New Superintendents
Institute
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Outcomes
• Cultivate a professional network;
• Gain insight with regard to your role in light of the direction
and vision from the Department of Education;
• Examine strategies for clarifying the Board’s expectations;
• Explore a 4-step process for becoming a change agent;
• Discuss relevant scenarios in light of pertinent legal issues;
• Attend to the district’s financial health;
• Tap into the insight and expertise of superintendents who
are finishing their first year in the role;
• Identify strategies for effective communication; and
• Reflect on strategies for an effective leadership-life fit.
Housekeeping
• Restrooms
• Lunch
• Important Links (also agenda):
• Resources: http://www.sai-iowa.org/new-
superintendents-institute.cfm
• Questions:http://padlet.com/dschon/newsup
t2015
• Evaluation: http://bit.ly/newsupt2015
• Mentoring Matters: http://bit.ly/SAIMM2015
Introductions
What is your Board’s top priority for you as
superintendent this school year? Where does your
Board want you to focus your attention?
Tim Grieves, Chief Administrator, Northwest AEA
The First 100 Days:
Being Clear about Board
Expectations
Lou Ann Gvist and Harry Heiligenthal, IASB
Key Points
A. Establish or confirm priorities for the
upcoming school year with the board team
B. Get clear on operating procedures
(communications, use of policy, uncovering land
mines)
C. Establish board table meeting and premeeting procedures and protocols
Key Points
D. Foster working together as a team but get to
know each board member as an individual
E. Recognize the unique responsibilities of the
board president and cultivate a working
relationship with him or her
Scenario – New Superintendent
Small Group Discussion
Reflection
What is your next step regarding priorities for this year? (Key Point A below)
A. Establish and/or confirm priorities for year one with the board team
Pick one of Key Points (B – E below) and describe your next step
B. Get clear on operating procedures (communications, use of policy,
uncovering land mines)
C. Establish board table meeting and pre-meeting procedures and protocols
D. Foster working as a team together but get to know each board member
as an individual
E.
Recognize the unique responsibilities of the board president and cultivate
a working relationship with him or her
Recommended IASB Resources
IASB Website – Sample resources
• Toolbox
• Visionary Team
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Superintendent Evaluation
• School Board U
• At the Board Table
Recommended IASB Resources
•Sample Guiding Questions:
Superintendent Evaluation
•Aligning Priorities and Goals (diagram)
•Change: “Lessons Learned in Their Own
Words”
Key Upcoming Learning
Opportunities
• IASB Regional Board Orientation Meetings
• (15 offerings across the state – boards and superintendents)
• IASB Convention
• Wed, Nov 18 Early Bird Sessions
• Thurs, Nov. 19 Convention
• Fri, Nov. 20 (AM) Board Leaders & Superintendents
“Take A-Ways”
Two key ideas
Transformational
Leadership through
Transition
Dr. Roark Horn, SAI
4-Step Process for Effective
Transformation
Step 1 - Knowledge of Self (Abilities and
Limitations)
Step 2 - Knowledge of Organization
Step 3 - Use Learning in Steps 1 and 2 to Move
the Organization Forward
Step 4 - Take time to rest, reflect, rejuvenate
Know the organization
Apply What You Have
Learned
Rest, Reflect, Rejuvenate
Insight to Effective
Transformation
• Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow.
• The first words out of your mouth should always be a
question - seek to understand.
• There is always someone available who wants to
help you.
• Every situation is new and unique and should be
treated as such - be fair above all else.
• It is fine to say you don’t know if you don’t.
• People will remember how they are treated long
after they remember what they were treated for.
Dr. Ryan Wise, Director, Iowa DE
Iowa Department of
Education Overview
SAI New Superintendents
July 15, 2015
Purpose
Start with Why
Mission and Vision
Mission
Creating excellence in education through leadership
and service.
Vision
Iowa learners experience high levels of success and
develop the capacity to continually grow as
successful, healthy, and productive citizens in a
global community.
Role of the Department
• Partner with stakeholders to effectively implement federal and state
education policy.
• Provide and interpret information and data to support transparency,
accountability and continuous improvement.
• Communicate a compelling and consistent vision.
• Convene critical conversations.
• Pilot and scale promising practices.
THE INSTRUCTIONAL CORE
Director Priorities
• TLC Planning and Implementation
• Early Literacy
• Rigorous Academic Standards Review and Implementation
• Statewide Assessment System Transition
• Attendance Center Rankings and Differentiated Accountability
Other Key Issues
• Innovative Learning – CBE, ILO and STEM
• Educator Development
• Career and Technical Education Modernization
• College and Career Readiness/ Workforce-Education Alignment
Questions
&
Discussion
The First 100 Days:
Aligning to the Law
Matt Carver, Legal Services Director, SAI
Josie Lewis, Policy/Legal Services Director, IASB
Key Questions
A. Where is our district’s policy manual and what
does it say?
B. Who are some key players in the district?
• Board Members;
• School Attorney; and
• Union Representatives.
Key Questions
C. Do I know my role in our district’s board
meetings and understand key pieces of the open
meetings’ law that will impact my work?
•Please see handout.
D. Have I looked at our teachers’ (and support staff)
master contract; and
E. Who do I call?
Scenario – New Superintendent
Custody and Student
Enrollment - Small Group
Discussion
Reflection
• What questions do you have?
Recommended Resources
• Matt Carver
Legal Services Director, SAI
mcarver@sai-iowa.org
515-267-1115
• Josie Lewis
Policy/Legal Services Director, IASB
jlewis@ia-sb.org
515-247-7028
Top 10 Questions to Ask
and Answer in Your 1st
100 Days
… Financially Speaking
Patti Schroeder, Shawn Snyder,
Gary Sinclair - IASB
Key Points
A. Provide you with a list of questions you need
to ask and get answered during your 1st 100
days… financially speaking
B. Guide you to tools that will help you get the
answers you need
C. Introduce you to a financial forecasting model
that can work for you (FPP)
Reflection
Reviewing supporting documentation provides
you with a learning opportunity
Can the answer be confirmed if requested?
Trust, but verify!
1.
Where does our school
district stand financially as of
June 30, 2015?
Financial Health
Why is this important?
•Good financial health
can
concentrate on something else
•Poor financial health
must
concentrate on finances and propose
and make tough financial choices
Recommended Resources
Financial Health—Tools You Can Use
 7 Key Indicators Report
• What do they tell you on about your district’s
financial health?
• Trend lines?
 Audit Report
• Read narrative to learn more about district
• Are corrective action plans in place?
http://www.ia-sb.org/Finance.aspx
7 General Fund Key Indicators
1. Certified Enrollment
2. Solvency Ratio
3. Percent of Revenue Spent
See 7 Key
GF Financial
Indicators
handout
4. Unspent Authorized Budget (UAB) Ratio
(more on this later!)
5. Annual UAB Ratio
6. Salary & Benefit Expenditures
7. New Money % - Settlement %– Change in
Salaries/Benefits %
2.
If we promised to make
reductions, did we?
How do we know?
Rightsizing
Why is this important?
• If reductions/ rightsizing are in place, financial
health should be improving
• If reductions were proposed and not done,
you will need to get them in place to improve
financial health
• If no reductions proposed, does this mean
your financial health is good or poor?
Depends…
Rightsizing
Discuss with SBO
Review /understand prior year
approved budget detail
Cross reference prior year to
current year
3.
Do we have a line item budget?
Are we tracking expenditures
against that budget?
Line-Item Budgets
Why are they important?
• Identifies: How much can be spent; By
whom; For what purpose.
• Developed March-October, depending
on approach used by the district.
• Provides guidance for the day-to-day
question, “Can we afford to make this
purchase?”
Line-Item Budgets
Review Line-Item Budget with SBO:
How was it /should it be developed?
How can we use it / are we using it to
monitor expenditures and make prudent
purchasing decisions?
 Listen to IASB
webinar on “Funding
Priorities”
4.
Are there big hiring
decisions yet to be made?
Staffing
Why is this important?
• Staffing compensation (salaries and benefits)
generally makes up 75-82% of all General Fund
spending
• If all staffing decisions are done and are a part
of the line-item budget, 75-82% of your
spending is already “booked.”
• One teacher costs $78,308 annually, one
principal costs $125,910 (state wide average – FY 2015)
Staffing
Review Staffing levels with SBO and
administrative team:
What changes in staffing levels were agreed to
during the budget development process?
Have those changes (reductions or new hires)
been completed and reflected in our line item
budget?
See 7 Key GF
What do our trend lines tell us?
Financial Indicators
handout
5.
Have we purchased those
materials we need for first
semester?
Purchases
Why is this important?
•Time is of the essence!
•Major purchases take time to
order, receive, and get into the
classroom
Purchases
Ask administrative team about
purchasing needs for first semester.
Are purchasing needs accounted for
in our line-item budget?
6.
Do we have a user friendly
monthly financial report?
Financial Reporting
Why is this important?
•Required by law
(Code section 291.7)
•Highlights your district’s
financial status throughout the
year
•Demonstrates financial
transparency
Financial Reporting
 How do our monthly financial reports mirror (or not)
our line-item budget? Our published budget?
 Are we on track to end the year in the black?
 Are our reports user friendly for our board and our
community? If not what changes in reporting do we
need to make?
Monthly Financial Reporting
http://www.ia-sb.org/Finance.aspx
7.
What is our UAB ratio
and trend line?
UAB Ratio
Why is it important?
#1
key financial indicator!
• UAB is Unspent Authorized Budget or unused
spending authority or credit card limit
• UAB Ratio = UAB/Max Spending Authority
• By law, if UAB is negative, must appear before
the SBRC:
• Work out plan
• Quarterly progress reports to SBRC
UAB Ratio
What do our trend lines tell us?
Work plan required? If so, are we
following the plan?
Unspent Authorized Budget Explanation (AKA
Unspent Spending Authority)
See 7 Key GF
Financial Indicators
handout
http://www.ia-sb.org/Finance.aspx
8.
What legal due dates are
important?
Due Dates
Why are they important?
•Required by law
•There are consequences if not
met
Due Dates
Why are they important?
ITEM
CAR – Certified Annual
Report upload to DE
DUE DATE
CONSEQUENCES
9/15/XX
Appear before SBRC
May delay State Aid
Certified Enrollment
(taken on October 1)
10/15/XX
Basis for per student
funding for next fiscal year
ISL tax levy renewal
4/15/XX
Funding disappears
Voter PPEL tax levy
renewal
4/15/XX
Funding disappears
(also SES, Transportation rpts)
Why important in the 1st 100 days? Each item requires
significant lead time to accomplish.
Due Dates
Are we on target to meet these
deadlines?
Do we have a plan to ensure we meet
ISL and/or Voter PPEL renewal
deadlines?
DE Critical Filing Dates
Special Election Timeline
Calculators (PPEL/ISL)
School Special Election Dates
9.
Are we on track with district
and community facilities
planning expectations?
Facilities Planning
Why is this important?
•District facilities can and should
enhance and enrich student and staff
learning
•Adequate funding throughout the
process is a must!
•Community support is priceless!
Facilities Planning
 Are we on track to open newly
constructed/remodeled facilities on time?
 How are we using / do we have a plan for using our
Sales Tax revenue?
 What long term debt do we have?
Notes to Financial Statements – Audit Report
 Do we need to start planning for a bond
referendum? Revenue Bonds? PPEL debt?
10.
Are we solvent over the long
term?
How do we know?
Financial Forecasting
Why is it important?
Financial
Planning
Knowing
where you
have been is
important!
Knowing
where
you are is
critical!!
Knowing
where you
are going is
priceless!!!
Financial Forecasting
Do we have a way to forecast our
needs over the next several
years, based on varying
assumptions?
 Does our futures modeling
show that our district’s UAB will
remain positive?
PMA – FPP One approach
• Contains five-years of district financial history
• FPP developed to use assumptions to project a five
year budget plan
• Tool contains elements that actually create and project
a district budget for five years
• Projection tool includes history and projections for
expenditure, revenues, taxes, UAB, cash balance,
projects, aid and levy worksheets, 703 forms and all
supporting documents
• Funds are inter-connected as needed
• Work with district develops the Base Scenario
11.
BONUS - What went well,
what did not, as part of our
budget process last year?
Budget Development Process
Why is this important?
•Need to understand prior year
budget development dynamics
•Need to start formulating a
plan/calendar for budget
discussions for next year
Budget Development Process
Discuss pros/cons of district’s prior year budget
development with:
Board President
Individual Board members
SBO; other key staff members
Community members that were involved in
prior year budget discussions
Board President’s Budget Calendar
The First 100 Days:
Had I Only Known
Panel Discussion
Panelists:
Marty Jimmerson, AGWSR
Todd Martin, Baxter
Rich Powers, Bondurant-Farrar
Questions
1. Describe your entry plan and/or the steps you took
to ensure a positive start during the first 100 days in
your new role?
2. How did you go about building relationships with
your administrative team, staff, board and
community? Others?
3. How did you work with your board in the first few
weeks and months to clarify the focus for your work?
http://padlet.com/dschon/newsupt2015
http://padlet.com/dschon/newsupt201
5
4.
What were your expectations for your
administrative team and how did you communicate
them?
5.
What legal and/or policies issues did you face in your
first 100 days?
6. What did you change the first year and why? How
did you decide? How did you ensure you were
honoring the culture and the work that had been
done prior to you?
7.
What’s one thing you wish you had done differently
in your first 100 days?
The First 100 Days:
Communicate, Communicate,
Communicate
Shane Ehresman, Lynnville-Sully
Effective Strategies for
Ongoing Superintendent
and School Board
Communication
Shane Ehresman, Superintendent (6th year)
Lynnville-Sully Community School District
“ The primary purpose of the school leader is to bind the
district and the community together in support of a
powerful vision for student learning. The only effective
tool for meeting this challenge is a comprehensive
communication plan.”
~ Dr. Max Riley, Superintendent, Randolph, New Jersey
Where is Lynnville-Sully?
Is Lynnville-Sully like my district?
Watch short 2-minute video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs9SHHwZb
RU
Successful Communication:
Form and Frequency
 Form and frequency related to board member
communication varies by district
 Many superintendents & school boards randomly
choose their communication strategy, often without
establishing form or frequency
Communication Pitfalls
• Forgetting to contact the board
members/superintendent when serious issues arise
• Not communicating frequently enough
• Failure to recognize school board members when
announcing district successes/news
• Engaging in negative behavior with one school board
member about another school board member
Frequency of Communication
Two primary areas of frequency of
communication
– Ongoing communication
– Emergency communication
Forms of Communication: Pros & Cons
 E-mail or text message
 Phone call
 Face-to-face meetings
Email & Text: Pros
• Easily produced
• Efficient (takes less time than phone call)
• Preferred method by most individuals
• Provides documentation of communication
Email & Text: Cons
 E-mail is part of public record
 Some board members may see it as impersonal or they
don’t text
 Can be easily forwarded to others
 Limits opportunity for expanded conversation
 Can violate open meetings laws if sent to all members
simultaneously. Be careful not to ask board members to
make decisions via e-mail, which could be construed as
conducting a meeting without public notice. No “Reply All”
to mass emails.
Email & Text: Strategies
 Use to communicate non-confidential information
 Ask school district attorney to develop a
confidentiality statement for all out going email
messages
 Ask others their communication preference
Email & Text Recommendations
• Distribute weekly district updates to staff
• Provide weekly updates to board members
• Utilize email as a means to communicate efficiently
during a crisis
• Distribute general school board information
Superintendent’s Weekly Report
(weekly board e-mail communication)
Superintendent’s Weekly Report
(weekly board e-mail communication)
Superintendent’s Weekly Report
(weekly board e-mail communication)
Phone Communication: Pros
• Provides quick feedback
• Offers personal touch to communication
• Provides opportunity to expand conversation
• Allows for confidential conversation
Phone Communication: Cons
 Requires the availability of board member and the
superintendent
 Not as time-efficient as e-mail or text, especially if
multiple individuals are to be contacted
 Difficult to document content of the conversation
Phone Communication: Strategies
 Establish preferred contact times with
individuals and record for future use
 Signal the need for a phone conversation with
email or text message
 SMILE
Phone Call Recommendations
 Use phone calls to add emphasis to an important
message
 Periodically call to check in to see how things going
in the school district
 Contact by phone to discuss sensitive issues
 Text or email each other to call back at a
convenience time or immediately—depending on
the situation
Face to Face Communication: Pros
• Most personal form of communication
• Establishes rapport
• Provides a forum for expanded dialogue
• Provides greater opportunity to assess reaction
to items being communicated
Face to Face Communication: Cons
 Time consuming
 May be uncomfortable to discuss controversial
or sensitive topics
 Availability conflicts among all board
members/superintendent
 Could create inequity among board members
Face-to-Face Recommendations
• Use face-to-face meetings to communicate the
confidential information
• Identify issues that require attention
• Development of school board agenda with the
president and vice president – Monthly practice at
Lynnville-Sully
Emergency Communication
(Plan Ahead)
• How does the board member want to receive
communication?
• Availability of board members
• Understand how you will engage board
members quickly and efficiently especially in
times of crises
Summary of Ongoing Communication
• Ongoing communication is much more
purposeful
• Aimed at providing information on a
consistent basis
• Indicates your willingness to be open with
the board
• Develop a communication plan and commit
to it
Question and Answer Time
Lynnville-Sully School Web Site:
www.lshawks.org
Shane Ehresman, Superintendent
ehresman@lshawks.com
Scenario #1
You are a school board member - On Saturday night,
the music booster club president stops in a
restaurant of a neighboring town and sees three
start varsity football players drinking beer at
Applebee’s (during Happy Hour). The music booster
club president reports the situation to you.
What mode of communication would you use to
communicate?
When & how do you communicate the situation to
the superintendent & rest of the board?
Why did you choose it?
Scenario #2
You are a school board member – A community
member who is the elementary principal’s husband’s
best friend’s first cousin’s employee (part-time) told
you the superintendent should not be cutting
associates during this year’s budget reduction process.
What mode of communication would you use to
communicate?
When & how do you communicate the situation to
the superintendent & rest of the board?
Why did you choose it?
Scenario #3
You are a superintendent – You just received a letter
that one of the district’s principals won a state
award.
What mode of communication would you use to
communicate ?
When & how do you communicate the situation to
the superintendent & rest of the board?
Why did you choose it?
Scenario #4
You are a school board member - At 5:15 pm on a
Sunday night, you have been informed by a district
parent that someone has posted a threat on a
website to “Hurt Students & Staff on Monday” in the
middle school.
What mode of communication would you use to
communicate?
When & how do you communicate the situation to
the superintendent & rest of the board?
Why did you choose it?
Scenario #5
You are a school board member – A community
member stops in your business and says the
basketball coach should be fired because she is
negative with kids and has five straight losing
seasons. He states that if something isn’t done, a
parent group will be at the next board meeting.
What mode of communication would you use to
communicate?
When & how do you communicate the situation to
the superintendent & rest of the board?
Why did you choose it?
Scenario #6
You are a superintendent - Upon arriving to work on Friday
morning, you see racist graffiti painted on the side of the high
school building.
 What mode of communication would you use to
communicate?
 When & how do you communicate the situation to
the school board & rest of the board?
 Why did you choose it?
By the end of this segment,
participants will…
0 Explore the concept of fit as compared to balance
Do you regularly…
0 Look at other superintendents working 13+ hour days and
feel pressure to do the same?
0 Hope that you can get your kids to bed early so you can get
a few more things done for work?
0 Give up exercise so you can get more work done?
0 Snack your way through breakfast, lunch, and dinner so
you can keep working (or skip meals entirely)?
0 Tell yourself you need to find balance and then feel
ineffective when you judge yourself for failing to find it?
0 Feel guilty when you’re spending time doing nothing?
You’re being owned by the
myth of a work-life balance.
Video-Rethinking Work-life
Balance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3mohM05yxs
The Notion of Balance…
Is discussed most frequently discussed in the negative
Keeps us focused on the problem rather than the solution
Assumes we are all the same
Infers there is a “right” answer
Leads us to judge
Results in unproductive guilt
Suggests the goal is a 50-50 split between work and life
Leaves no room for periods where there is more work and
less life and vice versa; and
0 Ignores the constantly changing reality of work and life
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
What about a leadership-life
fit?
0 Honors our unique situations throughout various
0
0
0
0
points in our lives
Leads us to inspire
Recognizes multiple options based upon each
person’s current circumstance
Acknowledges the ebb and flow of life’s events
Values flexibility
Next Steps
• Announcements
• Evaluation: http://bit.ly/newsupt2015
• Adjourn