Nov. 9, 2018 Tavares, FL
Jim Krakowski is a frequent attendee and observer of Lake County School District activities.
Both Jim and I watched the Nov. 9, 2018 workshop by online streaming, and his comments are further below.
You can see the video of the meeting HERE on the District's YouTube channel.
You can see the workshop AGENDA HERE.
That empty chair in the picture is because Board Chair Stephanie Luke was once again absent, represented by the empty chair. I figure this is the 7th or 8th meeting she has missed because she has a job that conflicts with normal meeting schedules. In addition, some important meetings requiring her vote were rescheduled to meet her availability schedule. Luke is a capable Board member, but is it acceptable that a person run for public office who has a "real" job that conflicts with their elected duties and they frequently miss meetings or all the other members must re-orient their schedules for another meeting date? She actually is listening on the phone but did not contribute much. Should an official with scheduling conflicts also accept Chairmanship or Committee leadership positions? This is a lesson for potential future candidates and for groups sponsoring candidates. Don't run for an elected position if you do not have employment, good health or family flexibility to attend the well known, scheduled meetings. To run for office and then have constant meeting conflicts is not good governance. It also means staff most likely has to do separate update briefings for absent officials also.
There were only two workshop topics:
- The District Internal Audit Director presented his audit "risk analysis" and the proposed audit plan. It will be formally approved at the Nov. 12 Board meeting.
- Updated School District Policies - The Board engaged a third-party firm to monitor and keep policies up to date, and this was a review of the annual (I believe) update of the policies. Using the firm is more efficient because they have many other school district clients and can more efficiently ensure that policies based on Federal or State regulations are up to date. In my opinion, this also prevents poor policy development by local staff who may not have sufficient knowledge or information to keep them legally updated.
Vance Jochim, Editor
Below are Jim Krakowski's comments:
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Comments / Observations – School Board Meeting - Jim Krakowski
Posted November 9, 2018
(Jim Krakowski 11/5/18)
Monday’s SB (School Board) Workshop meeting focused mainly on Internal Audits for 2018/19 and The Review of
LCS/Board Policies.
Internal Audit:
LCSD’s Internal Auditor (IA) reports directly to the School Board. Every year before
finalizing the IA plan, it is reviewed with the SB, discussed and modified as the SB and the plan is
revised based on this discussion. The IA (Tom Mock) presentation focused on the process, the
results of that process and the recommended IA plan going forward.
•Key elements of the process:
o Two key elements of risk analysis are Impact (mainly financial) and the probability or
likelihood of the risk occurring.
o Identify LCS’ Auditable Areas which include such areas as:
§ Accountability & Assessment ... School Improvement Plan, School Advisory
Councils, Accreditation, etc.
§ Student Services ... Title X, Social Work Services, Mental Health Specialist,
Home Educations, etc.
§ College & Career Readiness ... Certification programs, AICE and ADVID
programs, Dual enrollment, etc.
§ Academic Services & Interventions ... Early warning systems, School
improvement plans, Opportunity scholarships, etc.
§ Provide A detailed “Risk Assessment” rating of 1 to 3 ... 1 = Low Risk, 2 +
Medium Risk and 3 = High Risk based on impact to the District
• Financial
• Standard Operating Procedures
• Management Information Systems
• Laws & Regulations
§ Assess the Probability of the Risk analyzing such aspects as:
• The complexity of the process or reliance on outside third parties
• Volume of transactions ... higher the number the higher the probability
• Issues that have been identified but are still unresolved
• Changes in personnel and/or processes
Based on this process the IA and LCSD Department heads rated the risks for each element of their
respective areas ... finance, transportation, HR, Full Time Equivalent (FTE) which is one of the main
formulas the FDOE used to allocate funds to the District, etc
The final step in the process was to review the IA plan for 2018/19 with the SB. The SB
recommended some revisions/modifications and the plan (as revised) will be put forward to the SB for
approval. After each completed audit, the IA prepares his recommendation for
strengthening/improvement based on his findings. The recommendations are reviewed with the
department, the Superintended and the SB.
My Comments on the Internal Audit Issues:
I continue to be impressed with the District’s IA and his ability to take complex
issues and make them understandable. In order to maintain an “arms-length” relationship with
District’s various departments, the IA reports directly to the SB and not the Superintendent thus
maintaining “independence”. The results of his audits and recommendations has saved the
District millions of dollars ... far exceeding the costs associated with the IA Department. My
recommendations is to add at least one or two more IA ... currently there is a staff of one. An
organization as large as LCSD (41,000+ students, 41 schools, an annual budget exceeding
$530 million and covering a large geographic area covered), one or two more IA’s would be
justified.
Policy Review:
The District’s Chief of Staff reviewed LCSD Policies relating to several areas ...HR,
Instructional, Procurement and Finance. The overall objective was to determine if the District’s
policies are in compliance with the state statutes, current labor agreements, and the District’s
objectives. The presentation was detailed and comprehensive. If you are interested in reviewing
these policies, you can log onto the District’s website.
My Comments related to the Policy Review:
The volume alone relating to these policies is significant ... over 240 pages.
Based on the questions/comments the SB (especially Kristi Burns) had with these policies
presented indicated they were familiar with the policies and thus were able to provide meaningful
comments, recommendations, and clarifications.
