Sound Fiscal Management Priority Areas

Strategies

• Utilize a survey for the public, school organizational team members, Trustees, and District employees to identify the level of understanding related to Open Book.

• Perform an internal review of Open Book and identify specific gaps and/or areas for improvement.

• Utilize the information from the survey and internal review to update the information provided on Open Book.

• Establish a training/communication document on how to use Open Book that also clearly defines the type of information that is available. 

• Establish a communication schedule and plan for the public, school organizational team members, Trustees, and District employees utilizing various methods of delivery including website, e-mail, and in-person presentations.

• Perform a survey at the end of the year to check improvement over the initial survey and then utilize this survey information to further improve the process.

• Provide a more detailed breakdown of the $2.4 billion operating fund budget as it relates to Strategic Budgets, Special Education (restricted under Assembly Bill 469), and Central Service funds. 

• Communicate financial information on a regular basis in Board meetings as well as community meetings. 

Strategies

• Convene a Strategic Budget Task Force of principals, region/school associate superintendents, budget personnel, and department leaders to evaluate and recommend changes to the current strategic budget funding model.

• Identify specific recommendations for the funding model, get approvals for the changes, and implement for the 2019-2020 budget and future budgets.

• Work with the Nevada Department of Education on developing the district weighted funding model for the District as well as moving to the use of actual salaries for personnel in the budget process.

• Participate in meetings with the Nevada Department of Education and their consultant related to the weighted funding model and for the evaluation of the use of actual salaries versus average salaries for school-based funding.

• Develop a task force to identify and develop a weighted funding model for the District that utilizes the work performed at the state level and addresses the specific needs of the District.

• Develop a task force to develop a plan to move the budgetary model from using average salaries to actual salaries.

• Utilize all funds in strategic budgets to align with student achievement.

• Decrease the amount of roll-forward federal dollars.

• Quantify the annual spending requirements as well as the future expectations and communicate to the Board the long-term financial risks of continuing to offer the benefits.

• Identify, quantify, and estimate future required amounts for the specific components of the various benefits provided to District employees including medical, vacation, sick time, pension, and other 

• post-employment benefits.

• Provide the specific details of benefits and amounts noted above to the Superintendent by December 31, 2019.

• Develop a plan with the Superintendent to communicate the overall financial requirements and risks to the financial stability of the District related to the continued offering of the current level of benefits by June 30, 2020.

Strategies

Utilize recommendations provided by the Council of Great City Schools

• Acquire the analytical tools to aid departments to better leverage the data we have to make sound business decisions. This includes the leveraging of current assets (e.g., full implementation of the Facility Asset Management Information System (FAMIS) and those on the horizon (human capital management system).

• Evaluate the efficiency and efficacy of some of the smaller functions (e.g., instrument and cabinet repair) within its departments to determine if it is cost-effective to deliver the service in-house.

• Implement bi-annual evaluation of major contract service providers to the District.

• Re-evaluate the construction of schools, to include vertical construction to reduce school footprints and the associated costs with larger school sites.

• Implement the practice of using third party cost estimates when construction bids exceed the budgeted amount.

• Begin the process of rezoning to redistribute the student population, make maximum use of the current infrastructure, and preclude creating unnecessary infrastructure.

Improve Services to Schools and Departments

• Determine and attain staffing for target service levels in Maintenance and Grounds according to the Association of Physical Plant Administrators (APPA) standards.*

• Provide training and support for staff to improve efficiencies.

• Utilize the Facility Asset Information Management System to focus resources on key service level components in Maintenance and Grounds and monitor progress.

• Use annual survey to monitor progress towards service level goal (complimentary/subjective) and adjust tactics as required.

• Reduce time to complete site-funded projects (from request to project completion).

• Implement training and communication on safety for employees.

• Expand CCSD sponsorship of the number of school sites offering supper.

• Assess and improve student perceptions of the taste of food provided to students.

Improve Cost Efficiencies within Operations

• Facilities and Maintenance

  • Strategically abandon the practice of deferred maintenance.*

  • Complete an inventory of all buildings and acreage of grounds to ensure effective use and space utilization.

  • Utilize contracted resources if necessary to meet staffing targets.

  • Allocate Capital Improvement Program (CIP) funds for the modernization of existing building components with imminent likelihood of failure.

  • Implement strategic energy conservation and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification measures.

• Food Service

  • Monitor production records for food spoilage on a daily basis and respond with observation reports, feedback, and regular records reviews, as appropriate.

  • Assess the efficient implementation of food service programs, including Breakfast After the Bell, school lunch programs (including number, length, and point-of-service availability), school supper programs, without increasing adverse effects on instructional goals.

  • Continue to expand the healthy menu choices offered to students.

    • Rework the competitive food bid process to be able to accommodate the trending changes in food choices that students prefer in a timelier fashion.

    • Work with principals to assess the impact of eliminating non-compliant and/or competitive food from outside sources.

    • Ensure districtwide compliance with the District’s Wellness Policy and ensure all food sold by outside sources are compliant with District’s Wellness Policy. 

• Technology

  • Maintain proactive replacement of aging network infrastructure gear with funding from the 2015 Capital Improvement Plan.

  • Maintain enhanced network monitoring to proactively identify network infrastructure that may be nearing failure.

  • Dedicate increased resources towards WiFi replacement.

  • Evaluate call and ticket data to identify areas of need and adjust support resources to accommodate.

  • Increase self-service ticket avoidance options and technology ticket creation alternatives to reduce call volume, hold time and wait time.

  • Complete implementation of the District’s new Human Capital Management (HCM) System

• Transportation

  • Staff vacant vehicle mechanic positions and evaluate the pay range to ensure competitive compensation with the private sector.

  • Ensure properly maintained vehicles through proper scheduling and staffing.

  • Strategically prioritize work orders and resource allocations.

  • Establish and maintain preventive maintenance schedules.

  • Continue to expand bus driver attendance initiatives and professionalism training.

• Purchasing

  • Work with Teaching and Learning units to identify categories of instructional programs and services for potential competitive opportunities.

  • Push hard-to-bid items and services to competed national purchasing cooperative and other government entity contracts. Hard-to-bid items and services include, but are not limited to time sensitive requirements, sole source (whether based on maintenance of existing infrastructure or the unique nature of a service), and miscellaneous items that do not fit neatly into a single bidding category.

  • Leverage Ariba catalog system to implement mass catalog uploads from large suppliers and reduce manual line-by-line catalog entry where possible.

  • Identify catalog alternatives to customers ordering off contract materials. 

  • Increase the catalog utilization by principals to lower cost.

* Additional funding must be sought to implement these strategies.

Strategies

• Reduce processing time to enable additional annual assessments with more rapid response to findings.

• Perform a risk assessment at every school site with corrective action finding(s) to site no later than 5 days after the inspection every school year.

• Reduce the number of safety concerns investigated after an event has occurred by improving on prompt identification and correction of safety issues.

• Identify the proximate cause of loss on liability, property, and workers’ compensation claims.

• Partner with and train supervisors to reduce costs of employee absences and injury.

• Develop temporary modified duty (TMD) job descriptions to specifically address employees that cannot return to their current position due to short-term work restrictions related to an industrial injury.