I attended an evening workshop of the School Board this week. Their agenda was only two topics, 1) Approve the proposed millage rate for school district property taxes, and 2) Approve spending for Discretionary funds and specialist staff for School Principals .
But it was better than one of those reality shows where teams are racing to climb a mountain to find a clue to treasure!
During public comment that was allowed BEFORE the millage rate vote, I was the only one talking about the proposed millage rate and down below are the comments I submitted - notice that was before everything else I will tell you about.
After I spoke, this is what happened:
- Apparently the CFO's office of the School District published incorrect data in the required publishing of the budget and millage rates that were to be voted on. So at least two of the Board members and the CFO spent part of the day trying to find out if they had to republish the info. Fortunately, the key number that was wrong was higher, which meant the new number was lower and that was ok. If the ad had used a lower tax rate than proposed, they would have had to re advertise. The CFO disclosed this immediately when discovered and the Board considered it to be a human mistake.
- The Superintendant, Anna Cowin, wasn't there. Not even her senior staff members knew where she was, so the Board couldn't get any answers to some questions.
- The second item on the agenda was to approve a plan, and related costs to creating 16 "Innovative Learning specialist" (ILP) positions at schools to help staff use computers more in instructional settings. BUT, Ms. Cowin initiated the release of the positions and assigned teachers to them two month ago when the Board is supposed to approve such new programs and costs AND coordinate that spending with their planned spending discretionary funds for principals. And, Cowin never provided the cost details for the Board to make the decision. Then, the day of the workshop, Cowin disappeared and did not provide the info needed, so Board Chairman Larry Metz came into the offices, and put together a "menu" of items that the discretionary funds could be spent on, including the specialists, because Cowin had not supplied the data. However, they then found out for the first time that the specialists had already been assigned and were starting work this week, using up most of the planned discretionary funds. After much aggravated discussion on how Cowin put them in the position of either canceling the planned positions to use the funds for discretionary purposes, or cave in to Cowin, who never got their approval, the Board bit the bullet and said go ahead with the specialists but they crafted a resolution to ensure next year the discretionary fund program would take place. The Board even asked the attorney if they had legal remedies to take action against Cowin for promising people jobs and setting it up and the related costs without obtaining legally required approval from the Board. The Attorney said there wasn't much to do, but hire an attorney and sue her for breaking the regulations, which would become drawn out and use up District funds. So they gave up that idea.
That is one Cowin Catastrophe that explains why Lauren Ritchie in her Orlando Sentinel column today announced the "Cowin Countdown" to count the number of days until elected Cowin is out of office in 2008. As of tomorrow, Thursday, August 2, 2007, it will be 474 days until Cowin's last day on Nov. 17, 2008.
- The issue of the recently announced teacher bonuses came up (see articles below and how the accounting office didn't include payroll tax costs in the estimate, so they were off by over $200k (see Lauren Ritchie's column below). The Board said that everyone who met the bonus plan requirements would get one, even if they had to find more money to do it. However, you have to question a plan that was open ended without a specified spending limit. The State government provides about $2.1 million and the District apparently didn't put a spending cap on bonus spending. Then, remember they let NON FCAT subject instructors write their own exams to also qualify for bonuses. Remember the initial state plan was to provide bonuses to teachers who improved FCAT subject scores (math, reading, etc). Then teachers who taught non-FCAT subjects like Art, PE, etc. complained, and the Board approved a plan allowing them to also qualify. So the State goals of improving FCAT scores were diluted by spending some of the funds for non-FCAT subject teachers. Think of the bonus program like an insurance policy - have you ever seen one that was open ended, without a spending cap? So, another reason to question the management of the District. By approving an open ended program, they put funds that might be used for other priorities at risk. And, if the non-FCAT qualifying bonus tests were easier than the FCAT scoring system, they let more people qualify for bonuses than should have received them.
- Another Cowin induced mis-management factor was discussed. The problems with the teaching specialist approvals, and even approving the teacher bonuses came about because the Board didn't always know when certain approval deadlines came due because Cowin's staff didn't let them know. So, Metz suggested that they needed a special "Deadline Management" Calendar to track deadlines, and Board Member Kyleen Fisher, who has been on the Board for many years, said that prior Superintendents did have such calendars, but Cowin did not. These are the standard types of time management and deadline management procedures you would expect of any small department manager, but Cowin has no clue and does not implement such business processes. So, sometimes when I blame "staff" for problems, why don't any of them propose such a system (or maybe they did and it was ignored?)?
- Then there was the last minute Cowin Catastrophe when Board Member Cindy Barrow passed around the text from Cowin once again using the school automated telephone alert system to notify parents who thought there still was a magnet school program. Cowin had used it to set up a meeting of all of them without notifying the Board so the Board wouldn't be represented at the meeting. However, after hearing from Barrow, the Board decided to have someone there "to listen" to prevent Cowin from providing mis-information about the still future plans for the magnet school.
Enough for now - The actions and discussions by the School Board were commendable - under Sunshine laws they can't discuss issues together except at public meetings, thus they have to spend much time discussing and hashing out issues to get to a decision and consensus, and they did that for us all to witness during this workshop, and certainly seem to be earning their 30k a year.
Here are my comments given at the beginning of the meeting, and some resulting articles in the press... wasn't I right - this is better than a reality show on TV...
=======================================================
My comments to the School District Board regarding their approval of staff recommended millage rates and budget total of $588.9-million (typed from my handwritten text I used at the meeting):
"The question about these millage rates is: Should we rely on data from School District Staff to support an increase in the millage rate or budget when they are the ones that"
- Couldn't calculate the forecasted expense for the teacher bonuses.
- Couldn't develop exams for non-FCAT subject teachers that would stand up to challenges.
- Couldn't order Dell PC's with the proper software (referring to the recent situation where 4000 Dell computers were ordered with the Microsoft "HOME XP" operating system which would not work with the District's network).
- Don't provide any professional level benchmarks for key non-instructional activity areas that are similar to those FCAT reports required of teachers. (If you look at the online budget or financial reports, there are no performance or activity ratios by activity area to show how efficient or economical those operations are managed).
So, whichever way you vote on the millage, don't just allow staff recommendations to be accepted without a trade off. Establish a policy that requires publicly published (on the website) measurable performance benchmarks for all non-instructional activity areas.
DON'T let the gang who can't manage straight to continue without being measured for performance."
==================================================
Today's column from Lauren Ritchie
orlandosentinel.com/news/local/lake/orl-lritchie0107aug01,0,7119446.column?coll=orl_news_local_lake_util
OrlandoSentinel.com
COMMENTARY LAKEFRONT
Countdown begins as school errors pile up
Lauren Ritchie COMMENTARY
August 1, 2007
Ladies and gents, boys and girls, sit up and pay attention!
School Superintendent Anna Cowin's latest blunder can't be ignored. Oh,
there's nothing remarkable about her and her staff miscalculating -- possibly
by $200,000 -- the cost of giving teachers raises they earned.
It's the standard incompetence by people whose performance can't match
their salaries coupled with Cowin's inability to manage them. Lake County is
used to it by now.
But how much more can you take? Is the cumulative effect of the
superintendent's repeated absurdities, missteps and failures weighing on you?
It is on me. I feel like a claw-footed iron bathtub fell from the sky onto my
skull. I can't take it anymore.
So I'm gonna do it.
Welcome, dear readers, to a new and unfortunately continuing feature: The
Cowin Countdown.
Here at Lakefront column world, we've painstakingly calculated the days
until the school superintendent leaves office, hopefully taking with her the
staffers responsible for this latest bungle. After that, a hired manager will
take her place.
The results are thus: Lake County is stuck with Cowin for the next 475
days, which includes her last day of work, Nov. 17, 2008.
To think of it another way, the time is 1 year, three months and 17 days.
Or, 67 weeks; 11,400 hours; 684,000 minutes, or 41,040,000 seconds.
But who's counting?
Answer: At this point, just about everybody.
During the Cowin Countdown, the superintendent will have the opportunity to
mismanage a lot more situations, but it's hard to imagine how she could top
previously displayed buffoonery.
Cowin's first act as superintendent was to increase the size of the
bureaucracy, though she hinted repeatedly during her campaign that a reduction
was in the offing.
Within two months, she began a battle to control the news, one she has been
losing ever since. Her tenure has been marked by extreme political
maneuvering, repeated raises for bureaucrats and public retaliation against
those who disagree with her.
Last week, for instance, Cowin's chief financial officer was less than
candid when asked direct questions by a reporter about whether the district
had enough money to cover teacher raises. Cowin played coy in an unsuccessful
attempt to keep the bad news from School Board members.
The amusingly ironic part was when she blustered by e-mail and threatened
to eliminate a Sentinel reporter's access to her and her staff. As if the
public often gets straight information from the superintendent.
The only thing this scenario didn't include, but should have, was a sincere
apology to both School Board members and Lake County taxpayers for what
promises to be an expensive error and for failing to disclose it immediately.
Lake received $2.1 milllion from the state for bonuses for teachers, who
were evaluated on a complex matrix. Those achieving a score of 71 or higher on
a scale of 100 were eligible for raises. The 1,008 teachers were told so in
writing by Cowin's staff.
Unfortunately -- wait, make that fortunately -- more teachers than expected
scored high enough to deserve the approximately $2,000 bonus.
The district carelessly or incompetently -- it's impossible to tell which
-- failed to calculate the cost of the usual required deductions for taxes,
leaving the district about $200,000 short. How that was overlooked remains a
mystery considering that it's Payroll 101 to know that bonuses are
compensation and subject to withholding, just like regular salaries. Did the
batteries in the big Casio go kaput?
To complicate matters, about 100 teachers who were rejected have appealed,
claiming they are eligible. That could mean even more that the school district
might have to "find" somewhere -- that is, if it wants to do the right thing.
Worse yet, Cowin and her staffers are playing the usual lame word games in
an effort to slither out of this latest blithering mess. One of their
explanations: We don't know for sure if the district will be short on money
until the checks are cut.
Huh? Is that how they do payroll every other week? Write the checks and
hope the cash is in the bank?
It just never ends.
Last week, a board member revealed how Cowin went behind their backs to
rally parents to pressure the board for a health-sciences magnet school. The
week before, the superintendent's abysmal planning on the proposed school came
to light. Two weeks before that, her inability to locate property for the
board to consider for a south Lake high school was so apparent that the board
chairman stepped forward to take over the task, which is now several years
behind schedule.
On and on and on.
Cowin's refusal to take responsibility for even the smallest failure would
be amusing in a kindergartenish sort of way if it weren't for the enormous
cost to taxpayers and the harm to students and teachers.
There is no hope she ever will change. Tomorrow is Thursday. The Cowin
Countdown will stand at 474.
Lauren Ritchie can be reached at [email protected] or 352-742-5918.
Copyright © 2007, Orlando Sentinel
======================================================================