL STANDARD - ASSESSMENT AND ACCOUNTABIL- ITY The district informs parents of the test scores of their 8 children and provides a general explanation of these scores (EC 60720, 60722). 4.8 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ASSESSMENT AND AC- COUNTABILITY The district has a process to notify high school stu- 2 dents and their parents regarding high school profi- ciency examination requirements and scores. 4.9 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ASSESSMENT AND AC- COUNTABILITY Principals and teachers in underperforming schools 3 and/or in schools under mandated improvement programs are provided special training and support by the district; improvement plans are monitored. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Pupil Achievement 35 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 4.10 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ASSESSMENT AND AC- COUNTABILITY The board and district understand the elements of 3 state and federal accountability programs and com- municate the availability of options and special services to parents and students. 5.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - PROFESSIONAL DEVEL- OPMENT Staff development demonstrates a clear under- 3 4 5 ❑ standing of purpose, written goals, and appropri- ate evaluations. 5.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - PROFESSIONAL DEVEL- OPMENT Staff development provides the staff (e.g., prin- 3 4 5 ❑ cipals, teachers, and instructional aides) with the knowledge and the skills to improve instruction and the curriculum. 5.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP- MENT The standards developed by the California Standards 6 for the Teaching Professions are present and sup- ported. 5.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP- MENT 5 Teachers are provided time and encouraged to meet with other teachers. 5.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP- MENT Collaboration exists among higher education, dis- trict, professional associations, and the community in 0 providing professional development. The district has formed partnerships with state colleges and universi- ties to provide appropriate courses accessible to all teachers. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 36 Pupil Achievement Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 5.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP- MENT Administrative support and coaching are provided 5 to all teachers, and new teachers and principals are provided with training and support opportunities. 5.7 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - PROFESSIONAL DEVEL- OPMENT Evaluations provide constructive feedback for 3 5 6 ❑ improving job performance. Professional develop- ment is provided to support employees with less than satisfactory evaluations. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Pupil Achievement 37 Financial Management The district has made steady progress in addressing many of the recommendations of the As- sessment and Improvement Plan and in initiating systemic changes in its financial management operations. Internal Control Environment Internal fiscal controls have improved. Board policies have been adopted addressing ethical behavior, fraud prevention, the misuse of funds and conflicts of interest. Administrators in all departments are beginning to set standards of behavior for all employees. The administrators must communicate these policies and expectations to employees and find ways to rebuild trust at all levels, as not all employees are cooperating or making the changes in attitude or work ethics that are necessary to reach maximum efficiency. Changes are occurring in the workplace and em- ployees are expected to accept more responsibility and become more efficient in their daily work activities. Employee evaluations must be conducted, and managers and supervisors must be held accountable for completing evaluations in a timely manner. Inter- and Intra-Departmental Communications Although departmental communications have improved, the district has not yet developed new procedures manuals or similar resources for business-related functions, with the exception of the technology department. These resources should explain in detail the processes and procedures that are mandated by law, as well as those required by board and district policies and procedures. They should also function as a training tool for staff. Changes in business services policies and procedures should be communicated at the beginning of each school year through in-service training for site and department personnel. In addition, written communication needs to be provided on specific issues as they arise. Communications related to the district’s financial position (such as interim reports) continue to be developed and approved but are not always timely, and the packet of information included with the reports does not contain all necessary components. The district has given high priority to improving commu- nications with the Governing Board and the community so they can assist the district in gaining financial recovery and stability. Interviews confirm that the data shared publicly is more under- standable and is viewed as trustworthy based on improvements in the way it is communicated. The district plans to reactivate the Budget Advisory Committee in February 2006. The committee will be utilized to assist the district in ensuring that financial communications are clear, concise and easy to understand, and it will serve as a liaison to other groups to obtain their perspectives and input. The board meeting agenda has been revised to align with district priorities, to provide access to the community on items of high priority, and to lay the foundation for the return to local gover- nance. Staff Professional Development The district has not developed and/or implemented a professional development plan for training business staff, nor have individual training plans been designed for each employee. Training for administrators was held in August 2005 on attendance accounting, budget, purchasing and tech- Financial Management 1 nology. The training seemed to be well received and the handouts were understandable. Similar workshops, with more detailed information, are planned for the 2005-06 fiscal year. Internal Audit The internal auditor position was filled in October 2005 and reports to the State Administrator/ Superintendent. Policies still need to be developed that cover the functions of the position, estab- lish a process and procedure for requesting and reporting internal audits, and specify the types of audits that will be done. A calendar also should be established for scheduling audits. Budget Development, Adoption, Reporting and Audits The district has improved the process it uses to analyze resources and allocations and ensure that they align with strategic planning objectives. Department and program managers indicated that the 2005-06 budget process was better structured as compared to 2004-05. This process must now extend throughout the year so that budgets are adhered to and fiscal solvency is restored. The district’s ability to accurately reflect its net ending fund balance throughout the budget moni- toring process is still a challenge. The 2004-05 unaudited actuals reflected a $4,880,227 variance from the estimate made for the 2005-06 adopted budget. This variance indicates that the district may be making financial decisions based on outdated data. The variances need to be resolved so that financial data is more reliable. Budget Monitoring The county’s automated financial system is now in use throughout the district. The online pur- chase order system module has been introduced to sites and departments and will be phased in throughout the 2005-06 fiscal year, with full implementation planned for 2006-07. Once this is in place district-wide, the timeliness and quality of financial information will improve, as will overall efficiency and internal controls. Online budget transfers will be implemented once the purchase order system is fully operational. The district is working toward full utilization of the online position control system, which al- ready drives the payroll function. The district also plans to interface Aeries online attendance with the payroll and the employee absence systems so that employee absence transactions can be properly tracked. Stronger budget monitoring controls are in place, as sites and departments can now run their own budget reports to supplement the monthly reports from the district office. The budget office continues to work with site and department managers to determine what additional resources would help them to review their budgets, such as providing a packet to all budget man- agers at the start of the 2005-06 fiscal year reflecting how their specific budget allocations were determined. Attendance Accounting Sites’ improved attendance accuracy and efficiency is evident in the second year on the Aeries at- tendance system. The high schools now have online attendance in the classroom, with the middle schools coming on line after site modernization is complete. Policies and procedures still need to be developed in this area, including those for independent study and home study. A consul- tant has been hired to develop a handbook outlining the step-by-step instructions. The handbook should include forms, common attendance codes, compulsory laws and pertinent education codes. The district has developed an Academic Achievement and Accountability department that has the responsibility of ensuring that sites have developed their bell schedules and that the 2 Financial Management calculation of instructional minutes is accurate. The district-wide attendance training addressed reporting requirements for alternative and regular programs. Principals and site attendance staff must continue to receive training on correct attendance reporting and methods for increasing at- tendance rates. The district raised its attendance rate in the 2004-05 fiscal year. Accounting, Purchasing, and Warehousing Board policies for accounting and purchasing have not been reviewed or updated. The State Controller’s 2003-04 financial audit contained numerous accounting findings. Systems and pro- cedures have slightly improved but are not fully developed. Deadlines are not enforced. The dis- trict needs to implement audit recommendations and develop good business practices to ensure timely accounting. Managers and employees must be held accountable for performing job duties accurately. The current spending pattern indicates that, without budget adjustments, the district will face cash shortages over the next two years. The district should develop internal controls and cash management procedures and require all employees to follow them at all times. It should also continue to implement and strengthen procedures for forecasting revenue and expenditures. The payroll department needs stronger policies, practices and overall communication. Although the relationship between human resources and payroll has begun to improve, there is a lack of com- munication within the payroll department itself. Clear lines of authority and supervision should be enforced. Multiyear Projections Although multiyear projections are completed and distributed as mandated by the state, the as- sumptions presented with the projection for the subsequent years are not detailed and/or visible, with few exceptions. Projection data may not be sufficiently reliable to be used in planning. The projection submitted with the 2005-06 adopted budget did not include thorough assumptions for all years, and the 2005-06 unrestricted ending fund balance in the adopted budget did not match the balance on the multiyear projection. To be useful, these two balances need to be the same. FCMAT is developing a multiyear projection for the district based on district data and FCMAT’s trend analysis. This is being done at the request of the county office and as a tool to assist with the comprehensive study. District administrators must understand the impact of all fiscal deci- sions on future year budgets, which can be easily reflected in properly prepared multiyear projec- tions. Long Term Debt Obligations The district does not have a current financial plan to recognize ongoing unfunded liabilities from employee benefits as a district liability. The latest actuarial study of retiree health benefits was for the period ending June 30, 2002. A plan needs to be established for funding retiree health benefits as the obligations are incurred. Collective Bargaining Agreements The district concluded negotiations with all bargaining groups for new three-year collective bargaining agreements. The three-year agreements, from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2008, include a significant reduction in district-paid health benefits. Salary increases totaling 4% will be paid over the next three years, with no re-openers. Financial Management 3 Management Information Systems Leadership mentoring has improved the internal workings of the Technology Department. The department still operates in a reactive mode to some extent, as opposed to utilizing purposeful planning and implementation processes. Implementation of the Eagle Software Aeries student information system appears to be going smoothly. The district has switched back to the local county office of education as its Internet service provider, which has been a smooth transition. The department continues to adhere to proper business practices, including following all procure- ment policies. Maintenance and Operations Fiscal Controls The district has switched from self-insurance to the State Compensation Insurance Fund for workers’ compensation. The district’s 2005-06 adopted budget was based on the self-insured rate information and payroll surcharge rates. The budget should be adjusted to reflect the State Com- pensation Insurance Fund rates, which are usually higher. The district’s last actuarial review was completed on May 11, 2004, so a new one should be re- quested. In addition, the district needs to conduct an annual physical inventory of its fixed assets, especially because GASB 34 requires the district to maintain complete and current fixed asset records for use in accounting processes. The June 30, 2004 annual audit completed by the State Controller’s Office could not establish completed accounting records and supporting data for fixed assets. Special Education The district continues to take measures to contain the cost of Special Education services through an ongoing self-review process involving parents and community members. A fiscal employee has been assigned to monitor budgets and validate coding for the special education department and closely reviews position control versus budget and actual expenditures. This has reduced the number of miscoded expenditures. 4 Financial Management 1.1 Internal Control Environment Professional Standard: Integrity and ethical behavior is the product of the district’s ethical and behavioral standards, how they are communicated, and how they are reinforced in practice. All management-level per- sonnel exhibit high integrity and ethical values in carrying out their responsibilities and directing the work of others. [SAS-55, SAS-78] Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. A new board policy addressing ethical behavior has been adopted. The district must ensure that all employees know about the policy and are fully trained to understand the expectations regarding integrity and/or proper behavior. The policy needs to be communicated to all employees and these standards included in future performance evaluations. 2. The State Administrator and new Business Office administrators are communicating their expectations to employees, and are demonstrating integrity and ethical behavior in their daily activities. 3. Employees’ trust and morale are low. Business Office administrators should communi- cate new policies and expectations to employees and find ways to improve morale and rebuild trust at all levels. 4. Not all employees are cooperating or making the necessary changes in attitude or work ethics that are necessary to reach maximum efficiency. Employees should be encouraged to adapt to the changes, accept more responsibility, and become more efficient in their daily work activities. 5. Business Office administrators should continue to establish new lines of communica- tion with employees to encourage teamwork and more effective and efficient work procedures. 6. New administrators, regardless of the department they are assigned to, are beginning to set standards of behavior for all employees to follow. Employees have not been evaluated for several years. Employees should be evaluated annually by their supervi- sors, and held accountable for appropriate behavior at all times. 7. Disciplinary action for inappropriate behavior is still not uniformly enforced. Employee discipline should be enforced in a fair and consistent manner. Financial Management 5 Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 3 Implementation Scale: 6 Financial Management 1.4 Internal Control Environment Professional Standard: The organizational structure clearly identifies key areas of authority and responsibility. Reporting lines are clearly identified and logical within each area. [SAS-55, SAS-78] Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The lines of authority and supervision are still blurred. Although the district has developed a new organizational chart, it only reflects the administrative level and not non-management employees. The Business Division should develop an organizational structure that clearly delineates the responsibilities of managers, supervisors, and em- ployees. Job descriptions should be realigned as necessary. 2. A Payroll Supervisor was hired about six months ago. Payroll errors have since been reduced. 3. Some supervisors still function as clerical staff, performing duties that are not within their job description. Some are ineffective in their capacity as supervisors. All employ- ees, including managers and supervisors, should be held accountable for performing their job duties effectively and efficiently. 4. Several business office employees have been reassigned due to staff reductions, layoffs, and classified bumping rights. Two positions are vacant. Highly qualified employees should be hired to fill the vacancies. Staff should be sufficiently trained to lessen their need to ask a specific employee for assistance. 5. The Business Division continues to make positive changes to improve efficiency and the work environment. These changes and the resulting performance expectations should be communicated to all employees. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 3 Implementation Scale: Financial Management 7 1.7 Internal Control Environment Professional Standard: All employees are evaluated on performance at least annually by a management-level employee knowledgeable about their work product. The evaluations criteria are clearly communicated and, to the extent possible, measurable. The evaluation includes a follow-up on prior performance is- sues and establishes goals to improve future performance. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. Standard evaluation forms are available, but evaluations have not been performed regularly. Evaluations should be conducted at least annually. 2. Evaluation criteria may be outdated and not appropriate for the current job functions. Measurable goals and objectives are not in place for all positions. Employees do not know the standards by which they will be evaluated. Appropriate and measurable goals, objectives, and evaluation criteria should be developed for all positions. 3. The Human Resources Department is working toward better evaluation practices to ensure that employee performance evaluations are prepared regularly. Managers and supervisors should be fully trained to properly evaluate employees. Training should include following district procedures, proper use of district evaluation forms, bargain- ing unit restraints, and discipline/performance improvement procedures. 4. Managers and supervisors should be held accountable for the timely evaluation of all employees under their supervision. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 1 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: 8 Financial Management 1.8 Internal Control Environment Professional Standard: The responsibility for reliable financial reporting resides first and foremost at the district level. Top management sets the tone and establishes the environment. Therefore, appropriate measures are implemented to discourage and detect fraud (SAS 82; Treadway Commission). Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. Internal accounting controls have not been fully implemented or enforced to protect against inappropriate staff behavior. A board policy was adopted addressing fraud prevention, the misuse of funds, and conflict of interest. The district must now ensure that all employees are aware of the policy and understand its contents. Internal accounting controls must be strengthened, performance standards implement- ed, and employees held accountable for following the policy. The district recently re- cruited and hired an internal auditor, who was to begin work in October. A full evalua- tion of internal controls should occur once the employee is established in the position. 2. The prior administration did not provide accurate financial information to the board of trustees. New administrators are making improvements in the internal accounting control processes. Confidence in district information and operations has increased. 3. Employees do not know how to report concerns or problems that they notice during routine daily activities. Some employees continue to fear retaliation if they report concerns. A reliable system should be devised and employees encouraged to report suspected abuses and/or fraud. 4. A new county data processing system has been installed with many enhanced account- ing controls in place. Employees stated that they have received training on its use and the constant use of the new system has improved their overall skill. The district should continue to use the new county data processing accounting system and provide addi- tional training so it is used correctly and efficiently. 5. All employees are not following Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) as they should. Adequate training should be provided so that employees know, under- stand, and follow GAAP. Financial Management 9 Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 3 Implementation Scale: 10 Financial Management 2.1 Inter- and Intra-Departmental Communications Professional Standard: The business and operational departments communicate regularly with internal staff and all user departments on their responsibilities for accounting procedures and internal controls. The communications are written whenever possible; particularly when they (1) affect many staff or user groups; (2) are issues of high importance; or, (3) reflect a change in procedures. Procedures manuals are necessary to the communication of responsibilities. The departments also are re- sponsive to user department needs, thus encouraging a free exchange of information between the two (excluding items of a confidential nature). Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has not yet developed new procedure manuals, or similar resources, for business-related functions, with the exception of the Technology Department. Proce- dural manuals are planned for development after departmental and/or task areas have been reorganized. This will be a lengthy and ongoing process. When manuals or other resources are developed, they should explain in detail the processes and procedures that are expected and/or necessary to comply with rules and regulations, as well as board and district policies and procedures. These resources should be updated at least annually. A consultant may need to be hired to assist in this area. 2. The completed procedure manuals could also function as a training tool for staff. They would help ensure the accurate and appropriate discharge of job duties, and provide some level of continuity in the event of staff turnover. 3. The Business Services Division Procedures Manual, apparently last revised in 1990, should be updated and distributed to business operations customers. 4. Organizational charts need to be updated and kept current so that sites and depart- ments know who to contact with questions. Although the charts were updated in August 2005 for administration (including supervisors, managers, and directors), em- ployees at sites and in departments need to know who to call for routine, non-manage- rial issues, such as payroll, accounts payable, and purchase requisitions. A directory should be developed and distributed. 5. The district should communicate changes in business services policies and procedures by offering in-service training before each school year begins. At this training, updates to the Procedures Manual would be handed out and explained. This would help ensure that staff at sites and departments understand and properly implement the changes. An in-service training occurred August 2005 for administrators related to attendance accounting, budget, purchasing, and technology, providing an overview and plans for the next year’s implementation of various ideas. The handout was provided to FCMAT and was an informative overview of where the district is heading in these specific areas. A similar presentation, with more detailed information, is advisable for lower- level site and department personnel who work with these types of systems every day. Financial Management 11 6. The Business Department continues to increase written communication to sites and departments as specific issues arise. Changes and updates of a positive nature should also be conveyed as often as possible. Communications need to become more effec- tive and specific regarding the audit findings and corrective actions needed with the State Controller’s Office now that the 2003-04 fiscal year is audited and the findings conveyed. 7. In-service training/workshops should occur annually to update business system users. Training also needs to occur in a timely manner when systems change. For example, training was provided to both sites and departments on how to run their own budget reports when that capability was offered. This ensures that the process is understood. The same types of training will need to occur for online purchase orders and online budget transfers as those processes are implemented. 8. Financial system reports continue to be sent to sites and departments monthly even though the reports could be run locally at the site/department. Because a cover sheet does not accompany the report, there is no assurance that the report is received and reviewed. 9. District leadership meetings and principals’ meetings should continue. Time should continue to be set aside to share periodic financial and other information with manag- ers of support departments, principals, and program managers. Periodic office man- ager/clerical meetings should also occur for information sharing and updates on poli- cies/procedures. Payroll employees and human resources staff will resume meeting monthly in September 2005 so that these two departments can discuss ongoing issues and develop solutions to common problems. 10. The district’s goal for full implementation of this standard is October 1, 2006. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 1 November 30, 2005 Rating: 3 Implementation Scale: 12 Financial Management 2.2 Inter- and Intra-Departmental Communications Professional Standard: The financial departments communicate regularly with the Governing Board and community on the status of district finances and the financial impact of proposed expenditure decisions. The communications are written whenever possible, particularly when they affect many community members, are issues of high importance to the district and board, or reflect a change in policy. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The 2004-05 third interim report was not submitted to the county office by the June 1 statutory deadline. When it was submitted, the criteria and standards component was incomplete. The 2005-06 adopted budget was received by the July 1 deadline, although the county office found that the multiyear projection and criteria and standard compo- nents were incomplete. In addition, there were questions on the revenue limit and the K-3 class size reduction components, which the district subsequently answered. 2. Board members have not been trained to interpret state-mandated reports, but several study sessions have been held to familiarize the board with the budget and its components. 3. Board members receive required financial reports in SACS-compliant format. Board packets contain user-friendly information to assist trustees in fully understanding the issues before action is taken. The adopted budget contained easy-to-read spreadsheets for all unrestricted and restricted resources. Some budget data was missing from the spreadsheets, although all data was included in the SACS reports. The district may want to use User Friendly Budget software, which complements the required state budget reports. It can be obtained through School Services of California at no cost. 4. High priority has been given to improving communications with the Governing Board and the community regarding the district’s efforts to achieve financial recovery and stability. Interviews confirm that the data brought forward is more understandable and trustworthy. Changes in data are explained. When errors or discrepancies occur, they are discussed. PowerPoint and verbal presentations are more open and understandable, and instill more trust in those receiving the information. These ongoing activities will ensure a more complete understanding of budget reports and other business-related issues. 5. Adequate, easily understood information should continue to accompany all business- related items brought to the board. The district’s intent is to ensure that board mem- bers are fully informed on the issues so they can make informed decisions. The district should consider placing business items before the administration and instructional items on the board agenda because of the district’s financial issues. The district’s new agenda format places items higher on the agenda if they are related to district goals. This allows some business related items a higher priority, but items that are not spe- cifically related to district goals remain near the end of the agenda. 6. The district has drafted and approved new board policies, including: Interdistrict At- tendance (February 4, 2004), Establishing Board Policies (August 10, 2005), Uniform Financial Management 13 Complaint Procedures (February 2005), Fraud Policy (August 30, 2005) and Code of Ethics (August 30, 2005). 7. The district plans to adopt policies and procedures requiring monthly presentation of budget and financial information and updates. These updates will include all issues that impact district finances, routine budget reports on the general fund, payroll and warrants reports and statutory requirements such as records and surplus property dis- posal, gifts and donations. 8. When the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) is reactivated (originally planned for November 2005, but now extended to February 2006), it will be utilized to assist the district in ensuring that financial communications are clear and concise. The commit- tee will discuss various methods of communicating financial issues to the community and staff. Issues identified and discussed at the BAC meetings should also be dissemi- nated at board meetings and to the community. 9. The district now provides board meeting informational packets to board members earlier than they did prior to the state takeover so they have additional time to prepare for the meetings. The packets are normally provided on the Monday prior to board meetings, although some information may be e-mailed the Friday before the meeting. It would be best for board members to receive the full packet the Friday before the meeting for review over the weekend and so that they may ask questions of staff before the meeting. 10. Payroll expenditures and accounts payable should be brought to the board for approval. 11. Community meetings continue to be held regarding the district’s financial recovery process and progress to provide information and a question-and-answer session. These meetings included: • July 26, 2005: Prospective Board Candidate Information Forum • July 13, 2005: Board Workshop on the 2005-06 Budget • June 1, 2005: Proposed 2005-06 Adopted Budget Presentation • May 23, 2005: Community and Staff Forums at Lincoln School and Jesse Bethel High School • May 11, 2005: Tentative 2005-06 Budget Proposal Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 3 Implementation Scale: 14 Financial Management 2.3 Inter- and Intra-Departmental Communications Professional Standard: The Governing Board is engaged in understanding globally the fiscal status of the district, both cur- rent and as projected. The board prioritizes district fiscal issues among the top discussion items. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) is currently inactive, but is slated to be reac- tivated in February 2006. The Governing Board plans to utilize the BAC to assist with budget and audit review. It will also serve as a liaison to other groups and will obtain their perspectives and input. 2. A Finger Facts Information Sheet was developed in February 2005 to increase informa- tion and communication with the community. It includes issues such as summary budget information, district facts and demographics, and other related fiscal issues. This sheet is available at board meetings, at schools and is posted on the district Web site. Summary budget information should also be included with communications to school staff. 3. Once the Budget Advisory Committee is reactivated, it should obtain broader commu- nity participation and input into the budget process. The BAC will assist in monitoring financial issues in detail and providing secondary oversight. Although the committee existed prior to state administration, it had not been utilized for oversight. 4. Detailed information should accompany budget reports explaining the funding that exists and how long that funding will be available to the district. This will allow the board to make expenditure decisions in a more informed and accountable manner. The 2005-06 adopted budget contained more specific details of each funding source (by re- source), which made the budget much easier to understand. However, a small amount of resources was mistakenly omitted, and the information did not explain how long the funding will be available to the district. 5. Once the Budget Advisory Committee is reactivated, the Governing Board will re- ceive the BAC meeting minutes in a timely manner to assist it with its fiduciary duties and to be apprised of BAC discussions and concerns. 6. At the July 13, 2005 board meeting, it was decided to change the board meeting agen- da so it would align with district priorities, provide access to the community for high priority items, and lay the foundation for return to local governance. The new agenda now places higher status on issues that are related to district goals, in the following order: Call to Order, Closed Session, Public Meeting, Recognition, Forum, Reports, Board Agenda Items Related to District Goals (can include either action or informa- tive items), Other Items of District Business (that are not related specifically to district goals), Other Items for Information, Consent Agenda, Consent Items Removed for Comment/Question, Announcement of Upcoming Meetings, and Adjournment. This format began with the August 2005 board meeting. Financial Management 15 7. The budget office needs to provide the board with frequent multiyear projection infor- mation while the district’s fiscal health is being restored. Plans to prepare and provide projections quarterly to the State Administrator and the Governing Board during the period of financial recovery have not yet been implemented. To date, they have been completed and distributed only when mandated by state requirements, such as with interim and adopted budgets. The assumptions presented with the projection for the two subsequent years have not been detailed and/or visible, other than the anticipated future decline in attendance. Assumptions behind multiyear projections need to be clearly identified and continuously monitored for validity. When multiyear projections are presented, they need to be explained in detail to be thoroughly understood and trustworthy. This goal has not yet been met. 8. The board must understand the impact of all fiscal decisions it makes and how these decisions affect future year budgets, which can be easily reflected in detailed, under- standable multiyear projections. The projections should be thoroughly explained to ensure the board members’ familiarity with the data. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 1 November 30, 2005 Rating: 3 Implementation Scale: 16 Financial Management 2.4 Inter- and Intra-Departmental Communications Professional Standard: The district has formal policies and procedures that provide a mechanism for individuals to report illegal acts, establish to whom illegal acts should be reported, and provide a formal inves- tigative process. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The Governing Board approved a fraud policy and a code of ethics policy in August 2005. 2. The fraud policy outlines procedures to be used when a report is made to the Super- intendent or an immediate supervisor of suspicious or potentially fraudulent activity. The board President shall follow the same procedures in reports involving the Su- perintendent. There is also information on how the necessary investigations shall be conducted. The policy clearly establishes that confidentiality is crucial to the process. 3. Although the fraud policy is now in place, it does not contain some of the items recommended by FCMAT. The policy does not provide guidelines or assign respon- sibility for the development of controls. It does not include a stated zero tolerance for employees for fraud, theft, and illegal activities. It does not facilitate the development of internal control mechanisms that will aid in the detection and prevention of fraud, impropriety or irregularity within the district and does not address the actions and consequences that will be taken when fraud is disclosed, including termination, crimi- nal prosecution, and restitution. Rather, the policy states that decisions to prosecute or refer the investigation results to the appropriate law enforcement and/or regulatory agencies for independent investigation will be made in conjunction with legal counsel and the Superintendent, as will final decision on disposition of the case. 4. The code of ethics policy outlines expectations that each employee of the district will perform duties and conduct themselves with the utmost integrity, efficiency and reli- ability and will comply with all applicable laws, board policies, regulations and proce- dures. It states that the Superintendent is expected to provide for the implementation of the code of ethics. 5. Although these two new policies are in place, the district still needs to promote consis- tent organizational behavior by providing guidelines and assigning responsibility for the development of controls and conducting of the investigation. The district plans to assign these tasks to the new internal auditor. 6. Implementation of an awareness program and specific procedures is planned by Feb- ruary 2006 to inform staff about the board policy and procedures addressing fraud, the common types of fraud and theft, and their consequences as stated in the policy. Included are red flags for potential misuse, employee responsibilities to deter and prevent fraud and theft, and the process and procedures for reporting suspected fraud or other illegal activities through an anonymous fraud hotline or other mechanism. Financial Management 17 7. A job description for an internal audit position had been developed and advertised for applications two different times. A candidate was hired and began the job in October. The position will be assigned oversight of the fraud awareness program and will be held responsible for investigating reported instances of fraud and theft and reporting the findings to the Assistant Superintendent of Business Services for further action, if needed. The position should also provide an ongoing review of district operations and assist in deterring fraud and theft. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 0 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: 18 Financial Management 2.5 Inter- and Intra-Departmental Communications Professional Standard: Documents developed by the fiscal division for distribution to the Governing Board, finance committees, staff and community are easily understood. Those who receive documents devel- oped by the fiscal division do not have to wade through complex, lengthy computer printouts. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The 2004-05 third interim report was not submitted to the county office by the June 1 statutory deadline. When the interim packet was received, the criteria and standards component was incomplete. All other statutory components were included. The 2005- 06 adopted budget was received by the July 1 statutory deadline. Upon review, the county office found that the multiyear projection and criteria and standard components were incomplete. In addition, there were questions on both the revenue limit and the K-3 class size reduction components, which the district subsequently answered. Ad- ditional understandable information should be a part of the packet for the board and other stakeholders. Utilizing the User Friendly Budget software mentioned in Stan- dard 2.2 is a mechanism to provide that additional information. 2. Adequate explanatory information should continue to accompany reports to the board on business-related items. It appears that additional data is now being provided with submitted items that allow the board and community to have trust in the data. Discrep- ancies and trends are explained in an understandable manner. The district should give business items priority on the board agenda, which the new meeting format addresses to some extent. The district should continue to provide informational packets to board members several days prior to board meetings so they have adequate time to prepare. 3. The district still needs to update and/or adopt board policies to require monthly budget and financial information. These financial updates should include issues that will af- fect district finances, as well as routine budget reports on the status of the general fund and categorical programs. 4. Detailed information should accompany budget reports explaining the funding that exists and how long that funding will be available to the district. This will allow the board to make expenditure decisions in a more informed and accountable manner when powers are returned. 5. The budget office needs to provide multiyear projection information more frequently than at interim reporting periods while the district’s fiscal health is being restored. To date, the projections have only been completed and distributed at interim and adopted budget periods, as required by statute. The board must understand the impact of all fiscal decisions that it makes and their effect on the budget in future years. Multiyear projections should be explained in more detail than they are now so that the board is familiar with the information and can more easily comprehend and trust the data. Financial Management 19 6. The Assistant Superintendent of Business Services plans to establish a calendar of financial reports by October 2005 that will be sent to all sites, departments and the Governing Board. The calendar will be used to decide what staff training is required for improved understanding of financial information. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 1 November 30, 2005 Rating: 3 Implementation Scale: 20 Financial Management 3.1 Staff Professional Development Professional Standard: The district has developed and uses a professional development plan for training business staff. The plan includes the input of business office supervisors and managers, and, at a minimum, identifies appropriate programs office-wide. At best, each individual staff and management em- ployee has a plan designed to meet their individual professional development needs. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. An annual staff development plan has not yet been prepared for each department for routine ongoing training and specialized training for each position. The contents of the plan should be based on a needs assessment and should include routine updates and specialized training. The planned implementation date is October 2005. 2. Employees do not yet have individual professional development plans that are con- sistent with the department’s plan, the employee’s job duties, current skill and knowl- edge levels, and timelines for accomplishment of the training. The individual plans should be developed from identified needs and from the staff development plan. The evaluation of employee training needs can be done as part of the annual performance appraisal. The planned implementation date is January 2006. 3. Once the staff development plan is in place, a list of training resources should be com- piled including in-house sessions, one-on-one mentoring and training, and workshops and conferences. The list should be regularly updated. A budget should be maintained to fund appropriate training opportunities. 4. Specific, additional training has not yet occurred for payroll employees to ensure that applicable rules and information are understood, such as those related to CalPERS and CalSTRS. Joint meetings between Human Resources and Payroll have addressed specific issues, but no additional training has occurred as a result of those meetings. 5. Employee evaluations should be conducted annually and should include the employ- ee-developed individual training plan, as well as the supervisor’s identified training needs for the employee. Training plans should correlate to the training catalog and employee evaluation. Subsequent evaluations should address the completion of identi- fied training needs and should document updated plans. The completion of identified training needs should be monitored to provide continuity from one year’s evaluation to the next to encourage ongoing progress. 6. In collaboration with the Human Resources Department, the district should establish a practice to place training completion notices in the individual personnel files of employees who complete staff development as listed in the professional development plan. These employees also should be recognized with awards or certificates. Imple- mentation of this recommendation is planned for February 2006. Financial Management 21 7. The district should increase efforts to notify classified staff members about specific in-service training. Frequent notices of all available staff development opportunities should be provided through e-mail, flyers and the district Web site. Attendance and/or participation that matches each employee’s individual plan should be encouraged and supported. To date, business staff are not alerted to upcoming workshops/trainings. The trainings that staff have attended were found by the staff members themselves. District administrators need to determine what workshops and trainings are occurring and alert the appropriate employees. This will help ensure accountable completion of job duties. Staff members do not feel supported in this area. Standard Implemented: Not Implemented November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 0 November 30, 2005 Rating: 0 Implementation Scale: 22 Financial Management 3.2 Staff Professional Development Professional Standard: The district develops and uses a professional development plan for the in-service training of school site/department staff by business staff on relevant business procedures and internal controls. The plan includes the input of the business office and the school sites/departments and is updated annually. . Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. Implementation of a professional development plan for school site/department staff is planned for February 2006. The plan should include both business and non-business personnel and should cover the internal control procedures to be followed. It should include all business and operational functions for sites and departments, as well as procedural changes that have been made within the last year, such as conversions to new software and/or systems. 2. An annual staff development plan still needs to be implemented so that departments and sites are updated on changes in business procedures and the application of routine internal control processes. Meetings and some specific training are offered on request. The areas covered should include purchasing, attendance, ASB procedures, changes in policies and/or procedures, and changes in law/statute. Support materials should be provided, such as a manual or informational binder for each attendee, and updates should be provided at each meeting. 3. Each staff in-service training on business and operations subjects should be geared to a spe- cific audience, with mandatory or optional attendance as dictated by the subject matter. The district should ensure that the topics covered pertain to the staff members invited. Ensure that employees are informed when the meetings are mandatory, and maintain sign-in sheets. 4. In August 2005, administrators attended an in-service training on attendance account- ing, budget, purchasing and technology. The training seemed to be well received and the handouts were understandable. Similar workshops, with more detailed information, are planned for the 2005-06 fiscal year so that systems can be implemented smoothly. 5. An atmosphere of mutual support should be encouraged so that ongoing questions and information sharing are the norm. A question and answer bulletin board is planned as an employee resource on the district Web site. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 0 November 30, 2005 Rating: 1 Implementation Scale: Financial Management 23 4.1 Internal Audit Professional Standard: The Governing Board has adopted policies establishing an internal audit function that reports directly to the Superintendent/State Administrator and the audit committee or Governing Board. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The Internal Auditor position has been filled. The new employee began the job in October 2005. 2. The Internal Auditor will report to the State Administrator and/or Superintendent. 3. The district has not yet begun working on policies that will cover the functions of the Internal Auditor. 4. The district should establish a process and procedure for requesting and reporting internal audits. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 1 November 30, 2005 Rating: 3 Implementation Scale: 24 Financial Management 4.2 Internal Audit Professional Standard: Internal audit functions are designed into the organizational structure of the district. These func- tions include periodic internal audits of areas at high risk for non-compliance with laws and regulations and/or at high risk for monetary loss. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. A calendar has not been established for scheduling audits regularly. 2. A comprehensive list of the types of audits to be performed has not been developed by the State Administrator, audit committee and Internal Auditor. 3. Establishment of the internal audit function should include, but not be limited to: a. Providing internal auditing activity that supplies all levels of management with information. b. Providing information to control the operations for which they are responsible. c. Using the internal auditor as an independent appraiser who examines and evalu- ates district activities. d. Assisting district personnel in performing their responsibilities by furnishing rec- ommendations and information concerning the areas reviewed. e. Authorizing full access to district records, physical property and personnel rel- evant to each area being audited. Standard Implemented: Not Implemented November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 0 November 30, 2005 Rating: 0 Implementation Scale: Financial Management 25 5.4 Budget Development Process (Policy) Professional Standard: The district has a clear process to analyze resources and allocations to ensure that they are aligned with strategic planning objectives and that the budget reflects district priorities. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The 2005-06 ongoing goals of the board and administration cover a broad range of issues, including: increasing the number of students who score at or above proficiency levels on the STAR test; increasing student achievement in underperforming groups; improving the climate and student discipline at school sites to provide a better learn- ing environment; developing a long-term financial plan that will lead to a return to lo- cal control and allow the focus to return to educating students; and building a level of capacity within the district that will enable it to sustain the improvements made after local control is regained. The fiscal recovery plan has not yet been developed. 2. The Special Consultant to the State Administrator is responsible for monitoring, tracking and projecting the district’s student enrollment and average daily attendance (ADA), and will provide training to the Division of Student Support Systems to transition these functions back to district staff for the 2006-07 fiscal year and beyond. Errors in the determination of ADA used for 2004-05 revenue limit calculation were uncovered in April 2005, requiring the district to realign meeting the goals and objec- tives with revised spending decisions for the remainder of the 2004-05 year. 3. Preliminary determinations of expenditure reductions were discussed with cabinet and site principals before direction was given to the business office for the development of the budget allocations for all funds. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 26 Financial Management 5.5 Budget Development Process (Policy) Professional Standard: The district has policies to facilitate development of a budget that is understandable, meaningful, reflective of district priorities, and balanced in terms of revenues and expenditures. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The Director of Fiscal Services and the Assistant Superintendent of Business Services completed a budget development packet that identified budget criteria, budget guide- lines, a budget calendar, budget assumptions, and responsibilities for the 2005-06 bud- get planning cycle. While the packet has expanded awareness of the district’s financial condition, greater involvement by school site, program, and department leaders in the budget allocation process will result in a higher level of accountability by all staff once fiscal stability is achieved. 2. The budget for the 2005-06 fiscal year was built on data from the position control system and formulas for allocations in the categories of supplies, services, and capital outlay. Concerns remain regarding the integrity of the salary and benefit data. 3. Department and program managers interviewed by FCMAT indicated that the budget process for 2005-06 was better than the process used in the 2004-05 fiscal year. 4. A structured process must continue throughout the year to operate within budgeted allocations and adhere to the district’s priority of restoring fiscal solvency. The district is unable to achieve a balanced budget in the 2005-06 year but has reduced the deficit spending gap as compared to the 2004-05 fiscal year. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 5 November 30, 2005 Rating 5 Implementation Scale: Financial Management 27 5.7 Budget Development Process (Policy) Professional Standard: The district has the ability to accurately reflect its net ending balance throughout the budget monitoring process. The first and second interim reports provide valid updates of the district’s net ending balance. The district has tools and processes that ensure that there is an early warning of any discrepancies between the budget projections and actual revenues or expenditures. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The Special Consultant to the State Administrator uncovered an error in the ADA used for revenue limit funding for 2004-05: an overstatement of 400 ADA resulting in a reduction of budgeted revenue limit sources of $2 million. The business office had no procedures in place to detect the error at the first and second interim reporting periods. 2. The third interim report included greater detail and supporting documentation as compared to past interim reporting periods on the status of the district’s cash flow, budget adjustments, as well as impact statements and recommendations for options for decreasing expenditures or increasing revenues. 3. The unaudited actuals for the 2004-05 fiscal year reflected an unrestricted ending fund balance of $5,621,337.49 compared to the estimate of $10,501,564 that was reported when the 2005-06 budget was adopted. The difference of $4,880,227 is quite signifi- cant, and can be partly explained by the revenue limit ADA error that reduced revenue by $2 million. The restricted ending fund balance reported on the 2004-05 unaudited actuals was $5,037,641.12, compared to the estimate of $587,489.89 at the time of 2005-06 budget adoption. This resulted in a variance of $4,450,151 for restricted funds. Significant variances such as these between reporting periods cause concern because financial decisions are being made on data that appears to be out of date. Variances need to be reduced to ensure dependable financial data. Monthly review of budgets and ending fund balances must occur. 4. The third interim report included comments on the child development fund, the only fund expected to end the 2004-05 fiscal year with a negative ending balance. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 3 Implementation Scale: 28 Financial Management 6.1 Budget Development Process (Technical) Professional Standard: The budget office has a technical process to build the preliminary budget that includes: the forecast of revenues, the verification and projection of expenditures, the identification of known carryovers and accruals, and the inclusion of concluded expenditure plans. The process clearly identifies one-time sources and uses of funds. Reasonable ADA and COLA estimates are used when planning and budgeting. This process is applied to all funds. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The budget development process for the 2005-06 fiscal year was improved over prior years. Once the district’s finances are stable, collaboration with program and depart- ment managers in the process should be increased. 2. Budget binders should be maintained each year and include all changes and updates to the budget. 3. The development of the 2005-06 fund budgets was completed by a combination of outside consultants and the Director of Fiscal Services. Building the capacity of busi- ness office staff relative to this task will become an achievable goal once the district fills the new position of Administrative Services Manager. Year-end closing processes were also completed with the assistance of an outside consultant. 4. The director and the Special Consultant to the State Administrator are working to- gether to apply the enrollment and ADA projections developed by the consultant to the revenue and expenditure allocations of the general fund budget. 5. Turnover in the position responsible for management and oversight of categorical pro- grams has resulted in responsibilities being shifted to other staff members. Carryover balances determined during the 2004-05 fiscal year close will be added to the 2005-06 categorical budgets at first interim. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 4 Implementation Scale: Financial Management 29 7.5 Budget Adoption, Reporting, and Audits Professional Standard: The first and second interim reports show an accurate projection of the ending fund balance. Ma- terial differences are presented to the board of education with detailed explanations. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The third interim report for 2004-05 contained better information than had been included in past interim reports. A comparison between the projected ending balance of the general fund in the third interim report, estimated actuals, and the unaudited actuals shows that the ability of the district to accurately project annual revenues and expenditures is still not within an acceptable level of confidence. 2. The presentation provided to the board for the third interim included a synopsis of major changes between November 2004 and April 2005, identifying the elements that resulted in a revenue decrease of $3.3 million and an expenditure decrease of $2.8 million. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 0 November 30, 2005 Rating 3 Implementation Scale: 30 Financial Management 8.1 Budget Monitoring Professional Standard: All purchase orders are properly encumbered against the budget until payment. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The county automated financial system has been implemented and is in use through- out the district. The online purchase order system module has been introduced to sites and departments and will be phased in throughout the 2005-06 fiscal year. The plan is for the entire district to be on line before the 2006-07 fiscal year. The district plans to train all appropriate site and department staff on online purchase requisitions. Sites and departments run their own budget reports, which has reinforced their responsibil- ity for budgets. Once online purchase orders are done district-wide, the timeliness and quality of financial information will improve in addition to overall efficiency and internal controls. Thereafter, online budget transfers will be implemented, which is planned for the 2006-07 fiscal year. 2. The purchase control system automatically verifies fund availability and account coding when the site/department enters a purchase requisition into the system. It im- mediately encumbers the funds to avoid timing difference problems. If funds are not available, the system requires a budget transfer before processing. The module also completes approved purchase orders, liquidates the pre-encumbrance and fully en- cumbers the funds. The system, especially when fully implemented with online budget transfers at all sites and departments, will reduce inefficiencies and time delays and will ensure that the purchase process is completed correctly. 3. With online approval of purchase orders in the purchasing department, there are fewer delays in paperwork. The categorical fund process has been developed to include elec- tronic approval by the program manager in addition to approval by the site/department administrator and the purchasing manager. 4. Salaries and benefits need to be encumbered in the financial system to accurately reflect and reconcile these amounts to projections. All expenditure projections need to be accurate and should be reconciled to budgeted projections. Once the financial system is fully operational, it will allow all of these budget accountability measures to occur. The district’s CECC financial system does not currently have the capability to encumber funds. The district is discussing the importance of the encumbering function for all expenditure accounts with the vendor. 5. The district is working toward full utilization of the online position control system. At this time, attention is being given to substitute, extra hire and non-contracted positions as all contracted positions are already included in the system. The goal is to input all salary accounts into the system, both contracted and non-contracted, so that they are Financial Management 31 not vulnerable to overexpenditure and so manual transactions will rarely be necessary. Full implementation was planned for the 2005-06 adopted budget, but this was not completed due to various time constraints. 6. Position control is used to drive the payroll function, so strong controls are being developed to ensure all contracted positions are correctly entered. The separate health and welfare module is being utilized in the financial system to drive budget, but the data is not used to drive that portion of the payroll system. 7. The district has plans to implement the option within the current Aeries attendance system to allow online attendance, which would interface with payroll and with the employee absence system so that personal necessity, illness, vacation and other ab- sence transactions for employees can be properly interfaced and tracked. This would provide additional internal control features to safeguard district funds and would eliminate the extra work and potential inaccuracies in attendance data that now occurs. Implementation is scheduled for the 2005-06 fiscal year. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 32 Financial Management 8.2 Budget Monitoring Professional Standard: There are budget monitoring controls, such as periodic reports, to alert department and site man- agers of the potential for over expenditure of budgeted amounts. Revenue and expenditures are forecast and verified monthly. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. Sites and departments continue to receive monthly budget reports. However, they are not required to notify the business office that the report has been received and re- viewed by the appropriate manager. This procedure should be instituted to help ensure that the sites/departments are monitoring their budgets. The district plans to imple- ment this in October 2005. 2. Sites and departments are all able run their own budget reports. They are encouraged to monitor their budget balances online and to run special budget reports from the system as needed. The business office will continue to send monthly reports, but sites and departments should run other types of reports that are helpful to them. 3. Online budget revisions for sites and departments are planned to be implemented prior to the 2006-07 fiscal year, allowing more efficient, accurate and timely processing of budget transactions. The present process is for budget managers to fill out a request for a budget or journal transfer, if needed, after reviewing budget reports. The request is forwarded to the fiscal services division, where an assigned employee in the depart- ment will make the appropriate adjustment. For categorical programs, approvals for budget transfers are required from the program director before adjustments will be made. Journal transfer requests involving payroll coding are sent to the Human Re- sources and Payroll departments first to ensure that the coding is correct in the posi- tion control system and payroll for future transactions. 4. The budget office continues to work with site and department managers to find out what additional resources would make it easier for them to review their own budgets. Additional assistance is provided when needed to ensure that they understand the budget review and revision processes. Site and department input promotes greater ac- countability for budget issues overall. 5. Prior to the start of the 2005-06 school year, administrators attended a presentation regarding attendance accounting, budget, purchasing, and technology. Included in that presentation was information on how to read and understand budget codes, how to initiate budget transfers, and the future plan of online (electronic) budget transfers. 6. Department and site administrators were provided a packet at the back-to-school administrative meetings reflecting their 2005-06 budget and how their specific alloca- tions were determined. This informative data seemed to be appreciated and valued. Financial Management 33 Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 34 Financial Management 8.5 Budget Monitoring Professional Standard: The district uses an effective position control system that tracks personnel allocations and expen- ditures. The position control system effectively establishes checks and balances between person- nel decisions and budgeted appropriations. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The Business and Human Resources department managers continue to analyze and monitor position control to ensure that a position and adequate funding exists prior to hiring. Although the controls involve both departments, the position control function resides mostly in the business office, which is appropriate. 2. The budget office is responsible for verifying the completeness and accuracy of Per- sonnel Action Forms (Form 6) upon receipt from a site or department, which is the recommended control. 3. The district has initiated effective internal controls for position control. 4. Once the Business Department confirms the position availability and adequate fund- ing, all hiring processes are performed through the Human Resources Department. Human Resources then completes the tasks of advertising, setting up interviews, refer- ence checks, fingerprinting requirements and other safeguards to ensure that the can- didate is appropriate for the district and the specific position. As this action becomes fully centralized, expenditures will be much less likely to exceed budgets. 5. The district is formulating a plan to include substitute employees and employees on time cards in the position control system. Since the district uses time cards extensive- ly, if those positions are not included in the position control system, budget overruns could occur. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 6 May 1, 2005 Rating: 7 November 30, 2005 Rating: 7 Implementation Scale: Financial Management 35 11.1 Attendance Accounting Professional Standard: An accurate record of daily enrollment and attendance is maintained at the sites and reconciled monthly. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district is in the process of completing a manual of standard procedures for atten- dance taking and reporting. Review of these procedures should be a part of an annual in-service training for all district staff. 2. District high schools have online attendance in the classroom. Middle schools will be brought online after modernization at those sites has been completed. 3. As this is the second year on the Aeries system, sites are more skilled in the use of the system, making input faster and more accurate. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 36 Financial Management 11.3 Attendance Accounting Professional Standard: Students are enrolled by staff and entered into the attendance system in an efficient, accurate and timely manner. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has a consultant who is developing a handbook that outlines the step- by-step instructions from registering a student through reporting on the J18/19. This handbook should also include forms, common attendance codes, dropping students, compulsory laws, and pertinent education codes, and should also address independent study and home study policies and procedures. 2. District staff should continue their site visits in the 2005-06 year to ensure that all site staff have the tools needed to continue with accurate and timely reporting of atten- dance. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 3 Implementation Scale: Financial Management 37 11.6 Attendance Accounting Professional Standard: The district utilizes standardized and mandatory programs to improve the attendance rate of pu- pils. Absences are aggressively followed up by district staff. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. Middle and high school staff members have been trained on the importance of correct attendance taking and their responsibility for calling home regarding absences. Prin- cipals have been tasked with making attendance a priority and sharing their success stories. The State Administrator set a goal of 93% attendance for the 2004-05 year. The district achieved a 94% rate. 2. Training for principals and site attendance staff must continue to be provided regard- ing the issues of reporting attendance correctly and increasing student attendance. 3. The district should develop policies and procedures for instituting and implementing programs that would increase student attendance. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 4 Implementation Scale: 38 Financial Management 11.7 Attendance Accounting Professional Standard: School site personnel receive periodic and timely training on the district’s attendance procedures, system procedures and changes in laws and regulations. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. Written documentation on the new attendance system has been prepared by an outside consultant and is being reviewed before final printing. 2. The district provided an all-day attendance workshop for site and district staff. The workshop included updates to changes in attendance laws. 3. Desk reference manuals should be developed for both site and district attendance staff that include clear instructions, forms, and laws. 4. The district should provide periodic “job alike” meeting opportunities. This would en- able site and district staff to share ideas and methods for attendance taking and moni- toring. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 1 November 30, 2005 Rating: 3 Implementation Scale: Financial Management 39 12.2 Accounting, Purchasing, and Warehousing Professional Standard: The district timely and accurately records all information regarding financial activity (unrestrict- ed and restricted) for all programs. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) requires that in order for financial reporting to serve the needs of the users, it must be reliable and timely. Therefore, the timely and accurate recording of the underlying transactions (revenue and expen- ditures) is an essential function of the district’s financial management. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. Board policies have not been updated or reviewed for accounting and purchasing. The annual financial audit for 2003-04 as prepared by the California State Controller indi- cated numerous findings regarding accounting activities. Systems and procedures have improved slightly but are not fully in place. 2. Deadlines are still not enforced. Payroll due dates are still overridden because some school sites do not submit time cards on time. Situations needing resolution are now given to the Payroll Supervisor rather than being set aside. 3. The district should implement the audit recommendations and develop good business practices to ensure that accounting activities are performed in a timely manner. Man- agers and employees must be held accountable for performing job duties accurately. 4. The district should enhance accountability by including standards for compliance with rules in the annual employee evaluation process. 5. Employees ask questions of the new Director of Fiscal Services and usually get answers promptly. A new Administrative Services Manager position has been created and recruitment is under way. This employee will be responsible for developing and maintaining the district’s budget and will report directly to the Assistant Superinten- dent for Business and Operations. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: 40 Financial Management 12.3 Accounting, Purchasing, and Warehousing Professional Standard: The district forecasts its revenue and expenditures and verifies those projections monthly to adequately to manage its cash. In addition, the district reconciles its cash to bank statements and reports from the county treasurer monthly to ensure that all cash receipts are deposited timely and recorded properly. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The Director of Fiscal Services has assigned the responsibility for preparing monthly cash flow projections to an accountant who is fairly inexperienced in this area. The director must closely monitor cash at least monthly. 2. The current pattern of spending indicates that the district will face a shortage of cash over the next two years unless the budget is adjusted. The district should develop in- ternal controls and cash management procedures that all employees must consistently follow. 3. The district should continue to implement and strengthen reliable procedures to fore- cast revenues and expenditures. 4. Monthly bank reconciliations are prepared, but the staff assigned to that responsibility has turned over frequently. The district must closely supervise the bank reconciliation process to ensure accuracy and accountability. Employees handling cash and perform- ing bank reconciliations should be supervised and monitored. There should be a clear separation of duties in all matters involving cash receipts, bank deposits and reconciliations, and the recording of cash transactions into the accounting system. The 2003-04 audit performed by the State Controller included several findings regarding the handling of cash transactions. 5. The district should monitor all budget line items at least monthly. The addition of the Administrative Services Manager position should facilitate this procedure. 6. One person is assigned to count and deposit cash, but adequate procedures to follow up on cash shortages are not yet fully in place. Petty cash has not been distributed to school sites for 2005-06. The department must ensure that all employees are fully trained in proper cash management techniques. Controls and procedures regarding the use of petty cash should be strengthened before the funds are distributed to schools. 7. Procedures and accountability standards are not fully in place to prevent unauthorized bank accounts from being opened by school sites and other district employees. The district should determine that no unauthorized bank accounts exist. Financial Management 41 Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: 42 Financial Management 12.4 Accounting, Purchasing, and Warehousing Professional Standard: The district’s payroll procedures are in compliance with the requirements established by the County Office of Education, unless fiscally independent (Education Code Section 42646). Stan- dard accounting practice dictates that the district implements procedures to ensure the timely and accurate processing of payroll. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. There is a lack of communication and teamwork within the Payroll Department be- tween the new supervisor and the department employees. The relationship between Payroll and Human Resources has improved. 2. Payroll and Human Resources have begun to resolve ongoing issues and problems be- tween the two departments. Monthly meetings should be conducted to enhance com- munication and resolve problems. The issue of health benefits being moved from the business department to the human resources department causes concern as over 400 employees reported issues with their September paychecks due to health and welfare inaccuracies. This issue and topic needs to be addressed and remedied in the joint meetings. 3. Employees are becoming more familiar with the new county payroll system. Training should be conducted regularly. 4. Payroll employees are not held accountable for adhering to the rules and cooperating with management. They are uncooperative when asked to work overtime as needed to meet critical deadlines. Communication should be improved and teamwork encour- aged. The workload assignments may be unequal after the elimination of one position in payroll. Clear lines of authority and supervision should be enforced. Employees should be evaluated and/or disciplined when rules and procedures are not followed. 5. School sites are still submitting timesheets late, causing problems such as an increased need for handwritten checks from the revolving fund. Because management does not enforce compliance with payroll deadlines, the staff cannot cut off payroll processing on time, which places additional pressure on the staff. All principals and managers should be held accountable for meeting payroll deadlines. Management should en- force payroll deadlines and support payroll staff in their efforts to maintain payroll- processing timelines. 6. Payroll employees do not process work in a uniform manner. Internal control proce- dures and good business practices should be developed and implemented immediately to ensure that they do so. Financial Management 43 7. Human resources should process employment paperwork in a timely manner and for- ward all pertinent documents to Payroll immediately. 8. Paychecks are distributed at the work sites. Employee signature sheets are used and returned to Payroll to verify that all checks were properly distributed or accounted for. There are no clear procedures in place to return or mail checks that are not picked up by employees at the sites. It is possible that terminated employees could receive pay- checks due to the lack of proper controls, overriding deadlines, and untimely process- ing of paperwork in Human Resources. 9. Paychecks are processed for regular employees prior to receiving time reports from sites, occasionally causing overpayments because docked time is not available. One payroll employee, responsible for attendance and leave accounting, was absent for several months due to maternity leave. During her absence no one performed the leave accounting function, which resulted in several employees not being docked for exces- sive absence days. The overpayment collection process is flawed. There is no defined method or process for collecting overpayments from active employees. Invoices for overpayments are mailed to former employees, but no procedures are in place to follow up or collect the funds if they do not pay. Procedures to collect overpayments should be developed and implemented immediately. All overpayments should be followed up and resolved. 10. The dates that time sheets are submitted to Payroll should be analyzed to determine if changes would enhance the controls over handwritten paychecks and prevent overpay- ments. The county office system incorporates adequate internal controls as they relate to the overall payroll processing functions. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: 44 Financial Management 14.3 Multiyear Financial Projections Legal Standard: Multiyear financial projections are prepared for use in the decision-making process, especially whenever a significant multiyear expenditure commitment is contemplated. [EC 42142] Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district continues to prepare multiyear projections (MYP) as part of the statutory requirements, such as for interim and adopted budgets. The CDE’s SACS software is utilized for the projections. MYPs are submitted to the Advisory Board, the CDE, the Solano County Office of Education, and interested public and staff. Although they are submitted at the required times, the data reflected in the projections are not necessar- ily accountable enough to be used in planning. For example, the projection submitted with the 2005-06 adopted budget did not include assumptions for the two subsequent years other than percentage changes reflected on the SACS form, which are system generated. Also, the 2005-06 unrestricted ending fund balance reflected in the ad- opted budget was $2,390,620.31, yet the MYP unrestricted ending fund balance was $4,858,385.26. These two balances should be the same. The MYP is of no use if it is not accurate and does not include accountable assumptions for future years. 2. Although the projections are completed, they lack important specific required detail and general assumptions. For the 2005-06 adopted budget multiyear projection, as- sumptions and information were listed for the 2005-06 fiscal year only, except for projected ADA in 2006-07 and 2007-08. Information on step and class increases for employees, increases in health and welfare insurance premiums, changes in district property and liability insurance, and increases in utilities need to be included for the 2005-06 base year and for two subsequent years. Distinctions were not made between onetime and ongoing funding for the two subsequent years. 3. FCMAT is developing a multiyear projection based on district-provided data. This projection is being developed at the request of the county office and as a tool to assist with the comprehensive study updates. FCMAT’s MYP is intended to assist the dis- trict as it plans for future years to reduce the deficit, repay the state loan, and regain fiscal solvency. The estimated completion date for the MYP is November 2005. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 1 November 30, 2005 Rating: 1 Implementation Scale: Financial Management 45 15.4 Long-Term Debt Obligations Professional Standard: The district has developed and uses a financial plan to ensure that ongoing unfunded liabilities from employee benefits are recognized as a liability of the school district. A plan has been estab- lished for funding retiree health benefit costs as the obligations are incurred. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. In accordance with Education Code Section 42140, the district is required to pres- ent annually the accrued but unfunded cost of health and welfare benefits for retired employees over the age of 65. The last actuarial study of retiree health benefits was performed for the period June 30, 2002, and there are no new actuarial studies planned at the time of this report. The unfunded cost of post-retirement benefits is a critical component of the district’s proposed long-term fiscal recovery plan. 2. The June 30, 2004 State Controller’s Audit Report noted the retiree benefit fund was restated by $16,091,000 due to the inappropriate inclusion of the district’s long-term debt liability for other post-employment benefits. Beginning with the 2004-05 fiscal year, the district should not account for the retiree benefit fund within its fiduciary funds. According to the June 30, 2004 audit report, the retiree benefit fund ended the fiscal year with a fund balance of $671,755. Revenue for the fund is generated through a 1% employee benefit charge as a percent of total salary and benefits. The fund in 2004-05 was proposed to be established as a special reserve fund as opposed to a ben- efit trust fund. 3. The district should disclose annually, as a separate agenda item, whether or not it will reserve sufficient funds in its budget to pay for the “present-value” or “pay-as-you- go” cost of retiree benefits. The district should request a new post-retirement benefit actuarial, as the data is a critical component of the district’s proposed long-term fiscal recovery plan. Moreover, the district has not disclosed annually, in a separate agenda item, whether it has reserved sufficient funds for the present value cost of retiree benefits. GASB 43 and 45 are relatively new governmental accounting standards for state and local governments that specify the accounting and reporting format for other post-employment benefits. The district has been funding retiree benefits on a “pay-as- you-go” basis. Current actuarial data will be critical to the district’s long-term finan- cial recovery plan and future budget planning. 4. The district uses a spreadsheet application to track the projected cost of active and retired employees’ health benefits. This will assist the district budget staff in calculat- ing present and future retiree health benefit costs. A reconciliation process is being performed monthly and will track changes from the personnel records on the CECC system to premiums from the prior monthly billing statements. This duty and func- tion has been moved from the Business Office to the Human Resources Department. Documentation supporting the total dollar amounts stated for retiree benefits could not be provided for the proposed 2005-06 budget. 46 Financial Management 5. The district has conducted a mandatory re-enrollment process for all active employees and retirees that receive health and welfare benefits, and is taking measures to re- coup funds from active, former, and retired employees who were not entitled to these benefits. Due to a reorganization of duties and responsibilities in the Business Office, the reconciliation of health and welfare benefits has been transferred to the Human Resources Department. There are no written procedures or policy guidelines regarding the reconciliation process. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: Financial Management 47 16.1 Impact of Collective Bargaining Professional Standard: The district has developed parameters and guidelines for collective bargaining that ensure that the collective bargaining agreement is not an impediment to efficiency of district operations. At least annually, collective bargaining agreements are analyzed by management to identify those characteristics that are impediments to effective delivery of district operations. The district iden- tifies those issues for consideration by the Governing Board. The Governing Board, in the devel- opment of its guidelines for collective bargaining, considers the impact on district operations of current collective bargaining language and proposes amendments to district language as appro- priate to ensure effective and efficient district delivery. Governing Board parameters are provided in a confidential environment, reflective of the obligations of a closed executive board session. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district concluded negotiations with CSEA and the Vallejo School Administra- tors Association for new three-year collective bargaining agreements. The agreements included a significant reduction in district-paid health benefits beginning July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2008. The agreement with CSEA was disclosed and reviewed under AB 1200 and Government Code Section 35457.5 guidelines by the Solano County Office of Education. The financial analysis by the COE determined that the cost sav- ings would total approximately $1,572,822 and would result in ongoing savings to the district. These savings were subsequently substantially reduced following the conclu- sion of negotiations with the teachers’ association. 2. The district developed an initial proposal to the Vallejo Education Association (VEA). The proposal contained contract language used successfully in other California Teacher Association-represented school districts. The district’s proposal contained no provision for salary rollbacks, proposed a cap on health and welfare benefits, modest changes to class size, retained annual step and column movement and continued cur- rent contract language for evaluations, grievance procedures, professional rights and responsibilities and organizational rights. Negotiations between the district and the Vallejo Education Association went to impasse and eventual mediation in fall 2005. The initial proposal to VEA aligned with the district’s core beliefs, which are as follows: a. The district must regain fiscal solvency by adopting a balanced budget by the 2006- 07 school year. To achieve this goal and have enough state loan funds left to cover the continuing deficit, the district must reduce the 2005-06 budget by $10-12 mil- lion, based on district estimates. b. The district must build its capacity to sustain long-term fiscal solvency and restore local control. c. The district will openly share information and will provide accurate data to staff, employee groups, and the community. d. The district will comply with the new state financial accountability legislation (AB 2756, 2004), which mandates responsibilities of the state, county and school dis- tricts in the review and certification of proposed collective bargaining agreements. 48 Financial Management 3. In late October 2005 the district negotiated a three-year settlement agreement with no re-openers with the teachers’ bargaining unit, which includes salary increases of 1% beginning in January 2006, 1.5% in January 2007 and 1.5% in January 2008. Employee health benefit premiums are to be 80% district paid and 20% employee paid through July 1, 2008, when the district’s contribution will be capped at the January 1, 2008 level of contribution. The agreement also included adjustments to the nurse/student ratio and the counselor/student ratio, and a specific dollar hourly rate was established for all extra- duty assignments. The agreement will require additional cuts in expenditures or signifi- cant revenue enhancements to fund the ongoing salary adjustments. The district’s agreement with CSEA capped health and welfare benefits and limited the accumulation and payment of excess vacation benefits. As a “me too” understand- ing existed between the CSEA and the district to adjust the CSEA agreement based on the agreement ultimately negotiated with the teachers’ bargaining unit, the costs for the CSEA agreement will need to be adjusted for the current and subsequent two fiscal years, and will reflect less savings. 4. The district conducted a health benefit re-enrollment process in the fall of 2004 as recommended in the initial assessment report. 5. The district has restructured many of the duties and responsibilities in the Business Office. One of these changes is that the monthly reconciliation of health and welfare benefits has been transferred from the Business Office to the Human Resources De- partment. However, no written procedures or documentation were available to support the responsibilities. District staff in the Human Resources Department needs training in the reconciliation process to ensure that enrollment data is being properly tracked and managed and the district is only being invoiced for employees eligible to receive benefits. Evidence of needed training on the reconciliation process occurred when the September 30, 2005 payroll was processed. Over 300 employees visited the district office upon receiving their payroll check due to errors in the health and benefit information on their pay- checks. Serious attention needs to be given to this area. Reconciliation processes and procedures need to be put into place immediately to ensure the reconciliation is being done correctly and employee paychecks are being correctly charged for the benefit. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: Financial Management 49 16.2 Impact of Collective Bargaining Professional Standard: The Governing Board ensures that any guideline developed for collective bargaining is fiscally aligned with the instructional and fiscal goals on a multiyear basis. The Superintendent ensures that the district has a formal process in which collective bargaining multiyear costs are identi- fied for the Governing Board, and those expenditure changes are identified and implemented as necessary prior to any imposition of new collective bargaining obligations. The Governing Board ensures that costs and projected district revenues and expenditures are validated on a multiyear basis so that the fiscal issues faced by the district are not worsened by bargaining settlements. The public is informed about budget reductions that will be required for a bargaining agreement prior to any contract acceptance by the Governing Board. The public is notified of the provisions of the final proposed bargaining settlement and is provided with an opportunity to comment. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district prepared the required multiyear projections as part of the statutory bud- get requirements for all interim financial reports and the adopted budget. The district utilized the reporting format provided by the California Department of Education’s SACS software. Although this reporting format meets the state reporting require- ments, districts facing a fiscal crisis of significant magnitude need to utilize third-party software that will allow detail forecasting. For example, in the district’s 2005-06 adoption budget, the multiyear projection did not list any detailed budget assumptions for the two subsequent fiscal years or distinguish between ongoing or one-time fund- ing sources. The 2005-06 unrestricted ending fund balance reflected in the adopted budget was $2,390,620.31, yet the MYFP unrestricted ending fund balance was stated at $4,858,385.26. These two balances need to be the same to be helpful and present an accurate budget document. 2. In accordance with AB 1200 and Government Code Section 3547.5, the district prepared public disclosure documents for a proposed agreement with CSEA includ- ing, but not limited to, the costs of proposed collective bargaining agreements for the current and two subsequent fiscal years and submitted them to the COE for review and analysis. The analysis by the COE concluded that the agreement would assist the district in achieving many of the budget reductions identified in the 2005-06 adopted budget. A “me too” understanding existed, however, between the CSEA and the district to adjust the CSEA agreement based on the agreement ultimately negotiated with the teachers’ bargaining unit. As the teachers’ bargaining unit agreed to a settlement in late October, the costs for the CSEA collective bargaining agreement will need to be adjusted for the current and subsequent two fiscal years. 3. The district negotiated a three-year settlement agreement with no re-openers with the teachers’ bargaining unit, which includes salary increases of 1% beginning in January 2006, 1.5% in January 2007 and 1.5% in January 2008. Employee health benefit pre- miums are to be 80% district paid and 20% employee paid through July 1, 2008 when 50 Financial Management the district’s contribution will be capped at the January 1, 2008 level of contribution. The agreement also included adjustments to the nurse/student ratio and the counselor/ student ratio, and a specific dollar hourly rate was established for all extra-duty as- signments. The agreement will require additional cuts in expenditures or significant revenue enhancement to fund the ongoing salary adjustments. 4. The district should develop a schedule demonstrating the cost of a 1% salary increase for all bargaining units and all funds included in the budget. This schedule should contain the statutory benefits that will be included in the assumptions of the adoption budget. Total compensation should include the associated costs of salary, benefits, step and column, and cost-of-living increases (COLA), if any. 5. The district has not prepared a multiyear financial recovery plan in accordance with EC Section 41327. Staff should be provided technical training in multiyear projection software that will demonstrate the fiscal impact to the district’s budget for the current and two subsequent fiscal years. Employees require sufficient training to update their skills and to ensure that fiscal operations continue efficiently. 6. The district conducted study sessions with the Governing Board and public to address the fiscal impact of the collective bargaining process, doing a good job of keeping the board and public informed. The district must now proceed with the development and implementation of a fiscal recovery plan that includes the fiscal impact of the recently negotiated settlements. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 3 Implementation Scale: Financial Management 51 17.1 Management Information Systems Professional Standard: Management information systems support users with information that is relevant, timely, and accurate. Needs assessments are performed to ensure that users are involved in the definition of needs, development of system specifications, and selection of appropriate systems. Additionally, district standards are imposed to ensure the maintainability, compatibility, and supportability of the various systems. The district ensures that all systems are compliant with the new Standard- ized Account Code Structure (SACS), year 2000 requirements, and are compatible with county systems with which they must interface. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The administrative functions of the Technology Department are progressing posi- tively. Leadership mentoring is improving the internal workings of the department. All staff commented that this unit continues to work as a team. 2. One IT leadership staff member is on an extended teacher contract and is off during the summer months. This gap in leadership needs to be re-evaluated since there is much work that can only be scheduled during the summer break. The lack of leader- ship during summer was evident in the tasks that were not completed during that criti- cal time. The teacher extended work contract needs to be reviewed to see if a better schedule for off duty time can be achieved. 3. There is still some evidence that the Technology Department is in a reactive mode versus a purposeful planning and implementation mode. Most requests come through the help desk, but some school site administrators are beginning to contact technicians directly. Department leadership needs to mentor staff on the planning and implementa- tion process and be the stabilizing force so that a reactive working environment does not continue. There needs to be communication with all district staff on the proper procedures for requesting technology services. 4. At the beginning of the school year a consulting service was hired to assist the district in a Microsoft Active Directory deployment. The deployment security plan reflects good practices in a business environment, but was too restrictive for an education environment. The Technology Department quickly realized the problem and started re-engineering the security plan. This experience will help the Technology Department maintain a balance of usefulness for the end user versus the security and reliability of the network. There needs to be more certificated and classified input before making major changes to the network, such as Active Directory deployment. Input by these groups will build greater tolerance of problems during implementation. 5. The implementation of Eagle Software’s Aeries student information system applica- tion appears to be going well. All district staff stated that they liked the system. Sup- port from the Eagle Software Company has been excellent. 52 Financial Management 6. The district has switched its Internet service provider (ISP) back to the county office of education. This seems to be a smooth transition. The Technology Department is now mostly self-sufficient. 7. There continues to be some concern among technology staff as to the different levels of pay in the department. All job descriptions in the Technology Department should be updated and should identify critical training needs. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 6 November 30, 2005 Rating: 6 Implementation Scale: Financial Management 53 17.3 Management Information Systems Professional Standard: Selection of information systems technology conforms to legal procedures specified in the Public Contract Code. Additionally, there is a process to ensure that needs analyses, cost/benefit analy- ses, and financing plans are in place prior to commitment of resources. The process facilitates involvement by users, as well as information services staff, to ensure that training and support needs and costs are considered in the acquisition process. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The Technology Department continues to adhere to proper business practices, includ- ing following all procurement policies. District and school site administration now include and support this department in the planning of technology, so the department continues to feel involved in technology decisions throughout the district. Staff in this department seem pleased with the State Administrator’s involvement in the Technol- ogy Department and speak very highly of the changes he has initiated. Standard Implemented: Fully - Substantially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 6 November 30, 2005 Rating: 8 Implementation Scale: 54 Financial Management 17.4 Management Information Systems Professional Standard: Major technology systems are supported by implementation and training plans. The cost of implementation and training is included with other support costs in the cost/benefit analyses and financing plans supporting the acquisition of technology systems. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. Staff continue to receive on-site and vendor specific training in areas that improve service delivery to the district. Technicians have shared training opportunities to build a wide range of ability within the department. The district should continue the invest- ment in staff development on site and at vendor locations. When staff evaluations are done, progress should be noted and further training needs should be assessed. 2. Online training toward certifications needs to be assessed. It appears that the day-to- day work of the department is overshadowing the necessity to make this online train- ing a priority. The benefit to vendors in offering training courses online is that all payments are made in the beginning and the courses are often not completed. To protect the investment the district has made in this type of training, a work schedule needs to be developed that structures how much time and when each individual will work on the courses. It may be in the district’s best interest to negotiate some incentive for completing the course work during off-duty time. There might be some overlap in on-duty/off-duty time assignments to better monitor progress toward completing course work. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 7 November 30, 2005 Rating: 7 Implementation Scale: Financial Management 55 18.1 Maintenance and Operations Fiscal Controls Professional Standard: The district has a comprehensive risk management program that monitors the various aspects of risk management including workers’ compensation, property and liability insurance, and main- tains the financial well-being of the district. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The initial assessment recommended that the district should perform quarterly rec- onciliations of paid claims reflected on the loss run reports for property and liability insurance and workers’ compensation. The district provided loss statistics and claims frequency reports compiled by an independent consultant firm. The consultant firm reviews all information with district staff and assists with claims recommendations. 2. Since April 1, 2003, the district has been self-insured for workers’ compensation bene- fits. The district’s accrued liability for workers’ compensation claims on an undiscounted basis was $4,301,000 as of June 30, 2004. This amount represents self-insured claims and deductibles in the self-insurance fund, including claims incurred but not reported. Due to the proposed savings detailed in a board report dated August 10, 2005, the dis- trict has accepted a proposal from the State Compensation Insurance Fund and elimi- nated the self-insured program. This should save the district money over the long-term based on a combination of declining rates through improved experience levels. The new rate structure to fund the State Compensation program has not been incorporated into the 2005-06 budget, which was based on the district being self-insured. 3. The district should continue to request an annual actuarial study for workers’ compen- sation and disclose the district’s unfunded claims liability in public. The last actuarial review was completed on May 11, 2004. Workers’ compensation laws and the district’s experience level have changed significantly and will need to be factored into the budget. At the time of this review, the district had not requested an actuarial study for 2004-05. 4. All personnel should receive technical training in the area of self-insurance, under- standing actuarial data, claims processing, subrogation recoveries, and reinsurance claims to better assist the district in this area. The district is proceeding in this area and has utilized a third party broker to provide assistance and training for staff. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 56 Financial Management 18.2 Maintenance and Operations Fiscal Controls Professional Standard: The district has a work order system that tracks all maintenance requests, the worker assigned, dates of completion, labor time spent and the cost of materials. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district utilizes the PM+4 Web-based maintenance work order tracking system to monitor needs for preventative maintenance. The system has maintenance tracking advantages for systems, preventative maintenance, etc., and is an excellent online tool to fulfill the district’s work order system needs. 2. The district has implemented cross training of clerical staff on the present work order system and now has Web access for all district sites to report maintenance needs. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 6 Implementation Scale: Financial Management 57 18.5 Maintenance and Operations Fiscal Controls Professional Standard: Materials and equipment/tools inventory is safeguarded from loss through appropriate physical and accounting controls. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has not conducted an annual physical inventory of its fixed assets. GASB 34 requires the district to maintain complete and current fixed asset records for ac- counting purposes. The district implemented fixed accounting in the 2001-02 fiscal year but has failed to properly maintain records of additions and deletions. The pro- cedures and reporting time lines for fixed assets should be updated and distributed to all departments. At the time of this review, no significant improvements were noted. The June 30, 2004 annual audit completed by the State Controller could not establish complete accounting records and supporting data for fixed assets for the financial statements of the district. 2. The maintenance department should automate its tracking and monitoring process for all power and hand tools either checked out or permanently located on district ve- hicles. Although the inventory is still performed manually, it meets industry standards and uses a team concept. The equipment for vehicles is checked out by team number and is tracked to each vehicle, site location, hours utilized, date checked in, etc. Docu- mentation was verified and observed by the review team. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 1 May 1, 2005 Rating: 1 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: 58 Financial Management 22.1 Special Education Professional Standard: The district actively takes measures to contain the cost of Special Education services while still providing an appropriate level of quality instructional and pupil services to Special Education pupils. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has an ongoing self-review process that involves parents and community members that has been well received. The process is also monitored by the state. 2. A fiscal employee has been assigned to monitor budgets and check coding for the Special Education department. The department and fiscal employee work closely in reviewing position control versus budget and actual expenditures. This has benefited the department in that miscoded expenditures were corrected before the end of 2004- 05 and the same errors were avoided for 2005-06. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 4 May 1, 2005 Rating: 6 November 30, 2005 Rating: 7 Implementation Scale: Financial Management 59 60 Financial Management Nov. May Nov. May 2006 Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 Focus Rating Rating Rating 1.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INTERNAL CONTROL ENVIRONMENT Integrity and ethical behavior are the product of the district’s ethical and behavioral stan- dards, how they are communicated, and how 2 2 3 ❑ they are reinforced in practice. All manage- ment-level personnel exhibit high integrity and ethical values in carrying out their respon- sibilities and directing the work of others. [State Audit Standard (SAS) 55, SAS-78] 1.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INTERNAL CONTROL ENVIRONMENT The district has an audit committee to: (1) help prevent internal controls from being overridden by management; (2) help ensure ongoing state 0 and federal compliance; (3) provide assurance to management that the internal control system is sound; and (4) help identify and correct ineffi- cient processes. [SAS-55, SAS-78] 1.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INTERNAL CONTROL ENVIRONMENT The attitude of the Governing Board and key ad- ministrators has a significant effect on an organi- 2 zation’s internal control. An appropriate attitude balances the programmatic and staff needs with fiscal realities in a manner that is neither too optimistic nor too pessimistic. [SAS-55, SAS-78] 1.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INTERNAL CONTROL ENVIRONMENT The organizational structure clearly identifies 2 2 3 ❑ key areas of authority and responsibility. Re- porting lines are clearly identified and logical within each area. [SAS-55, SAS-78] 1.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INTERNAL CONTROL ENVIRONMENT Management has the ability to evaluate job 1 requirements and match the requirements to the employee’s skills. [SAS-55, SAS-78] The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Financial Management 61 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 1.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INTERNAL CONTROL ENVIRONMENT The district has procedures for recruiting capable 2 financial management and staff and hiring com- petent people. [SAS-55, SAS-78] 1.7 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INTERNAL CONTROL ENVIRONMENT All employees are evaluated on performance at least annually by a management-level employ- ee knowledgeable about their work product. 1 1 2 ❑ The evaluation criteria are clearly communi- cated and, to the extent possible, measurable. The evaluation includes a follow-up on prior performance issues and establishes goals to improve future performance. 1.8 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INTERNAL CONTROL ENVIRONMENT The responsibility for reliable financial report- ing resides first and foremost at the district level. Top management sets the tone and 2 2 3 ❑ establishes the environment. Therefore, appro- priate measures are implemented to discour- age and detect fraud (SAS 82; Treadway Com- mission). 2.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INTER- AND IN- TRADEPARTMENTAL COMMUNICATIONS The business and operational departments communicate regularly with internal staff and all user departments on their responsibili- ties for accounting procedures and internal controls. The communications are written whenever possible, particularly when they 1 1 3 ❑ (1) affect many staff or user groups, (2) are issues of high importance, or (3) reflect a change in procedures. Procedures manuals are necessary to the communication of responsi- bilities. The departments also are responsive to user department needs, thus encouraging a free exchange of information between the two (excluding items of a confidential nature). The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 62 Financial Management Nov. May Nov. May 2006 Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 Focus Rating Rating Rating 2.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INTER- AND IN- TRADEPARTMENTAL COMMUNICATIONS The financial departments communicate regu- larly with the Governing Board and community on the status of district finances and the fi- nancial impact of proposed expenditure deci- 2 2 3 ❑ sions. The communications are written when- ever possible, particularly when they affect many community members, are issues of high importance to the district and board, or reflect a change in policy. 2.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INTER- AND IN- TRADEPARTMENTAL COMMUNICATIONS The Governing Board is engaged in understand- ing globally the fiscal status of the district, 1 1 3 ❑ both current and as projected. The board prioritizes district fiscal issues among the top discussion items. 2.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INTER- AND IN- TRADEPARTMENTAL COMMUNICATIONS The district has formal policies and procedures that provide a mechanism for individuals to 0 0 2 ❑ report illegal acts, establish to whom illegal acts should be reported, and provide a formal investigative process. 2.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INTER- AND IN- TRADEPARTMENTAL COMMUNICATIONS Documents developed by the fiscal division for distribution to the Governing Board, finance committees, staff and community are eas- 1 1 3 ❑ ily understood. Those who receive documents developed by the fiscal division do not have to wade through complex, lengthy computer printouts. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Financial Management 63 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 3.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - STAFF PROFESSION- AL DEVELOPMENT The district has developed and uses a profes- sional development plan for training business staff. The plan includes the input of busi- ness office supervisors and managers, and, at 0 0 0 ❑ a minimum, identifies appropriate programs office-wide. At best, each individual staff and management employee has a plan designed to meet their individual professional develop- ment needs. 3.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - STAFF PROFESSION- AL DEVELOPMENT The district develops and uses a professional development plan for the in-service training of school site/department staff by business staff 0 0 1 ❑ on relevant business procedures and internal controls. The plan includes the input of the business office and the school sites/depart- ments and is updated annually. 4.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INTERNAL AUDIT The Governing Board has adopted policies establishing an internal audit function that 0 1 3 ❑ reports directly to the Superintendent/State Administrator and the audit committee or Gov- erning Board. 4.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INTERNAL AUDIT Internal audit functions are designed into the organizational structure of the district. These functions include periodic internal audits of 0 0 0 ❑ areas at high risk for non-compliance with laws and regulations and/or at high risk for monetary loss. 4.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INTERNAL AUDIT Qualified staff are assigned to conduct internal 0 audits and are supervised by an independent body, such as an audit committee. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 64 Financial Management Nov. May Nov. May 2006 Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 Focus Rating Rating Rating 4.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INTERNAL AUDIT Internal audit findings are reported on a timely basis to the audit committee, governing board 0 and administration, as appropriate. Management then takes timely action to follow up and resolve audit findings. 5.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS (POLICY) The budget development process requires a policy-oriented focus by the Governing Board to develop an expenditure plan that fulfills the dis- trict’s goals and objectives. The Governing Board 3 focuses on expenditure standards and formulas that meet the district goals. The Governing Board avoids specific line-item focus, but directs staff to design an entire expenditure plan focusing on student and district needs. 5.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS (POLICY) 3 The budget development process includes input from staff, administrators, board and community. 5.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS (POLICY) 2 Policies and regulations exist regarding budget development and monitoring. 5.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET DEVELOP- MENT PROCESS (POLICY) The district has a clear process to analyze re- 2 4 5 ❑ sources and allocations to ensure that they are aligned with strategic planning objectives and that the budget reflects district priorities. 5.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET DEVELOP- MENT PROCESS (POLICY) The district has policies to facilitate devel- opment of a budget that is understandable, 3 5 5 ❑ meaningful, reflective of district priorities, and balanced in terms of revenues and expen- ditures. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Financial Management 65 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 5.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS (POLICY) Categorical funds are an integral part of the budget process and have been integrated into the entire budget development. The revenues and expenditures for categorical programs are reviewed and evaluated in the same manner as unrestricted General Fund revenues and expen- ditures. Categorical program development is integrated with the district’s goals and used to 4 respond to district student needs that cannot be met by unrestricted expenditures. The superin- tendent, superintendent’s cabinet and fiscal office have established procedures to ensure that cat- egorical funds are expended effectively to meet district goals. Carryover and unearned income of categorical programs are monitored and evaluated in the same manner as General Fund unrestricted expenditures. 5.7 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET DEVELOP- MENT PROCESS (POLICY) The district has the ability to accurately reflect its net ending balance throughout the bud- get monitoring process. The first and second interim reports provide valid updates of the 0 2 3 ❑ district’s net ending balance. The district has tools and processes that ensure that there is an early warning of any discrepancies between the budget projections and actual revenues or expenditures. 5.8 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS (POLICY) The district utilizes formulas for allocating funds to school sites and departments. This can include 3 staffing ratios, supply allocations, etc. These formulas should be in line with the board's goals and directions, and should not be overridden. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 66 Financial Management Nov. May Nov. May 2006 Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 Focus Rating Rating Rating 6.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET DEVELOP- MENT PROCESS (TECHNICAL) The budget office has a technical process to build the preliminary budget amounts that includes: the forecast of revenues, the verifica- tion and projection of expenditures, the iden- 0 3 4 ❑ tification of known carryovers and accruals and the inclusion of concluded expenditure plans. The process clearly identifies one-time sources and uses of funds. Reasonable ADA and COLA estimates are used when planning and budget- ing. This process is applied to all funds. 6.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS (TECHNICAL) An adopted budget calendar exists that meets le- 3 gal and management requirements. At a minimum the calendar identifies statutory due dates and major budget development activities. 6.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS (TECHNICAL) Standardized budget worksheets are used in order 3 to communicate budget requests, budget alloca- tions, formulas applied and guidelines. 7.1 LEGAL STANDARD - BUDGET ADOPTION, REPORT- ING, AND AUDITS The district adopts its annual budget within the statutory time lines established by Education Code Section 42103, which requires that on or before July 1, the governing board shall hold a 3 public hearing on the budget to be adopted for the subsequent fiscal year. Not later than five days after that adoption or by July 1, which- ever occurs first, the governing board shall file that budget with the county superintendent of schools. [EC 42127(a)] The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Financial Management 67 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 7.2 LEGAL STANDARD - BUDGET ADOPTION, REPORT- ING, AND AUDITS Revisions to expenditures based on the State Budget are considered and adopted by the gov- erning board. Not later than 45 days after the 3 governor signs the annual Budget Act, the district shall make available for public review any revi- sions in revenues and expenditures that it has made to its budget to reflect funding available by that Budget Act. [EC 42127(2) and 42127(i)(4)] 7.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET ADOPTION, REPORTING, AND AUDITS The district has procedures that provide for the development and submission of a district budget 3 and interim reports that adhere to criteria and standards and are approved by the county office of education. 7.4 LEGAL STANDARD - BUDGET ADOPTION, REPORT- ING, AND AUDITS The district completes and files its interim budget 2 reports within the statutory deadlines established by Education Code Section 42130, et. seq. 7.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET ADOPTION, REPORTING, AND AUDITS The first and second interim reports show an 0 0 3 ❑ accurate projection of the ending fund bal- ance. Material differences are presented to the board of education with detailed explanations. 7.6 LEGAL STANDARD - BUDGET ADOPTION, REPORT- ING, AND AUDITS The district has complied with Governmental Accounting Standard No. 34 (GASB 34) for the period ending June 30, 2003. GASB 34 requires 1 the district to develop policies and procedures and report in the annual financial reports on the modified accrual basis of accounting and the ac- crual basis of accounting. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 68 Financial Management Nov. May Nov. May 2006 Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 Focus Rating Rating Rating 7.7 LEGAL STANDARD - BUDGET ADOPTION, REPORT- ING, AND AUDITS The district has arranged for an annual audit 3 (single audit) within the deadlines established by Education Code section 41020. 7.8 LEGAL STANDARD - BUDGET ADOPTION, REPORT- ING, AND AUDITS The district should include in its audit report, but 4 not later than March 15, a corrective action for all findings disclosed as required by Education Code Section 41020. 7.9 LEGAL STANDARD - BUDGET ADOPTION, REPORT- ING, AND AUDITS The district must file certain documents/reports with the state as follows: J-200 series - (Educa- 4 tion Code Section 42100); J-380 series - CDE procedures; Interim financial reports - (Education Code Section 42130); J-141 transportation report (Title V, article 5, Section 15270). 7.10 LEGAL STANDARD - BUDGET ADOPTION, REPORT- ING, AND AUDITS Education Code Section 41020(c) (d) (e) (g) establishes procedures for local agency audit obligations and standards. Pursuant to Educa- tion Code Section 41020(h), the district submits 5 to the county superintendent of schools in the county that the district resides, the State Depart- ment of Education, and the State Controller’s Of- fice an audit report for the preceding fiscal year. This report must be submitted "no later than December 15." 8.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET MONITOR- ING 3 4 5 ❑ All purchase orders are properly encumbered against the budget until payment. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Financial Management 69 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 8.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET MONITOR- ING There are budget monitoring controls, such as periodic reports, to alert department and site 1 3 5 ❑ managers of the potential for overexpenditure of budgeted amounts. Revenue and expendi- tures are forecast and verified monthly. 8.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET MONITORING The routine restricted maintenance account is routinely analyzed to ensure that income has been properly claimed and expenditures are with- 6 in the guidelines provided by the State Depart- ment of Education. The district budget includes specific budget information to reflect the expen- ditures against the routine maintenance account. 8.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET MONITORING Budget revisions are made on a regular basis and 5 occur per established procedures, and are ap- proved by the Governing Board. 8.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET MONITOR- ING The district uses an effective position control system that tracks personnel allocations and 6 7 7 ❑ expenditures. The position control system effectively establishes checks and balances between personnel decisions and budgeted ap- propriations. 8.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET MONITORING The district monitors both the revenue limit calculation and the special education calculation at least quarterly to adjust for any differences 6 between the financial assumptions used in the initial calculations and the final actuals as they are known. 8.7 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET MONITORING The district monitors the site reports of revenues 0 and expenditures provided. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 70 Financial Management Nov. May Nov. May 2006 Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 Focus Rating Rating Rating 9.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET COMMUNICA- TIONS The district budget is a clear manifestation of 0 district policies and is presented in a manner that facilitates communication of those policies. 9.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - BUDGET COMMUNICA- TIONS 0 The district budget clearly identifies one-time sources and uses of funds. 10.1 LEGAL STANDARD - INVESTMENTS The Governing Board reviews and approves, at 0 a public meeting and on a quarterly basis, the district’s investment policy. [GC 53646] 11.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ATTENDANCE AC- COUNTING An accurate record of daily enrollment and at- 1 4 5 ❑ tendance is maintained at the sites and recon- ciled monthly. 11.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ATTENDANCE AC- COUNTING Policies and regulations exist for independent 1 study, home study, inter/intradistrict agreements and districts of choice, and address fiscal impact. 11.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ATTENDANCE AC- COUNTING Students are enrolled by staff and entered into 2 3 3 ❑ the attendance system in an efficient, accurate and timely manner. 11.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ATTENDANCE AC- COUNTING At least annually, the school district verifies that 4 each school bell schedule meets instructional time requirements for minimum day, year and an- nual minute requirements. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Financial Management 71 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 11.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ATTENDANCE AC- COUNTING Procedures are in place to ensure that attendance 1 accounting and reporting requirements are met for alternative programs such as ROC/P and adult education. 11.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ATTENDANCE AC- COUNTING The district utilizes standardized and manda- 0 3 4 ❑ tory programs to improve the attendance rate of pupils. Absences are aggressively followed- up by district staff. 11.7 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ATTENDANCE AC- COUNTING School site personnel receive periodic and 0 1 3 ❑ timely training on the district’s attendance procedures, system procedures and changes in laws and regulations. 11.8 LEGAL STANDARD - ATTENDANCE ACCOUNTING Attendance records are not destroyed until after 5 the third July 1 succeeding the completion of the audit. (Title V, CCR, Section 16026) 11.9 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ATTENDANCE AC- COUNTING The district makes appropriate use of short-term 0 independent study and Saturday school programs as alternative methods for pupils to keep current on classroom course work. 12.1 LEGAL STANDARD - ACCOUNTING, PURCHASING, AND WAREHOUSING The district adheres to the California School Ac- counting Manual (CSAM) and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) as required by Edu- 2 cation Code Section 41010. Adherence to CSAM and GAAP helps to ensure that transactions are accurately recorded and financial statements are fairly presented. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 72 Financial Management Nov. May Nov. May 2006 Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 Focus Rating Rating Rating 12.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ACCOUNTING, PUR- CHASING, AND WAREHOUSING The district timely and accurately records all information regarding financial activity (unre- stricted and restricted) for all programs. Gen- erally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) require that in order for financial reporting to 2 2 2 ❑ serve the needs of the users, it must be reli- able and timely. Therefore, the timely and ac- curate recording of the underlying transactions (revenue and expenditures) is an essential function of the district’s financial manage- ment. 12.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ACCOUNTING, PUR- CHASING, AND WAREHOUSING The district forecasts its revenues and expen- ditures and verifies those projections on a monthly basis in order to adequately manage its cash. In addition, the district reconciles its 1 2 2 ❑ cash to bank statements and reports from the county treasurer reports on a monthly basis. Standard accounting practice dictates that, in order to ensure that all cash receipts are deposited timely and recorded properly, cash is reconciled to bank statements monthly. 12.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ACCOUNTING, PUR- CHASING, AND WAREHOUSING The district’s payroll procedures are in com- pliance with the requirements established by the County Office of Education, unless fiscally 1 2 2 ❑ independent. (Education Code Section 42646) Standard accounting practice dictates that the district implement procedures to ensure the timely and accurate processing of payroll. 12.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ACCOUNTING, PUR- CHASING, AND WAREHOUSING Standard accounting practice dictates that the accounting work is properly supervised and work 1 reviewed in order to ensure that transactions are recorded timely and accurately, and allow the preparation of periodic financial statements. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Financial Management 73 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 12.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ACCOUNTING, PUR- CHASING, AND WAREHOUSING Federal and state categorical programs, either through specific program requirements or through 1 general cost principles such as OMB Circular A-87, require that entities receiving such funds must have an adequate system to account for those revenues and related expenditures. 12.7 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ACCOUNTING, PUR- CHASING, AND WAREHOUSING Generally accepted accounting practices dictate that, in order to ensure accurate recording of transactions, the district have standard proce- 1 dures for closing its books at fiscal year-end. The district’s year-end closing procedures should comply with the procedures and requirements established by the county office of education. 12.8 LEGAL STANDARD - ACCOUNTING, PURCHASING, AND WAREHOUSING The district complies with the bidding require- ments of Public Contract Code Section 20111. Standard accounting practice dictates that the district have adequate purchasing and ware- 2 housing procedures to ensure that only properly authorized purchases are made, that authorized purchases are made consistent with district poli- cies and management direction, that inventories are safeguarded, and that purchases and invento- ries are timely and accurately recorded. 12.9 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ACCOUNTING, PUR- CHASING, AND WAREHOUSING The district has documented procedures for the receipt, expenditure and monitoring of all con- 3 struction-related activities. Included in the pro- cedures are specific requirements for the approval and payment of all construction-related expendi- tures. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 74 Financial Management Nov. May Nov. May 2006 Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 Focus Rating Rating Rating 12.10 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ACCOUNTING, PUR- CHASING, AND WAREHOUSING The accounting system has an appropriate level of 2 controls to prevent and detect errors and irregu- larities. 12.11 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - ACCOUNTING, PUR- CHASING, AND WAREHOUSING The district has implemented the new Standard- ized Account Code Structure. SACS ensures the 5 district is in compliance with federal guidelines, which will ensure no loss of federal funds, e.g., Title I federal class size reduction. 13.1 LEGAL STANDARD - STUDENT BODY FUNDS The Governing Board adopts policies and proce- dures to ensure compliance regarding how student 4 body organizations deposit, invest, spend, raise and audit student body funds. [EC 48930-48938] 13.2 LEGAL STANDARD - STUDENT BODY FUNDS Proper supervision of all student body funds is provided by the board. [EC 48937] This includes establishing responsibilities for managing and 4 overseeing the activities and funds of student organizations, including providing procedures for the proper handling, recording and reporting of revenues and expenditures. 13.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - STUDENT BODY FUNDS The district provides training and guidance to site 4 personnel on the policies and procedures govern- ing the Associated Student Body account. 13.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - STUDENT BODY FUNDS In order to provide adequate oversight of student funds and to ensure the proper handling and reporting, the California Department of Educa- 2 tion recommends that periodic financial reports be prepared by sites, and then summarized by the district office. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Financial Management 75 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 13.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - STUDENT BODY FUNDS In order to provide adequate oversight of student funds and to ensure proper handling and report- ing, the California Department of Education rec- 2 ommends that internal audits be performed. Such audits should review the operation of student body funds at both district and site levels. 14.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - MULTIYEAR FINAN- CIAL PROJECTIONS 0 A reliable computer program that provides reliable multiyear financial projections is used. 14.2 LEGAL STANDARD - MULTIYEAR FINANCIAL PRO- JECTIONS The district annually provides a multiyear rev- enue and expenditure projection for all funds 0 of the district. Projected fund balance reserves are disclosed. The assumptions for revenues and expenditures are reasonable and supportable. [EC 42131] 14.3 LEGAL STANDARD - MULTIYEAR FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS Multiyear financial projections are prepared for 0 1 1 ❑ use in the decision-making process, especially whenever a significant multiyear expenditure commitment is contemplated. [EC 42142] 15.1 LEGAL STANDARD - LONG-TERM DEBT OBLIGATIONS The district complies with public disclosure laws of fiscal obligations related to health and welfare 3 benefits for retirees, self-insured workers compen- sation, and collective bargaining agreements. [GC 3540.2, 3547.5, EC 42142] The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 76 Financial Management Nov. May Nov. May 2006 Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 Focus Rating Rating Rating 15.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - LONG-TERM DEBT OBLIGATIONS When authorized, the district uses only non-voter approved, long-term financing such as certifi- cates of participation (COPS), revenue bonds, and 2 lease-purchase agreements (capital leases) to ad- dress capital needs, and not operations. Further, the general fund is used to finance current school operations, and in general is not used to pay for these types of long-term commitments. 15.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - LONG-TERM DEBT OBLIGATIONS For long-term liabilities/debt service, the district prepares debt service schedules and identifies the dedicated funding sources to make those debt service payments. The district projects cash receipts from the dedicated revenue sources to 2 ensure that it will have sufficient funds to make periodic debt payments. The cash flow projections are monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure that any variances from projected cash flows are identified as early as possible to allow the district sufficient time to take appropriate measures or identify alternative funding sources. 15.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - LONG-TERM DEBT OBLIGATIONS The district has developed and uses a financial plan to ensure that ongoing unfunded liabili- 1 2 2 ❑ ties from employee benefits are recognized as a liability of the school district. A plan has been established for funding retiree health benefit costs as the obligations are incurred. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Financial Management 77 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 16.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - IMPACT OF COLLEC- TIVE BARGAINING The district has developed parameters and guidelines for collective bargaining that en- sure that the collective bargaining agreement is not an impediment to efficiency of district operations. At least annually, collective bar- gaining agreements are analyzed by manage- ment to identify those characteristics that are impediments to effective delivery of district operations. The district identifies those issues 1 4 5 ❑ for consideration by the Governing Board. The Governing Board, in the development of its guidelines for collective bargaining, considers the impact on district operations of current collective bargaining language, and proposes amendments to district language as appropri- ate to ensure effective and efficient district delivery. Governing Board parameters are pro- vided in a confidential environment, reflective of the obligations of a closed executive board session. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 78 Financial Management Nov. May Nov. May 2006 Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 Focus Rating Rating Rating 16.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - IMPACT OF COLLEC- TIVE BARGAINING The Governing Board ensures that any guide- line developed for collective bargaining is fis- cally aligned with the instructional and fiscal goals on a multiyear basis. The Superintendent ensures that the district has a formal process in which collective bargaining multiyear costs are identified for the Governing Board, and those expenditure changes are identified and implemented as necessary prior to any imposi- tion of new collective bargaining obligations. 1 2 3 ❑ The Governing Board ensures that costs and projected district revenues and expenditures are validated on a multiyear basis so that the fiscal issues faced by the district are not wors- ened by bargaining settlements. The public is informed about budget reductions that will be required for a bargaining agreement prior to any contract acceptance by the Governing Board. The public is notified of the provisions of the final proposed bargaining settlement and is provided with an opportunity to com- ment. 17.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - MANAGEMENT IN- FORMATION SYSTEMS Management information systems support us- ers with information that is relevant, timely, and accurate. Needs assessments are per- formed to ensure that users are involved in the definition of needs, development of system specifications, and selection of appropriate 3 6 6 ❑ systems. Additionally, district standards are imposed to ensure the maintainability, com- patibility, and supportability of the various systems. The district ensures that all systems are compliant with the new Standardized Ac- count Code Structure (SACS), year 2000 re- quirements, and are compatible with county systems with which they must interface. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Financial Management 79 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 17.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - MANAGEMENT INFOR- MATION SYSTEMS Automated systems are used to improve accuracy, timeliness, and efficiency of financial and report- ing systems. Needs assessments are performed to determine what systems are candidates for auto- mation, whether standard hardware and software systems are available to meet the need, and whether or not the district would benefit. Auto- 8 mated financial systems provide accurate, timely, relevant information and conform to all account- ing standards. The systems are designed to serve all of the various users inside and outside the district. Employees receive appropriate training and supervision in the operation of the systems. Appropriate internal controls are instituted and reviewed periodically. 17.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - MANAGEMENT IN- FORMATION SYSTEMS Selection of information systems technology conforms to legal procedures specified in the Public Contract Code. Additionally, there is a process to ensure that needs analyses, cost/ 0 6 8 ❑ benefit analyses, and financing plans are in place prior to commitment of resources. The process facilitates involvement by users, as well as information services staff, to ensure that training and support needs and costs are considered in the acquisition process. 17.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - MANAGEMENT IN- FORMATION SYSTEMS Major technology systems are supported by implementation and training plans. The cost of 0 7 7 ❑ implementation and training is included with other support costs in the cost/benefit analy- ses and financing plans supporting the acquisi- tion of technology systems. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 80 Financial Management Nov. May Nov. May 2006 Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 Focus Rating Rating Rating 17.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - MANAGEMENT INFOR- MATION SYSTEMS Access to administrative systems is reliable and secure. Communications pathways that connect 3 users with administrative systems are as free of single-points-of-failure as possible, and are highly fault tolerant. 17.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - MANAGEMENT INFOR- MATION SYSTEMS Hardware and software purchases conform to existing technology standards. Standards for copi- ers, printers, fax machines, networking equip- ment, and all other technology assets are defined and enforced to increase standardization and decrease support costs. Requisitions that con- 3 tain hardware or software items are forwarded to the technology department for approval prior to being converted to purchase orders. Requisitions for non-standard technology items are approved by the technology department unless the user is informed that district support for non-standard items will not be available. 17.7 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - MANAGEMENT INFOR- MATION SYSTEMS 2 Computers are replaced on a schedule based on hardware specifications. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Financial Management 81 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 17.8 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - MANAGEMENT INFOR- MATION SYSTEMS The following network standards, established for school districts, are being followed by the dis- trict: • A stable firewall is used with a separate DMZ and "inside" network. • The district follows EIA/TIA 568-B for all net- work cabling. • A Web content filter is used for all outbound Internet access. • The district uses an e-mail spam filter for all 4 inbound e-mail. • Administrative and academic network traffic is kept separate. • Switches and network hubs are installed, and the district ensures that switches support certain features. • Login banners are added to all network ele- ments that will support them. • The district has transitioned from all non-TCP/ IP protocols. • The district uses a VPN for any access to the internal network from the outside. 18.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS FISCAL CONTROLS The district has a comprehensive risk-man- agement program that monitors the various 3 3 5 ❑ aspects of risk management including workers compensation, property and liability insur- ance, and maintains the financial well being of the district. 18.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS FISCAL CONTROLS The district has a work order system that 3 4 6 ❑ tracks all maintenance requests, the worker as- signed, dates of completion, labor time spent and the cost of materials. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 82 Financial Management Nov. May Nov. May 2006 Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 Focus Rating Rating Rating 18.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS FISCAL CONTROLS The district controls the use of facilities and 6 charges fees for usage in accordance with district policy. 18.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS FISCAL CONTROLS The Maintenance Department follows standard district purchasing protocols. Open purchase 6 orders may be used if controlled by limiting the employees authorized to make the purchase and the amount. 18.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS FISCAL CONTROLS Materials and equipment/tools inventory is 1 1 2 ❑ safeguarded from loss through appropriate physical and accounting controls. 18.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS FISCAL CONTROLS District-owned vehicles are used only for district 2 purposes. Fuel is inventoried and controlled as to use. 18.7 LEGAL STANDARD - MAINTENANCE AND OPERA- TIONS FISCAL CONTROLS Vending machine operations are subject to poli- cies and regulations set by the State Board of 3 Education. All vending machine contracts reflect these policies and regulations. An adequate sys- tem of inventory control also exists. [EC 48931] 18.8 LEGAL STANDARD - MAINTENANCE AND OPERA- TIONS FISCAL CONTROLS Capital equipment and furniture is tagged as 2 district-owned property and inventoried at least annually. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Financial Management 83 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 18.9 LEGAL STANDARD - MAINTENANCE AND OPERA- TIONS FISCAL CONTROLS The district adheres to bid and force account requirements found in the Public Contract Code (Sections 20111 and 20114). These requirements 7 include formal bids for materials, equipment and maintenance projects that exceed $50,000; capi- tal projects of $15,000 or more; and labor when the job exceeds 750 hours or the materials exceed $21,000. PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS FISCAL CONTROLS Standard accounting practices dictate that the district has adequate purchasing and contract controls to ensure that only properly authorized purchases are made and independent contracts approved, and that authorized purchases and 6 independent contracts are made consistent with district policies, procedures, and management direction. In addition, appropriate levels of sig- nature authorization are maintained to prevent or discourage inappropriate purchases or contract awards. 19.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FOOD SERVICE FISCAL CONTROLS In order to accurately record transactions and to ensure the accuracy of financial statements for the cafeteria fund in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, the district has ad- equate purchasing and warehousing procedures to 7 ensure that: 1. Only properly authorized purchases are made consistent with district policies, federal guidelines, and management direction. 2. Adequate physical security measures are in place to prevent the loss/theft of food inventories. 3. Revenues, expenditures, inventories, and cash are recorded timely and accurately. 19.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FOOD SERVICE FISCAL CONTROLS 7 The district operates the food service programs in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 84 Financial Management Nov. May Nov. May 2006 Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 Focus Rating Rating Rating 19.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FOOD SERVICE FISCAL CONTROLS 7 Food service software permits point of sale trans- action processing for maximum efficiency. 20.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - CHARTER SCHOOLS In the process of reviewing and approving charter schools, the district identifies/establishes mini- mal financial management and reporting stan- dards that the charter school will follow. These standards/procedures will provide some level of 1 assurance that finances will be managed appro- priately, and allow the district to monitor the charter. The district monitors the financial man- agement and performance of the charter schools on an ongoing basis in order to ensure that the resources are appropriately managed. 21.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - STATE-MANDATED COSTS The district has procedures that provide for the appropriate oversight and management of man- dated cost claim reimbursement filing. Appropri- ate procedures cover: the identification of chang- 2 es to existing mandates; training staff regarding the appropriate collection and submission of data to support the filing of mandated costs claims; forms, formats, and time lines for reporting man- dated cost information; and review of data and preparation of the actual claims. 22.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - SPECIAL EDUCA- TION The district actively takes measures to contain the cost of special education services while 4 5 7 ❑ still providing an appropriate level of qual- ity instructional and pupil services to special education pupils. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Financial Management 85 Facilities Management In the six months since the first progress review in May 2005, the district has been moving for- ward with implementing action plans designed to correct the identified deficiencies in the Facili- ties Management area. The district has shown progress in areas such as training and work order management. However, the revision/adoption of board policies and the establishment of compre- hensive policies and procedures for facilities, maintenance, and operations are fundamental to the action plan and necessary for its successful implementation. At the time of this review, neither the board policies nor the policies and procedures manual for these areas had been completed. As a result, the district did not improve its rating in many of the standards assessed. Further, the district’s effort to change the attitudes and the culture in the workplace is a multiyear process that has not yet resulted in significant changes in the six-month period. Numerous areas were identified in the original Assessment and Improvement Plan where the district’s performance did not meet established standards. Those areas included: • Lack of documentation of policies and processes • Inadequate communication between central office departments, the central office, and school sites • Numerous health and safety issues at the school sites • Inconsistent handling of work orders and other facilities-related documentation Documentation of Policies, Procedures, and Processes The district is revising and expanding its board policies and administrative regulations; however, this process is still in progress. As policies and administrative regulations are adopted, the district posts them on its Web site. To date, the district has not reviewed or updated the policies related to facilities, maintenance, and operations. The exact timeline for reviewing policies and admin- istrative regulations for the facilities area is not clear. The district’s stated goal is to complete its review and updating of all policies and administrative regulations by the end of 2006. The district’s action plan also calls for the development of a comprehensive Policies and Pro- cedures Manual for facilities, maintenance, and operations. These policies and procedures are intended to address all aspects of the operation of those departments, as well as the findings and recommendations identified in the Assessment and Improvement Plan. To date, the district has accumulated information, best practices, and sample manuals, and is starting to draft and develop the manual. The samples and outline for the manual show that the district’s goal is for the manual to comprehensively address a broad range of areas and issues, including operations, personnel, safety, equipment maintenance and management. As part of the manual, one of the district’s goals would be to implement more comprehensive evaluation tools for personnel, which is important for increasing staff capabilities and instituting accountability. This may also need to be addressed in collective bargaining. While the district’s approach and goal are promising, given the workload and other issues confronting the Mainte- nance and Operations Department, the manual was not complete and available for review at the time of the team’s visit. Facilities Management 1 Communication between Central Office Departments The two departments responsible for district facilities are Student Housing Services, commonly known as Facilities, and Facilities Services, known as Maintenance and Operations. The relation- ship between the administrators of these departments appears good. A weekly meeting is held for division staff to facilitate consistent communication between Student Housing and Facilities, and the two directors participate in Cabinet meetings every other week. Student Housing, Facilities, and other central office departments communicate via e-mail and phone calls as needed. Overall, communication appears to be improving, but there are still gaps. The completion of board policies, administrative regulations, and departmental policy and pro- cedures manuals should help to formalize the frequency, nature, and format of interdepartmental communications. This should help ensure timely and ongoing communication between the two departments, other central office departments, and sites, so that facility issues are addressed promptly. Communication between Schools and Central Office In the past, communication between school sites and the Maintenance and Operations Depart- ment has been poor. Sites complained that work orders, e-mails, and voicemails were either not answered or not answered promptly. The work order system was viewed as cumbersome, time consuming, and not user friendly. As a result, the system was not consistently used, which cre- ated problems in managing and tracking work orders. Conversely, when the work order system was used, sites frequently were not aware of the status of any given work order. As a result, mul- tiple work orders were frequently submitted for the same job, which created administrative and tracking issues for the Maintenance Department. The district upgraded its work order/preventive maintenance system and archived old data. This improved the speed of the system, and simplified the process for site staff to review the status of work orders. Feedback from site administrators regarding the upgraded system has been posi- tive. The system ultimately should assist the district to better manage facilities, reduce the actual number of repairs needed, and reduce the number of work orders submitted. However, while the upgraded work order system has been a success, some site administrators stated that the departments could be more prompt in responding to calls and e-mails. Accord- ingly, the departments should commit to returning calls and e-mails within a 24-hour period to ensure that site issues are addressed promptly. Fire, Health, and Safety Issues at School Sites The prior review identified fire, health, and safety issues at virtually all the sites visited. Prob- lems included: • Classrooms without fire extinguishers, or extinguishers moved from designated areas • Fire extinguishers lacking current inspections • Access to fire extinguishers and fire alarms blocked • Fire doors or barrier doors blocked open • Unsanitary restrooms 2 Facilities Management During the current review, the district’s performance was improved, particularly in the area of fire extinguishers. Only a few expired extinguishers were noted, virtually all classrooms had fire extinguishers, and access to fire extinguishers was clear at the sites visited. Performance has im- proved in this area as a result of the district contracting for a Fire Life Safety survey and requir- ing head custodians to perform a monthly inspection of fire extinguishers and submit a monthly inspection report. The district has hired a contractor to ensure that safety systems such as clocks, bells, and alarms are operating properly and to make repairs as necessary. The district is making efforts to address those areas where problems were still observed. For example, a few instances of unsanitary restrooms were observed. In response to the need to improve bathroom cleanliness, the district is purchasing restroom cleaning/sterilizing equipment that should improve the quality and efficiency of cleaning. In addition, the district has established a night custodial supervisor position to evaluate the work done by night custodians, including restroom cleaning. Overall, there are fewer sites with issues, and fewer violations. As the district moves forward with formalizing and implementing operating procedures, ongoing improvement is expected to continue. Facilities Management 3 4 Facilities Management 1.3 School Safety—Plan for Protection of People and Property Legal Standard: Demonstrate that a plan of security has been developed, which includes adequate measures of safety and protection of people and property. [EC 32020, 32211, 35294-35294.9] Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district continues to work on updating its board policies and administrative regula- tions. However, the process of reviewing and updating board policies is still in progress. As policies and administrative regulations are adopted, the district is posting them on its Web site. To date, the district has not reviewed or updated the policies related to facilities, maintenance, and operations. The exact timeline for addressing the policies and adminis- trative regulations for facilities is not clear. The district’s stated goal is to complete its re- view and updating of all policies and administrative regulations by the end of 2006. This item will require followup in the next six-month review to determine if the board policies were in fact updated to sufficiently address pertinent facilities issues. 2. The districtwide and site-specific safety plans are not yet complete. The district has com- pleted the framework of the plan, which includes the following areas: • General Safety Information • Child Abuse Reporting • Disaster Procedures • Notification of Dangerous Pupils • Suspension, Expulsion, and Due Process • Sexual Harassment Policies • School Dress and Grooming • Safe Ingress and Egress • Rules and Procedures for School Discipline • Crime Assessment • Appendices—Reference and Resource Information The district has completed five of the topic areas. However, five sections of the plan uti- lize the district's board policies and administrative regulations, which have not yet been updated, as the basis of support for the plan. Sections impacted include: • Suspension, Expulsion, and Due Process • Sexual Harassment Policies • School Dress and Grooming • Rules and Procedures for School Discipline • Crime Assessment Each site is to produce a site-specific plan that provides the details for each of the 10 areas identified in the districtwide plan. However, the site plans are not due until Decem- ber 1, 2005. Therefore, no site plans were completed or available for review at the time the assessment was conducted. Since half the areas in the plan are based on board poli- Facilities Management 5 cies and administrative regulations, the review and adoption of which is not scheduled for completion until the end of 2006, it is possible that the plan(s) will not accurately reflect district policies. This item will require followup in the next six-month review to deter- mine the district’s progress in developing site safety plans. 3. The district has evaluated and developed recommendations for exterior lighting at school sites. The evaluation was completed as part of the district’s overall assessment of work- place safety. The district has not developed a plan to upgrade exterior lighting and secu- rity fencing. Security fencing was being installed at one site visited, Hogan High School. 4. The district has evaluated perimeter security at school sites. Site reviews at selected sites indicated that many sites have multiple access points and do not have complete perimeter fencing. The issue of perimeter security was encompassed in the scope of the district’s assessment of workplace safety. Security fencing is being added at Hogan High School. However, no separate action plan to prioritize and address security fencing issues at other sites has been developed. 5. The district has not added visitor signs at all entry points to schools. In general, sites have some signage for visitors only at the main point of entry for the school and not at all pe- destrian entry points. 6. The district requires visitors, vendors, contractors, and other staff to sign the visitor log and obtain a visitor's sticker. Visitor stickers are not school- and date-specific at all sites. Given that many school sites have multiple entry points, it would be possible for people to avoid signing in at the office. Addressing the issue of perimeter security will increase the effectiveness of the sign-in process for monitoring visitors on the campus. 7. The district did not provide documentation that it implemented procedures to ensure that all volunteers are appropriately evaluated and approved. 8. The district has not added trespassing signs at all school sites, based on reviews at select- ed sites. 9. The district has not added Tobacco Free Zone (TFZ) signs at all entry points at all school sites. However, based on site visits, sites more consistently had TFZ signage at the main entry point. 10. The district has not ensured that all high school students have student identification. The issue is being evaluated as part of the development of the security plan and the workplace safety assessment. The district intends to implement student identification for all high schools. However, only Vallejo High School has provided student identification cards for all students. 6 Facilities Management Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 4 Implementation Scale: Facilities Management 7 1.8 School Safety Professional Standard: The district has a graffiti and vandalism abatement plan that is followed by all district employees. The district provides employees with sufficient resources to meet the requirements of the abate- ment plan. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has not yet revised its board policies. The exact timeline for addressing the policies and administrative regulations for the facilities area is not clear. The district’s stated goal is to complete its review and updating of all policies and administrative regu- lations by the end of 2006. This item will require followup in the next six-month review to determine if board policies were in fact updated to sufficiently address pertinent facili- ties issues, including graffiti. 2. The district’s written graffiti and vandalism plan has not yet been finalized. The district’s action plan calls for a comprehensive Maintenance and Operations manual that will ad- dress graffiti and vandalism. The manual is still in the development process. 3. The district has a process to address graffiti and vandalism. At each site, the head custodi- an is responsible for walking the grounds each morning to identify graffiti and vandalism. Any noted graffiti or vandalism is reported to the Maintenance and Operations office, where it is assigned to a clean-up crew that goes to the site to remedy the situation. The district has assigned specific staff exclusively to vandalism repair and graffiti abatement to ensure it is addressed quickly to discourage future graffiti/vandalism. The district’s process appears to result in a relatively quick response to reported graffiti and vandalism. However, graffiti and vandalism are ongoing problems for the district and consume a significant amount of labor and resources. 4. The district has not provided training to all site personnel responsible for reporting and cleaning/repairing graffiti and vandalism. New custodial staff are provided training on their duties in general, and are provided with the standards for cleaning procedures, which do identify cleaning graffiti and preparing a report for the head custodian regarding vandalism. However, training has not been extended to site administrators and staff. 5. The district has not adopted a districtwide paint scheme. The district is attempting to limit the number of paint colors utilized in facilities and has reduced the number of inventory of available paint colors by 10; but no formal standardization has occurred to date. No policy has been implemented to address the standardization of paint schemes. 6. The district has provided some supplies to site custodial staff for minor graffiti abate- ment. This item is addressed in the draft of the graffiti plan. In addition, it appears that staff have received some training on graffiti abatement and graffiti abatement has been included in the job description of all head custodians. 8 Facilities Management Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 4 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: Facilities Management 9 1.14 School Safety Legal Standard: Sanitary, neat, and clean conditions of the school premises exist and the premises are free from conditions that would create a fire hazard. [CCR Title 5 §633] Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has not revised board policies to state that all sanitation hazards are to be corrected immediately. The process of reviewing and updating board policies is still in progress. The exact timeline for addressing the policies and administrative regulations for the facilities areas is not clear. The district’s stated goal is to complete its review and updating of all policies and administrative regulations by the end of 2006. This item will require followup in the next six-month review to determine if board policies were up- dated to sufficiently address pertinent facilities issues, including sanitation, fire, and other safety issues. As the board policies, administrative regulations, and the Maintenance and Operations Procedures Manual have not been revised/developed, the district has not yet formalized the requirement that staff immediately report health and safety issues to the Office of Fa- cilities Services. In the absence of formal policies, regulations, and manuals, the Maintenance and Opera- tions Department has sent out a memo to all site administrators and informed custodians of the process to report urgent items (health and safety issues) so that fire and safety is- sues are addressed promptly. Nevertheless, based on selected site reviews, health and safety issues such as missing fire extinguishers, blocked/locked exits, wet floors, and un- clean bathrooms with inadequate supplies were observed. The frequency and severity of such occurrences appears to have been reduced, so some progress has been made. Issues related to unsatisfactory bathroom conditions likely are a result of staff not performing their jobs. This is a supervisory issue that demands the district provide greater oversight and inspection of the job performance of custodians. The district is attempting to address the performance issues by the addition of a night custodial supervisor, but a single night supervisor may not be able to provide sufficient oversight to improve the job performance of custodial staff. Principals and site staff need to be more involved in documenting and reporting unsatisfactory conditions due to inadequate custodial performance. If sufficient information and documentation is provided, it is incumbent on district management to take appropriate corrective action to remedy the situation. 2. Monthly inspections of the fire extinguishers are performed at each school site. The pro- cess requires the head custodian at each site to inventory and inspect all fire extinguishers (including location, size, and type) to verify that the pin is in place, the charge is ad- equate, the hose and nozzle are in good condition, and access is not blocked. The monthly inspection reports, which must be submitted to Facilities Services, also provide tracking documents for instances where extinguishers need to be serviced or re- placed, as well as documenting job performance of head custodians. Based on the infor- 10 Facilities Management mation documented in the reports, the district has improved its compliance related to fire extinguishers. Instances where fire extinguishers are out of compliance are being detected via the monthly inspections. A lower number of noncompliant extinguishers was noted. The district has taken steps to increase school safety. Specifically, it has implemented a monthly fire extinguisher inspection program and is implementing a parallel process to evaluate egress to ensure sites have a visible exit sign and pathways are unobstructed. Also, the Siemens company performed a fire life safety survey throughout the district. The inspections included certification of fire alarm systems, test and inspection of fume hoods in chemical labs, test and inspection of kitchen hood systems, smoke detectors, fire alarm pull stations, door holders, fire alarm panels, heat detectors, horns/strobes, quar- terly inspection of the fire sprinkler system, and certification of such systems. In addition, the district has had a contractor do extensive repair work at multiple sites to ensure that fire alarm systems are working and alarms are audible throughout the site. The district has current contracts for maintenance on elevators and chair lifts at school sites. 3. The district has partially implemented the recommendation to establish a formalized training plan and provide annual training to all site staff responsible for reporting and ad- dressing maintenance, cleanliness, and safety issues. New custodial staff are provided training on their duties in general and are given the standards for cleaning procedures. A memo was provided to all site principals in January 2005 reminding them of the general maintenance request process. The district has desig- nated the first and third Mondays of each month for staff training, and is providing issue/ topic-specific training as available or needed. Examples include energy efficiency training, provided by PG&E and completed in October, related to tuning all HVAC systems (which makes the district eligible for re- bates); training on the new bathroom cleaning equipment provided in mid-October with follow-up training by the end of the calendar year; and AHERA training regarding lead and asbestos hazards scheduled for late November. The only remaining piece, related to a formalized training plan, is the supervisory monitoring of staff work to identify individual staff training needs, formally documenting them in the employee evaluations, and follow- ing up with an individualized training plan. 4. The district has partially implemented the recommendation to have supervisors review the progress site personnel are making in keeping campuses safe and clean. Based on interviews with the Director of Facilities, having safe and clean campuses is an important issue for the district and this has been conveyed to staff. The district is hiring a night custodial supervisor to monitor and improve staff performance in keeping school sites safe and clean. The night custodial supervisor has a checklist to evaluate sweeping; dusting; washing of table tops, sink counters, drinking fountains, walls, and desk tops; mopping of doorways, in front of sinks, rooms, hallways, and entryways; miscellaneous items such as emptying trash cans, replacing light bulbs, securing the campus, and clean- ing blackboards; and cleaning restrooms, including chrome fixtures, toilets, sinks, and filling toilet paper dispensers. Facilities Management 11 The district’s bargaining agreement with the teachers’ association requires teachers to re- port inadequate conditions in the classroom/work area. This will provide additional feed- back regarding the adequacy of staff in maintaining a clean and safe campus. Given that all responsibility for monitoring the job performance of custodial and grounds staff and performing the related evaluations essentially falls upon one custodial manager, the dis- trict may not have sufficient oversight to improve employees’ job performance or dismiss them for cause. The district should consider implementing measures to provide additional direct supervisory review and oversight. 5. The recommendation to emphasize safety and cleanliness in employee evaluations is still in the process of being implemented. Employees are essentially evaluated annually. Clearly, the issues of safety and cleanliness are important to the director. As a result, the district has attempted to raise the expectation of what constitutes standard performance. That is, employee performance that previously might have been rated above standard is now likely to just meet the standard expectation. There is an attempt to provide some emphasis on safety and cleanliness in the evaluation process. However, the actual evaluation form utilized remains unchanged because it is a negotiated document and can only be changed by negotiation. The current CSEA contract does not expire until 2008. Therefore, the documentation does not provide explicit evi- dence of the emphasis on the areas of safety and cleanliness in employee evaluations. Based on a sample of employee evaluations, additional comments on the evaluation form that could have spoken specifically to the issues of safety and cleanliness appeared to be minimal. Further, based on a sample of employee evaluations, the evaluation given by the custodial supervisor is not always consistent with the viewpoint of the site administrator. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 12 Facilities Management 1.18 School Safety Legal Standard: A comprehensive school safety plan exists for the prevention of campus crime and violence. [EC 35294-35294.9] Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has not completed revising its board policies, so updated policies regarding school safety plans were not available. The exact timeline for addressing the policies and administrative regulations for the facilities areas is not clear. The district’s stated goal is to complete its review and updating of all policies and administrative regulations by the end of 2006. This item will require followup in the next six-month review to determine if the board policies were updated to sufficiently address pertinent facilities matters, includ- ing items related to school safety and staff training. 2. The district has partially updated school safety plans. The district has completed its districtwide and site-specific safety plans based on the districtwide plans that are due in December 2005. However, five of the areas addressed in the districtwide plan and pending site plans are based on district board policies that are not scheduled for completion until the end of 2006. Therefore, these plans will remain open until the board policies are completed, or may need to be revised upon adoption of the policies. 3. The district has addressed the recommendation to include the following key components of a comprehensive school safety plan: • Status of school crimes committed on district campuses during district functions • Dangerous pupil notification procedures • Strategies and programs for the maintenance of high levels of school site safety • Access procedures for students • Educational environment requirements • School discipline procedure • Sexual harassment policy Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 4 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 4 Implementation Scale: Facilities Management 13 2.1 Facility Planning Professional Standard: The district should have a long-range school facilities master plan. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has conducted an in-house facilities inventory and multiphase facilities mas- ter plan. The facilities inventory included consideration of total classrooms by site, in- cluding relocatable buildings; total capacity by site, including relocatable buildings; and adjustments to capacity for utilization of rooms for activities other than classes, class-size reduction, and special education. The site-by-site capacity information was compared to current enrollment and projected enrollment over the short term. Based on this analy- sis, decisions were made regarding the adequacy of classroom capacity given projected growth trends and distributional factors. This then led to determinations regarding the reconfiguration of sites and programs and the identification of surplus property. The result was a multiphase process to serve all district students in adequate facilities, while gen- erating one-time and ongoing revenue to reduce the district’s obligations to the state and provide ongoing operational revenue. The district is in the middle of Phase I of its facilities master plan. To date, the district has moved the Farragut Elementary School program to Mare Island and moved the Adult School, community day school, and portions of the home teaching school to the former Farragut site. This provides more space for the potentially growing elementary population from Farragut and for development on Mare Island, and provides better drop-off access for students, and better library and computer facilities. In addition, the district is in the process of moving its district office to Mare Island per an agreement with the developer, which eliminates the need to make improvements to the current district office, and de- claring a portion of its current site as surplus, with the intent to lease the property and generate ongoing income. The plan also anticipates making the McKinley site (formerly the adult school) and the Rollingwood site available for lease/development to generate revenue for the district. Later phases of the plan call for improvements to various schools, as well as the sell- off/lease of surplus property to generate revenue for the district’s recovery. The district appears to have successfully implemented the first elements of Phase I of its facilities master plan. Nevertheless, it would be advisable for the district to hire an outside consul- tant with significant experience in developing successful school facilities master plans to independently prepare a plan that best serves both the short-term and long-term financial and facility needs of the district. 2. The district has hired consultants to perform a new demographic study, a consultant to provide financial advisory services related to its capital facility needs, and a real estate appraiser and title company to help evaluate district property being considered for surplus status. In addition, the action plan calls for ongoing contractual relationships with the consultants to update the plan annually. 14 Facilities Management Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 4 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: Facilities Management 15 2.14 Facility Planning—Consideration of an Asset Management Plan Professional Standard: The district should consider developing an asset management plan. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district is in the process of developing an asset management plan. The district has hired a consultant to develop the plan, but a plan was not available for review at the time of the team’s visit. To date, the district’s work has been limited to an inventory of sites, classrooms, portables, capacity, and enrollment. Other than the assertions/recommenda- tions/actions embodied by the facilities master plan, no information was provided regard- ing an independent analysis that identifies and classifies existing and potential revenue sources, allocates revenues to expenditures, provides financial strategies, or supports the existing in-house facilities master plan. Such an asset management plan will be especially critical in the future if the district anticipates considering site closures. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 1 November 30, 2005 Rating: 1 Implementation Scale: 16 Facilities Management 3.7 Facilities Improvement and Modernization Professional Standard: Furniture and equipment items are routinely included within the scope of modernization projects. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has not included furniture and equipment in its school modernization plans. Since the district is in year two of its modernization program, it did not make any attempt to assess furniture and equipment needs related to the remaining projects. 2. The district has partially established a furniture and equipment standard for schools by school type (elementary, middle and high schools) that includes the replacement schedule for furniture and equipment. The district has identified certain types/classes of furniture/ equipment and established the minimum allocation that a classroom of that type would receive. Based on the basic allocation level, the district has established base-cost informa- tion and useful lives. That information has been aggregated to estimate a yearly amount that the district needs to budget to meet furniture/equipment replacement needs each year. This standard has not yet been implemented for all classroom furniture/equipment across all grades levels, nor is it clear that the district is committing financial resources and mak- ing replacements per the estimate. 3. The district has not made a comprehensive assessment of existing furniture and equip- ment, noting factors such as age and condition, to identify current and future needs and to allow for the development of a replacement and funding plan. 4. The district still has not done a needs assessment. 5. The district has partially developed an equipment and furniture replacement funding plan using certain assumptions about minimum needs for classrooms based on grade-level and type. However, the district has not made an evaluation of its actual furniture and equipment inventory and the current status of such furniture/equipment to determine if its needs vary from the general standard identified. Further, it does not appear that the current standard identified covers all furniture/equipment that might be needed across the district, given the variety of programs operated at the various school levels. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 0 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: Facilities Management 17 8.1 Facilities Maintenance and Custodial Professional Standard: An energy conservation policy should be approved by the Board of Education and implemented throughout the district. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. Updated policies regarding school facilities were not completed at the time of the review. The exact timeline for addressing the policies and administrative regulations for facilities is not clear. The district’s stated goal is to complete its review and updating of all policies and administrative regulations by the end of 2006. This item will require followup in the next six-month review to determine if the board policies were updated to sufficiently address pertinent facilities matters, including items related to energy conservation. The district’s action plan related to energy conservation identifies and includes many of the items that were anticipated to be included in the recommended board policy. Items identified in the action plan included: • Room temperature range of 68˚ to 74˚ heating and 72˚ to 78˚ cooling • Propping doors or windows open when air conditioning or heating is on is a violation of board policy unless a work order has been documented regarding a needed repair • Interior lights, heating, or cooling will be set back or turned off from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday-Friday and from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Monday except when there is a permitted facility use • Site energy use reports are posted on the district's Web page for review by site management • Energy use reports drive preventive maintenance and routine restricted mainte- nance funding to improve underperforming energy consumption situations • Site management will be required to evaluate energy consumption and the site’s performance in energy conservation The district has been working with PG&E on energy conservation and rebate programs to reduce usage and cost. Projects include replacement of incandescent exit signs with LED signs, HVAC tuning/rebate program, tree planting, and chiller replacement. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 3 Implementation Scale: 18 Facilities Management 8.2 Facilities Maintenance and Custodial Professional Standard: Create and maintain a system to track utilities costs, consumption and report on the success of the district’s energy program. An energy analysis has been completed for each site. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has had its energy consumption and expenses logged. The Facilities Depart- ment installed a software program called Utility Manager that gives the department the ability to do data collection, analysis, and monitoring. The vendor also does a review and analysis and makes recommendations to the district. 2. The district has partially performed a detailed review of energy bills and information to identify errors, unusual changes in consumption or cost, and the overall effects of the energy conservation program across all sites. The district installed software to monitor and track utility costs for electricity, natural gas, and water, looking for larger users or anomalies in trends. The software vendor also reviews and analyzes the utility usage data to identify opportunities for efficiency gain and cost savings. The district is completing its inventory of sites, meters, number of students, square footage, and other factors to im- prove its ability to monitor and analyze energy consumption data. 3. The district has not formally identified/cataloged sites and areas that have not been ret- rofitted for energy conservation nor has it hired a contractor to do this work. In general, sites that have been through modernization have been retrofitted, but generally only for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC). Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 5 May 1, 2005 Rating: 6 November 30, 2005 Rating: 6 Implementation Scale: Facilities Management 19 8.3 Facilities Maintenance and Custodial Professional Standard: Cost-effective, energy-efficient design should be a top priority for all district construction projects. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has not augmented its building design standards to include specific energy de- sign criteria for all areas of school design, including lighting, HVAC, controls, insulation and other related measures; and orientation, generation, renewable sources of energy, and criteria for comparing and accepting energy efficient design. The district’s modernization projects appear to have included upgrades for items such as HVAC, windows, lighting, etc., that improve energy efficiency, but it has not established specific written standards to be applied to all construction/modernization projects. The goal is to develop these standards after the board policies are developed. The district is moving forward with reviewing all board policies and has adopted new/revised policies as appropriate. However, as the board policies are not scheduled to be completed until the end of 2006, these standards likely will not be in place until that date or later. The district should move expeditiously to implement more extensive building design standards to encompass all areas of energy management. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 2 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: 20 Facilities Management 8.6 Facilities Maintenance and Custodial Professional Standard: Procedures are in place for evaluating the work quality of Maintenance and Operations staff. The quality of the work performed by the Maintenance and Operations staff is evaluated on a regular basis using a board-adopted procedure that delineates the areas of evaluation and the types of work to be evaluated. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has not yet shifted the responsibility for evaluating custodial staff to site ad- ministrators. The custodial supervisor is still responsible for performing the approximate- ly 90 custodial evaluations. The district has taken no action to reduce the impact that this large number of evaluations may have on the supervisor’s other workload. A sample of custodial employee files shows that employees are generally being evaluated annually. It is not clear that the evaluations are representative of the employee’s perfor- mance. No employee received a rating in any category below satisfactory in the sample of evaluations reviewed. The district has established the position of night custodial su- pervisor to review the night custodians' work. The supervisor must fill out a checklist for each site/custodian reviewed each night, assessing the adequacy of work performed in the basic prescribed areas. The custodial supervisor is supposed to receive input from the site administrator regard- ing the employee’s performance, and/or the site administrator participates in the actual face-to-face evaluation. This is to help ensure that the custodial supervisor has informa- tion about the day-to-day performance of the employee. Based on interviews with princi- pals, however, some stated that they have not had any input into the evaluation process. 2. The district has implemented an annual evaluation reminder process. The facilities man- agement staff receive notification from the Human Resources Department regarding upcoming employee evaluations. The district has attempted to simplify the evaluation process by essentially evaluating all employees within a three-month period each year. 3. The district did not produce documentation that it had implemented training for supervi- sory personnel regarding the proper documentation of employee performance based on established personnel and work standards. 4. Based on discussion with district staff and review of employee files, the supervisor dis- cusses the performance evaluation with the employee and provides a copy of the evalua- tion to the employee. Facilities Management 21 Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 3 May 1, 2005 Rating: 5 November 30, 2005 Rating: 6 Implementation Scale: 22 Facilities Management 8.9 Facilities Maintenance and Custodial Professional Standard: The district has an effective preventive maintenance program that is scheduled and followed by the maintenance staff. This program includes verification of the completion of work by the super- visor of the maintenance staff. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has not created and implemented a board policy related to preventive main- tenance. The exact timeline for addressing the policies and administrative regulations for the facilities area is not clear. The district’s stated goal is to complete its review and updating of all policies and administrative regulations by the end of 2006. This item will require followup in the next six-month review to determine if the board policies were updated to sufficiently address pertinent facilities matters, including preventive mainte- nance. 2. The district has partially implemented a preventive maintenance program as part of the overall action/recovery plan. The action plan calls for the development of board policies and a procedures manual for Maintenance and Operations that are focused on preventive maintenance. The manual and related approach to Maintenance and Operations manage- ment will focus on preventive maintenance. The goal of moving to a preventive mainte- nance approach is to generate regularly scheduled maintenance projects with detailed in- struction, intended to decrease the number of work orders for needed repairs. Neither the board policies nor the Maintenance and Operations procedures manual were completed at the time of the review. 3. The district has partially implemented the recommendation to provide information and training to employees regarding energy conservation. PG&E provided some information for students, teachers, and custodial and maintenance workers regarding energy conserva- tion. 4. The district has not provided training to site administrators and maintenance workers re- garding the preventive maintenance system and software being implemented. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 0 May 1, 2005 Rating: 1 November 30, 2005 Rating: 2 Implementation Scale: Facilities Management 23 8.10 Facilities Maintenance and Custodial Legal Standard: The Governing Board of the district provides clean and operable flush toilets for use of pupils. Toilet facilities are adequate and maintained. All buildings and grounds are maintained. [CCR Title §631, CCR Title 5 14030, EC 17576] Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has not created/implemented a board policy requiring that custodial and re- pair issues, particularly all sanitation hazards, are reported and corrected immediately. The process of reviewing and updating board policies is still in progress. The exact time- line for addressing the policies and administrative regulations for facilities is not clear. The district’s stated goal is to complete its review and updating of all policies and ad- ministrative regulations by the end of 2006. This item will require follow-up in the next six-month review to determine if the board policies were updated to sufficiently address pertinent facilities matters, particularly all sanitation issues. 2. The district has partially developed a process to address health and safety issues immedi- ately. The action plan calls for the Maintenance and Operations policies and procedures manual to address all aspects of Maintenance and Operations, including health and safety issues. In addition, the policy and procedures manual will address: • Methods used to clean and maintain sites and facilities • Frequency of cleaning and maintenance • Materials and products used for cleaning and maintenance • Inspection criteria and district standards • Training In the interim, the Director of Maintenance and Operations has sent a memo to all site administrators and informed custodians of the process to report urgent items (health and safety issues) so that fire and safety issues are addressed promptly. The district has posted the Williams notification, which includes the adequacy of facili- ties within the uniform complaint process, in all classrooms. The district has distributed the bathroom complaint forms to all sites, which allows citizens to make complaints re- garding the condition of bathrooms directly to the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC). The district is in the process of purchasing and utilizing equipment to clean and steril- ize bathrooms. The equipment is intended to be more efficient and effective at achieving clean and sterile bathroom facilities. Training is being provided on the proper and effec- tive utilization of the equipment. Use of the new equipment had not been implemented at all sites at the time of the review, but is slated to be implemented at all district schools. 24 Facilities Management In addition, the district has contracted for an evaluation of life safety systems and for the repair of such systems found to be deficient; has implemented monthly fire extinguisher inspections; and is in the process of implementing monthly review of site ingress/egress. 3. The district has generally implemented the recommendation to improve play fields. As the modernization process is still in progress at several sites, some play field improve- ments still need to be completed. However, at the sites visited where modernization was not in progress, the fields were generally acceptable. Some site administrators expressed frustration that grounds work was basically limited to mowing. To improve the conditions of fields and grounds, the district has hired three additional groundskeepers, starting with the beginning of the 2005-06 school year. 4. The district has partially established a formalized training plan and annual training for all site staff responsible for reporting and addressing maintenance, cleanliness, and safety issues. New custodial staff are provided training on their duties in general and are given the standards for cleaning procedures. Custodial and maintenance staff receive training on the first and third Mondays of each month. Feedback from the evaluation forms com- pleted by the night custodial supervisor provides information regarding areas in which staff may require training/retraining. 5. The district has partially implemented the recommendation to have supervisors review the progress site personnel are making in keeping campuses safe and clean. Based on interviews with the Director of Facilities, having safe and clean campuses is an important issue for the district and this has been conveyed to staff. The district has started to implement a formal process to have supervisors periodically review progress made at each school site for night personnel, but does not have the same formalized process for day staff. The district has added the position of night custodial supervisor to visit sites and evaluate the adequacy of performance of custodial staff. This review utilizes a checklist to docu- ment performance in specific areas. With regard to day staff, the director attempts to visit each site at least once a month. A checklist should be established to evaluate conditions and track the number and nature of items not in compliance with the established stan- dards. This would provide a basis to track conditions over time. Principals stated that they are only given the opportunity to provide input regarding staff performance for mainte- nance and operation staff when the performance is so unsatisfactory that the principal has made multiple complaints. With regard to input on annual evaluations, some principals indicated that they were not contacted to provide input. The district is attempting to require a complete inspection of every site. The goal is to utilize the information from these inspections to assist in developing the deferred mainte- nance plan. Facilities Management 25 6. An emphasis on safety and cleanliness in employee evaluations is still in the process of being implemented. Employees are essentially evaluated annually. Clearly, the issues of safety and cleanliness are important to the district. As a result, the Director of Facilities has attempted to raise the expectation of what constitutes standard performance. That is, employee performance that previously might have been rated above standard is now likely to just meet the stan- dard expectation. Therefore, there is an attempt to provide some emphasis for safety and cleanliness in the evaluation process. The evaluation form utilized is the same form that has been used in the past because it is subject to the collective bargaining process and cannot be modified until the current contract expires. As a result, no change in the form is anticipated until 2008, if at all. Therefore, the actual documentation available does not provide explicit evidence of the emphasis on safety and cleanliness in employee evalu- ations. In addition, based on a sample of employee evaluations, additional comments on the evaluation form that could have spoken specifically to the issues of safety and cleanli- ness appeared to be minimal. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 4 Implementation Scale: 26 Facilities Management 8.12 Facilities Maintenance and Custodial Professional Standard: The district has a documented process for assigning routine repair work orders on a priority basis. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has implemented the School Preventive Maintenance Management System (SPMMS) work order system. To address issues raised by site administrators and staff re- garding how slow and difficult the system is to use, the district updated the system and is archiving a large volume of old data. Based on observation and information provided by site staff, the performance of the system has greatly improved and it is viewed as a good tool for submitting and tracking work orders. The district has assigned a permanent staff member to process work orders to help with consistent and timely processing and prioritization. The district is attempting to implement a preventive maintenance system. The goal of the system is to increase the performance and usable life of facilities and assets, and reduce the number of repairs needed. If successful, the system should reduce the number of work orders that sites submit, and allow for timelier processing. 2. The district is developing a process to immediately address health and safety issues. The district is using the SPMMS work order system. In addition, the action plan calls for development of a Maintenance and Operations policies and procedures manual. The manual will include the prioritization of work and health and safety issues. It was not completed at the time of the review. In the interim, the Director of Maintenance and Op- erations has sent a memo to all site administrators and informed custodians of the process to report urgent items (health and safety issues) to address fire and safety issues promptly. 3. The district is developing a process to perform work based on the priority of each work order. The director is developing a prioritization system for work orders that requires staff to be accountable for completing their assigned work orders. The policies and procedures relat- ed to this process have not yet been formalized. The manual will address the prioritization of work. It appears that the processing of work orders has improved. 4. The district has addressed the recommendation to improve the work order system through the upgrade, archiving of data, and dedication of a staff person to manage the system. 5. The level of review of the work order monitoring system was not clear from the district’s documentation of the action plan process. The district has upgraded the software, ar- chived old data, and added a dedicated staff member, thus improving the operation of the system. It is not clear whether active supervision is occurring to note backlogs, inad- equate response times, inappropriate prioritization of work orders, or inadequate repairs, and to ensure adequate service and employee performance. Facilities Management 27 6. The district’s action plan did not directly address the recommendation to improve com- munication between the Facilities Services Department and school sites. However, the Director of the Facilities Services Department visits sites monthly. 7. The district has improved the work order process and tracking system. While information was provided during the current review regarding the number of outstanding work orders, the time range that such work orders have been outstanding was not available during the prior review. Therefore, no assessment can be made regarding the progress in appropri- ately prioritizing and completing work orders. This item will need followup in the next six-month review. 8. The district has partially implemented improvements to the work order system that will be required to maintain schools subsequent to the completion of the modernization pro- gram. The district’s action plan addresses improving the work order system and establish- ing a preventive maintenance program. However, no additional staffing or funding has specifically been identified to perform and support maintenance for modernized schools. 9. The district has partially implemented the prior recommendation that all work, except for health and safety and other emergency work, will be requested through a work order. The district is revising its board policies and ensuring that all action plan items, including maintenance and work order processes, are encompassed within those policies. However, the updated policies were not available at the time of the review. The exact timeline for addressing the policies and administrative regulations for the facilities area is not clear. The district’s stated goal is to complete its review and updating of all policies and ad- ministrative regulations by the end of 2006. This item will require followup in the next six-month review to determine if the board policies were updated to sufficiently address pertinent facilities matters, including maintenance and work order processes. The action plan calls for the Maintenance and Operations policies and procedures manual to address all aspects of Maintenance and Operations, including the work order process. In the interim, the Director of Maintenance and Operations has sent a memo to all site ad- ministrators and informed custodians of the process to report facility needs through work orders, with the exception of urgent items (health and safety issues), to ensure urgent is- sues are addressed promptly. Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 2 May 1, 2005 Rating: 3 November 30, 2005 Rating: 4 Implementation Scale: 28 Facilities Management 9.1 Instructional Program Issues—Plan for Attractive Landscaped Facilities Professional Standard: The district has developed a plan for attractively landscaped facilities. Progress on Implementing the Recommendations of the Improvement Plan: 1. The district has partially developed a plan to improve landscaping at school sites. The ac- tion plan calls for the district to draft a plan regarding improving landscaping at school sites. The plan will be finalized after the completion of most major modernization proj- ects. In addition, standards for landscaping, including an annual assessment, will be included in the Maintenance and Operations procedures manual, which has not yet been drafted. Further, the action plan calls for exploring and expanding opportunities for the installa- tion and maintenance of landscaping with the city of Vallejo and the park district. 2. The district has not conducted an inventory/assessment to determine the actual landscap- ing conditions that exist within individual district sites. However, the modernization pro- gram provides for site restoration at recently completed sites. 3. The district has not developed standards of landscaping that are desired at various types of schools (elementary, junior high, high school, special program sites, etc.) as part of its Maintenance and Operations manual. 4. The district has not measured the findings of the inventory/assessment to determine site needs and deficiencies. However, the district is committing $40,000 for landscaping and grounds upgrades. 5. The district has not formally developed a broad-based set of potential funding sources to assist in the implementation of a district landscaping plan. However, the district is identi- fying both modernization funds and district funds for landscaping needs. 6. The district has not developed a plan to correct any landscaping needs and deficiencies that exist within respective district school sites. 7. The fiscal impact associated with the implementation of this plan needs to be developed and considered within the broader context of facilities-related needs within the district, and any potential staffing requirements within the Grounds Department. In recognition of the need to improve its landscaping and grounds, the district added three grounds keeper positions. Facilities Management 29 Standard Implemented: Partially November 1, 2004 Rating: 5 May 1, 2005 Rating: 5 November 30, 2005 Rating: 5 Implementation Scale: 30 Facilities Management Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 1.1 LEGAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY All school administrators are thoroughly familiar with the California Department of Education, Civil Not Defense and Disaster Planning Guide for School Rated Officials, 1972. [EC 32000-32004, 32040, 35295- 35297, 38132, 46390-46392, 49505, GC 3100, 8607, CCR Title 5 §550, 560, Title 19 §2400] 1.2 LEGAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY The district includes the appropriate security de- vices in the design of new buildings as well as in 5 modernized buildings. [EC 32020, 32211, 35294- 35294.9, 39670-39675] 1.3 LEGAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY The district has developed a plan of security that includes adequate measures of safety and 3 3 4 ❑ protection of people and property. [EC 32020, 32211, 35294-35294.9] 1.4 LEGAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY The district ensures that the custodial and main- tenance staffs are regularly informed of restric- tions pertaining to the storage and disposal of 4 flammable or toxic materials. [EC 49341, 49401.5, 49411, F&AC 12981, H&SC 25163, 25500-25520, LC 6360-6363, CCR Title 8 §5194] 1.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY The district has a documented process for issu- ing master and sub-master keys. A districtwide 4 standardized process for the issuance of keys to employees is followed by all district administra- tors. 1.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY Bus loading and unloading areas, delivery areas, and parking and parent loading/unloading areas are monitored on a regular basis to ensure the 4 safety of the students, staff and community. Stu- dents, employees and the public feel safe at all times on school premises. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Facilities Management 31 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 1.7 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY Outside lighting is properly placed and monitored on a regular basis to ensure the operability/ade- quacy of such lighting and to ensure safety while activities are in progress in the evening hours. Outside lighting provides sufficient illumination 2 to allow for the safe passage of students and the public during after-hours activities. Lighting also provides security personnel with sufficient illumination to observe any illegal activities on campus. 1.8 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY The district has a graffiti and vandalism abate- ment plan that is followed by all district 4 4 5 ❑ employees. The district provides district em- ployees with sufficient resources to meet the requirements of the abatement plan. 1.9 LEGAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY The district has on file written plans describing procedures to be employed in case of emergency. 5 [EC 32000-32004, 32040, 35295-35297, 38132, 46390-46392, 49505, GC 3100, 8607] [CCR Title 8, §3220] 1.10 LEGAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY Each elementary and intermediate school in the district conducts a fire drill at least once a 4 month. Each secondary school conducts a fire drill not less than twice every school year. [EC 32000- 32004, 32040, CCR Title 5 §550] 1.11 LEGAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY Maintenance/custodial personnel have knowledge of chemical compounds used in school programs that include the potential hazards and shelf life. 3 [EC 49341, 49401.5, 49411, F&AC 12981, H&SC 25163, 25500-25520, LC 6360-6363, CCR Title 8 §5194] 1.12 LEGAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY Building examinations are performed, and re- 4 quired actions are taken by the Governing Board upon report of unsafe conditions. [EC 17367] The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 32 Facilities Management Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 1.13 LEGAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY Each school that is entirely enclosed by a fence or partial buildings has a gate of sufficient size 10 to permit the entrance of ambulances, police and fire fighting equipment. Locking devices are designed to permit ready entrance. [EC 32020] 1.14 LEGAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY Sanitary, neat and clean conditions of the school premises exist and the premises are 2 3 5 ❑ free from conditions that would create a fire hazard. [CCR Title 5 §633] 1.15 LEGAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY The Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) 6 requires periodic inspections of facilities to iden- tify conditions. [CCR Title 8 §3203] 1.16 LEGAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY Appropriate fire extinguishers exist in each build- 6 ing and current inspection information is avail- able. [CCR Title 8 §1922(a)] 1.17 LEGAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY All exits are free of obstructions. [CCR Title 8 6 §3219] 1.18 LEGAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY A comprehensive school safety plan exists for 4 4 4 ❑ the prevention of campus crime and violence. [EC 35294-35294.9] 1.19 LEGAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY Requirements are followed pertaining to under- 8 ground storage tanks. [H&SC 25292, CCR Title 26 §477, Title 23 § 2610] 1.20 LEGAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY All asbestos inspection and asbestos work com- pleted is performed by Asbestos Hazard Emergen- 6 cy Response Act (AHERA) accredited individuals. [EC 49410.5, 40 CFR Part 763] The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Facilities Management 33 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 1.21 LEGAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY All playground equipment meets safety code regu- lations and is inspected in a timely fashion as 6 to ensure the safety of the students. [EC 44807, GC 810-996.6, H&SC 24450 Chapter 4.5, 115725- 115750, PRC 5411, CCR Title 5 §5552] 1.22 LEGAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY Safe work practices exist with regard to boiler 6 and fired pressure vessels. [CCR Title 8 §782] 1.23 LEGAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY The district maintains Materials Safety Data 2 Sheets. [EC 49341, 49401.5, 49411, F&AC 12981, LC 6360-6363, CCR Title 8 §5194] 1.24 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY The district maintains a comprehensive employee safety program. Employees are made aware of the 3 district safety program and the district provides in-service training to employees on the require- ments of the safety program. 1.25 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - SCHOOL SAFETY The district conducts periodic first aid training for 0 employees assigned to school sites. 2.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITY PLAN- NING 3 4 5 ❑ The district has a long-range school facilities master plan. 2.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITY PLANNING The district possesses a California State Depart- 10 ment of Education Facilities Planning and Con- struction Guide (dated 1991). 2.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITY PLANNING The district seeks state and local funds. 6 2.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITY PLANNING The district has a functioning facility planning 7 committee. 2.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITY PLANNING The district has a properly staffed and funded 5 facility planning department. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 34 Facilities Management Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 2.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITY PLANNING The district has developed and implemented an 7 annual capital planning budget. 2.7 LEGAL STANDARD - FACILITY PLANNING The district has standards for real property acqui- 5 sition and disposal. [EC 39006, 17230-17233] 2.8 LEGAL STANDARD - FACILITY PLANNING The district seeks and obtains waivers from the 0 State Allocation Board for continued use of any nonconforming facilities. [EC 17284, 17285] 2.9 LEGAL STANDARD - FACILITY PLANNING The district has established and utilizes a selec- 10 tion process for the selection of licensed archi- tectural/engineering services. [GC 17302] 2.10 LEGAL STANDARD - FACILITY PLANNING The district assesses its local bonding capacity 10 and monitors its legal bonding limits. [EC 15100, EC 15100, EC 15330] 2.11 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITY PLANNING The district has developed a process to determine 10 debt capacity. 2.12 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITY PLANNING The district is aware of and monitors the assessed 10 valuation of taxable property within its boundar- ies. 2.13 LEGAL STANDARD - FACILITY PLANNING The district collects statutory school fees. [EC 6 17620, GC 65995, 66000] 2.14 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITY PLAN- NING 0 1 1 ❑ The district has developed an asset manage- ment plan. 2.15 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITY PLANNING The district has pursued state funding for joint- use projects through the filing of applications 0 through the Office of Public School Construction and the State Allocation Board. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Facilities Management 35 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 2.16 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITY PLANNING The district has established and utilizes an orga- 7 nized methodology of prioritizing and scheduling projects. 2.17 PR0FESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITY PLANNING The district complies with California Department 0 of Education (CDE) recommendations relative to school site sizing. 2.18 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITY PLANNING The district distributes facility funding in an eq- 10 uitable manner to all communities served and to all school levels. 2.19 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITY PLANNING A district that has passed a general obligation bond has created a Citizens Oversight Committee 10 to ensure the appropriateness of expenditures re- lated to the passage of the district's local school bond measure. 3.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES IMPROVE- MENT AND MODERNIZATION The district has a restricted deferred maintenance fund and those funds are expended for mainte- 7 nance purposes only. The deferred maintenance fund is a stand-alone fund reflecting the revenues and expenses for the major maintenance projects accomplished during the year. 3.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES IMPROVE- MENT AND MODERNIZATION The district has pursued state funding for de- ferred maintenance - critical hardship needs by 0 filing an application(s) through the Office of Pub- lic School Construction and the State Allocation Board. [State Allocation Board Regulation §1866] 3.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES IMPROVE- MENT AND MODERNIZATION The district applies to the State Allocation Board for facilities funding for all applicable projects, 6 and consistently reviews and monitors its eligi- bility for state funding so as to capitalize upon maximal funding opportunities. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 36 Facilities Management Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 3.4 LEGAL STANDARD - FACILITIES IMPROVEMENT AND MODERNIZATION 6 The district maintains a plan for the maintenance and modernization of its facilities. [EC 17366] 3.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES IMPROVE- MENT AND MODERNIZATION The district establishes and implements interim 9 housing plans for use during the construction phase of modernization projects and/or additions to existing facilities. 3.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES IMPROVE- MENT AND MODERNIZATION The district has established and maintains a 5 system for tracking the progress of individual projects. 3.7 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES IM- PROVEMENT AND MODERNIZATION Furniture and equipment items are routinely 0 0 2 ❑ included within the scope of modernization projects. 3.8 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES IMPROVE- MENT AND MODERNIZATION Refurbishing, modernization, and new construc- 8 tion projects should take into account technology infrastructure needs. 3.9 LEGAL STANDARD - FACILITIES IMPROVEMENT AND MODERNIZATION The district obtains approval of plans and speci- fications from the Division of the State Architect 8 and the Office of Public School Construction (when required) prior to the award of a contract to the lowest responsible bidder. [EC 17263, 17267] 3.10 LEGAL STANDARD - FACILITIES IMPROVEMENT AND MODERNIZATION 6 All relocatables in use throughout the district meet statutory requirements. [EC 17292] The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Facilities Management 37 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 3.11 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES IMPROVE- MENT AND MODERNIZATION The annual deferred maintenance contribution 10 is made correctly. The district annually transfers the maximum amount that the district would be eligible for in matching funds from the state. 3.12 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES IMPROVE- MENT AND MODERNIZATION The district actively manages the deferred maintenance projects. The district reviews the five-year deferred maintenance plan annually to 7 remove any completed projects and include any newly eligible projects. The district also verifies that the expenses performed during the year were included in the state approved five-year deferred maintenance plan. 3.13 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES IMPROVE- MENT AND MODERNIZATION The staff within the district is knowledgeable 5 of procedures within the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) and the Division of the State Architect (DSA). 4.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - CONSTRUCTION OF PROJECTS The district maintains an appropriate structure 5 for the effective management of its construction projects. 4.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - CONSTRUCTION OF PROJECTS Change orders are processed and receive prior ap- 8 proval from required parties before being imple- mented within respective construction projects. 4.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - CONSTRUCTION OF PROJECTS 4 The district maintains appropriate project records and drawings. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 38 Facilities Management Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 4.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - CONSTRUCTION OF PROJECTS 9 Each Inspector of Record (IOR) assignment is properly approved. 5.1 LEGAL STANDARD - COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC CONTRACTING LAWS AND PROCEDURES 7 The district complies with formal bidding proce- dures. [GC 54202, 54204, PCC 20111] 5.2 LEGAL STANDARD - COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC CONTRACTING LAWS AND PROCEDURES 7 The district has a procedure for requests for quotes/proposals. [GC 54202, 54204, PCC 20111] 5.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC CONTRACTING LAWS AND PROCEDURES The district maintains files of conflict-of-interest 7 statements and complies with legal requirements. Conflict of interest statements are collected an- nually and kept on file. 5.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC CONTRACTING LAWS AND PROCEDURES The district ensures that biddable plans and 8 specifications are developed through its licensed architects/engineers for respective construction projects. 5.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC CONTRACTING LAWS AND PROCEDURES 6 The district ensures that requests for progress payments are carefully evaluated. 5.6 LEGAL STANDARD - COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC CONTRACTING LAWS AND PROCEDURES 7 The district maintains contract award/appeal pro- cesses. [GC 54202, 54204, PCC 2011] 5.7 LEGAL STANDARD - COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC CONTRACTING LAWS AND PROCEDURES The district maintains internal control, security, 7 and confidentiality over the bid submission and award processes. [GC 54202, 54204, PCC 20111] The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Facilities Management 39 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 6.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - SPECIAL EDUCATION FACILITIES The district complies with California Department 6 of Education (CDE) requirements relative to the provision of Special Education facilities. 6.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - SPECIAL EDUCATION FACILITIES The district provides facilities for its special education programs that ensure equity with other 6 educational programs within the district and pro- vide appropriate learning environments in rela- tion to educational program needs. 7.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - IMPLEMENTATION OF CLASS-SIZE REDUCTION The district applies for state funding for class size 10 reduction facilities. The district applies for class size reduction (CSR) facilities funding annually. 7.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - IMPLEMENTATION OF CLASS-SIZE REDUCTION The district has provided adequate facilities for 10 the additional classes resulting from the imple- mentation of class size reduction. 7.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - IMPLEMENTATION OF CLASS-SIZE REDUCTION The district has complied with CDE suggested 9 space requirements relative to the provision of educational environments for the implementation of class size reduction. 7.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - IMPLEMENTATION OF CLASS-SIZE REDUCTION The district has developed a plan for the provi- 5 sion of permanent facilities in which to house its CSR programs. 8.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES MAINTE- NANCE AND CUSTODIAL An energy conservation policy has been ap- 2 3 3 ❑ proved by the board of education and imple- mented throughout the district. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 40 Facilities Management Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 8.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES MAINTE- NANCE AND CUSTODIAL The district uses and maintains a system to track utility costs and consumption, and to 5 6 6 ❑ report on the success of the district’s energy program. An energy analysis has been complet- ed for each site. 8.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES MAINTE- NANCE AND CUSTODIAL Cost-effective, energy-efficient design has 2 2 2 ❑ been made a top priority for all district con- struction projects. 8.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES MAINTE- NANCE AND CUSTODIAL The district has analyzed the possibility of using 1 alternative energy sources as a means of reducing the financial impact of utilities on the district. 8.5 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES MAINTE- NANCE AND CUSTODIAL Adequate maintenance records and reports are kept, including a complete inventory of supplies, materials, tools and equipment. All employees required to perform maintenance on school sites 5 are provided with adequate supplies, equipment and training to perform maintenance tasks in a timely and professional manner. Included in the training is how to inventory supplies and equip- ment and when to order or replenish them. 8.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES MAINTE- NANCE AND CUSTODIAL Procedures are in place for evaluating the work quality of maintenance and operations staff. The quality of the work performed by the 3 5 6 ❑ maintenance and operations staff is evaluated on a regular basis using a board-adopted pro- cedure that delineates the areas of evaluation and the types of work to be evaluated. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Facilities Management 41 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 8.7 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES MAINTE- NANCE AND CUSTODIAL Major areas of custodial and maintenance re- sponsibilities and specific jobs to be performed have been identified. Custodial and maintenance 4 personnel have written job descriptions that delineate the major areas of responsibilities that they will be expected to perform and on which they will be evaluated. 8.8 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES MAINTE- NANCE AND CUSTODIAL Necessary staff, supplies, tools and equipment for the proper care and cleaning of the school(s) are available. In order to meet expectations, schools 4 are adequately staffed and staff are provided with the necessary supplies, tools and equipment as well as the training associated with the proper use of such. 8.9 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES MAINTE- NANCE AND CUSTODIAL The district has an effective written preventive maintenance program that is scheduled and 0 1 2 ❑ followed by the maintenance staff. This pro- gram includes verification of the completion of work by the supervisor of the maintenance staff. 8.10 LEGAL STANDARD - FACILITIES MAINTENANCE AND CUSTODIAL The Governing Board of the district provides clean and operable flush toilets for the use of 2 3 4 ❑ pupils. Toilet facilities are adequate and main- tained. All buildings and grounds are main- tained. [CCR Title 5 § 631, CCR Title 5 14030, EC 17576] The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 42 Facilities Management Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 8.11 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES MAINTE- NANCE AND CUSTODIAL The district has implemented a planned program maintenance system that includes an inventory of all facilities and equipment that will require 2 maintenance and replacement. Data should include purchase prices, anticipated life expec- tancies, anticipated replacement timelines and budgetary resources necessary to maintain the facilities. 8.12 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - FACILITIES MAINTE- NANCE AND CUSTODIAL The district has a documented process for as- 2 3 4 ❑ signing routine repair work orders on a priority basis. 9.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM ISSUES 5 5 5 ❑ The district has developed a plan for attrac- tively landscaped facilities. 9.2 LEGAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM IS- SUES The Governing Board provides a warm, health- 7 ful place in which children who bring their own lunches to school may eat their lunch. [EC 17573, CCR Title 5 §14030] 9.3 LEGAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM IS- SUES The district has developed and maintains a plan 7 to ensure equality and equity of its facilities throughout the district. [EC 35293] 9.4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL PRO- GRAM ISSUES 8 All schools have adequate lighting, electrical service, heating and ventilation. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. Facilities Management 43 Nov. May Nov. May Standard to be addressed 2004 2005 2005 2006 Rating Rating Rating Focus 9.5 LEGAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM IS- SUES 6 Classrooms are free of noise and other barriers to instruction. [EC 32212] 9.6 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - INSTRUCTIONAL PRO- GRAM ISSUES The learning environments provided within 6 respective school sites within the district are conducive to high quality teaching and learning. 10.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMUNITY USE OF FACILITIES 7 The district has a plan to promote community involvement in schools. 10.2 LEGAL STANDARD - COMMUNITY USE OF FACILITIES Education Code Section 38130 establishes terms and conditions of school facility use by communi- ty organizations, in the process requiring estab- 5 lishment of both “direct cost” and “fair market” rental rates, specifying what groups have which priorities and fee schedules. “ 10.3 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMUNITY USE OF FACILITIES The district maintains comprehensive records and 6 controls on civic center implementation and cash management. 11.1 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMUNICATION The district’s public information office coordi- nates a full apprisal to students, staff and com- 6 munity of the condition of the district’s facilities and of efforts to rectify any substandard condi- tions. 11.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARD - COMMUNICATION The district provides clear and comprehensive 6 communication to staff of its facilities standards and plans. The identified subset of standards appears in bold print. These standards, indicated by ❑, will be targeted for in- depth review for the May 2006 report. 44 Facilities Management