Management Review - California School Information Services

1 Joel D. MonteroChief Executive OfficerStockton unified School DistrictManagement ReviewMarch 4, 2009 Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance TeamFCMATJoel D. Montero, Chief Executive O cer1300 17th Street - CITY CENTRE, Bakers eld, CA 93301-4533 . Telephone 661-636-4611 . Fax 661-636-4647422 Petaluma Blvd North, Suite. C, Petaluma, CA 94952 . Telephone: 707-775-2850 . Fax: 707-775-2854 . Agent: Larry E. Reider - O ce of Kern County Superintendent of SchoolsMarch 4, 2009Mr. Anthony AmatoStockton unified School District701 North MadisonStockton, California 95202 Dear Superintendent Amato:In September 2008, the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) entered into an agreement for a Management Review with the stockton unified School district . The scope of this study was to Review a selected number of standards in the areas identified by the district administration: Community Relations 1.

2 Research, Evaluation and Assessment 2. Categorical Funds/Pupil Achievement3. Grant Development4. Human Resources5. Business Services (internal audit, budget, accounting, payroll)6. Technology7. Printing, Mail and Warehouse8. Transportation9. Child Nutrition/Food Services10. Facilities and Planning (maintenance, custodial and grounds, facilities planning, 11. and constructionThe attached final report contains the study team s findings with regard to the above areas of Review . We appreciate the opportunity to serve you, and we extend our thanks to all the staff of the stockton unified School ,Joel D. MonteroChief Executive OfficerFiscal Crisis & Management Assistance TeamTABLE OF CONTENTSiTable of ContentsForeword ..iiiIntroduction ..1 Executive Summary ..5 Findings and Recommendations ..9 Community Relations ..9 Pupil Achievement ..25 Grant Development ..33 Research, Evaluation and Assessment.)

3 41 Personnel Management ..49 Financial Management /Position Control/Payroll ..61 Technology Services ..85 Printing, Mail and Warehouse Services ..95 Transportation ..107 Food Services ..117 Facilities ..129 Appendices ..145 stockton unified School DistrictFOREWORDiiiForeword - FCMAT BackgroundThe Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) was created by legislation in accordance with Assembly Bill 1200 in 1992 as a service to assist local educational agencies (LEAs) in complying with fiscal accountability standards. AB 1200 was established from a need to ensure that LEAs throughout California were adequately prepared to meet and sustain their financial obligations. AB 1200 is also a statewide plan for county offices of education and School districts to work together on a local level to improve fiscal procedures and accountability standards. The legislation expanded the role of the county office in monitoring School districts under certain fiscal constraints to ensure these dis-tricts could meet their financial commitments on a multiyear basis.

4 AB 2756 provides specific responsibilities to FCMAT with regard to districts that have received emergency state loans. These include comprehensive assessments in five major operational areas and periodic reports that identify the district s progress on the improvement January 2006, SB 430 (charter schools) and AB 1366 (community colleges) became law and expanded FCMAT s Services to those types of 1992, FCMAT has been engaged to perform nearly 750 reviews for local educational agencies, including School districts, county offices of education, charter schools and community colleges. Services range from fiscal crisis intervention to Management Review and assistance. FCMAT also provides professional development training. The Kern County Superintendent of Schools is the administrative agent for FCMAT. The agency is guided under the leadership of Joel D. Montero, Chief Executive Officer, with funding derived through appropriations in the state budget and a modest fee schedule for charges to requesting ( )Fiscal Crisis/Emergency.

5 38 ( )Note: Some districts had multiple studies. Districts (7) that have received emergency loans from the state. (Rev. 1/22/09)Total Number of Number of Districts in CA ..98292/93 93/94 94/95 95/96 96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 Projected80706050403020100 Study Agreements by Fiscal YearNumber of StudiesFiscal Crisis & Management Assistance TeamStockton unified School DistrictINTRODUCTION1 IntroductionThe stockton unified School district serves a large urban area of approximately 55 square miles in San Joaquin County. It has 52 schools and an enrollment of more than 38,000 students. In December 2008 the district offered the SAT Reasoning Test free of charge to all its high School senior students. That effort results in markedly higher test-taking rates than in previous district is governed by a seven-member Board of Trustees, who are elected by geo-graphical area.

6 Board meetings are held monthly on June 2008, the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) received a request from the district for a comprehensive Review . FCMAT maintains a list of professional and legal standards by which local education agencies can be measured and benchmarked to help the district improve its performance and level of service. Based on the district s request for FCMAT to assess current practices in seven areas in the organi-zation, FCMAT identified a subset of specific standards to be considered in each of the areas listed below. Each standard identified and reviewed is listed in the study agreement between FCMAT and the district . Given the time and cost considerations, FCMAT and the district mutually agreed that not every standard included in the master list would be reviewed. The comprehensive list includes the following five specific component areas and related standards for each: Community Relations (51 standards), Personnel Management (95 standards), Pupil Achievement (64 standards), Facilities Management (97 standards), and Financial Management (109 standards).

7 The standards-based approach was created by FCMAT and is utilized in California for School districts in need of systemic improvements. The goal is to establish a baseline for performance levels in each component area. Once the benchmark has been established, the district can develop a strategy that will focus on the essential tasks to create an orga-nizational blueprint for further Crisis & Management Assistance TeamINTRODUCTION2 Study GuidelinesFCMAT visited the district on various dates in October, November and December 2008 to observe and evaluate the district s programs and operations. This report is the result of those activities and is divided into the following sections:Community Relations1. Pupil Achievement2. Grant Development3. Research, Evaluation and Assessment4. Personnel Management5. Financial Management /Position Control/Payroll6. Technology Services7. Printing, Mail and Warehouse Services8.

8 Transportation9. Food Services10. Facilities11. Study TeamThe FCMAT study team was composed of the following members:William Gillaspie, Jim Cerreta, CPAC hief Management Analyst Fiscal Intervention SpecialistFiscal Crisis and Management Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team Assistance TeamSacramento, California Petaluma, CaliforniaAndrew Prestage Jan Brannen* Management Analyst Director of Human ResourcesFiscal Crisis and Management Grossmont Union High School district Assistance Team La Mesa, CaliforniaBakersfield, California Amy Baer*Kelly Calhoun* Director of Student ServicesDirector of Educational Novato unified School DistrictTechnology Information Services Novato, CaliforniaFolsom Cordova unified School district Thomas (Kirk)

9 Gilbert*Folsom, California Director, Maintenance/Operations Tehachapi unified School DistrictSusan Green Tehachapi, CaliforniaFCMAT ConsultantPioneer, California stockton unified School DistrictINTRODUCTION3 Linda Grundhoffer Greg Lindner*FCMAT Consultant Director of Technology ServicesDanville, California Elk Grove unified School district Elk Grove, CaliforniaPatricia Landau* Director, Human Resources - Classified Timothy W. Purvis*Huntington Beach Union Director of Transportation High School district Poway unified School DistrictHuntington Beach, California Poway, California Susan Murai Robert RiceFCMAT Consultant FCMAT ConsultantPenn Valley, California Rio Vista, California Michael Rea* Rod SprecherExecutive Director FCMAT ConsultantWest County Transportation Agency Bakersfield, CaliforniaSanta Rosa, California Laura HaywoodJoAnn C.

10 Smith Public Information SpecialistFCMAT Consultant Fiscal Crisis and ManagementSan Jose, California Assistance Team Bakersfield, CaliforniaCheryl Wambolt*Director of Purchasing Rowland unified School district Rowland Heights, California *As members of this study team, these consultants were not representing their respective employers, but were working solely as consultants for Crisis & Management Assistance TeamINTRODUCTION4 stockton unified School DistrictEXECUTIVE SUMMARY5 Executive SummaryThe stockton unified School district s recently hired Superintendent (July 2008) and Governing Board have committed to developing a baseline regarding the district s perfor-mance in several School district operational areas. The Superintendent and board have a common mission to move the district forward by improving the overall educational and operational delivery system.