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Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2008 > May > 01 > Entry
Here’s what the consultant said about Dayton
Linda Recio
Linda Recio, a consultant with the Florida-based firm Evergreen Solutions, presented her findings from a four-month study of Dayton Public Schools Thursday morning to a group of school, business and community leaders who make up a committee that is reviewing the district’s operations.
Recio was asked to report on how efficiently the district is managed and recommend possible improvements. She started with a long list of commendations for district management and said it was clear to her that the district had made major improvements since 2002. Then she went though a list of suggestions for how the district could improve.
In other cities, Recio has provided an approximate dollar figure for how much could be saved if the district enacted all the recommendations. She did not do that here. Committee chairman Tom Breitenbach asked Percy Mack to prepare an action plan for the distirct to make changes based on Recio’s report.
As best I could, I compiled a summary of Recio’s commendations and suggested changes. I tried to get everything so blog readers could get a full picture of what she highlighted. This is long, but those who want to see all the details can check it out after the jump:
Commendations
These are areas that Recio reviewed and found positives about the district:
—Superintendent Percy Mack is respected in the community.
In surveys, 97 percent of administrators, 100 percent of principals and 60 percent of teachers said they thought Mack was a strong administrator and instructive leader.
Recio said a 100 percent rating from principals was very rare. Afterward I asked teachers union President Pat Lynch about the comparatively low rating from teachers. She related it to tough working conditions for teachers this year, following $30 million in cuts, and said teachers likely would have rated Mack higher before the cuts.
—The district is not heavy with administrators.
Recio said Dayton had a higher ratio of students to administrators (200 to 1) than its peer group (168 to 1) or the state average (155 to 1). She said this figure came from last year’s numbers, prior to the budget cuts which eliminated some administrative jobs. Today the district’s ratio is probably higher, she said.
The study also suggests central office administrators spend more time in schools than in typical districts. Recio said that finding was based on survey responses from principals.
—The public information office is effective.
The report states that the district understands marketing, responds well to stakeholders and has effective truancy and count week public awareness campaigns.
—Education Services have greatly improved.
The report cites the district’s shift from 47 percent of its spending on instruction to 60 percent over five years. Recio said there is a process for examining low performing schools and a comprehensive approach to curriculum that involves teachers. She said the district is seeking to become more data driven and has good options like distance learning.
Program options like Montessori schools, arts schools, the Marshall High School academic magnet program and the Dayton Early College Academy were praised in the report.
—Financial services are generally strong.
Recio cited the district’s efficient process for budget cuts and clean audit in 2007 along with an award for financial excellent Dayton received.
—Human Resources has good recruitment materials.
The report said Dayton’s recruitment packet and employee handbook are high quality and a training program for aspiring administrators is strong.
—Facilities are well cared for.
The district has a facilities strategic plan, no portable classrooms and showed no evidence of deferred maintenance on schools, the report states. For construction, Dayton uses cost-saving prototypes for new schools and has a very low percentage of change orders on its projects (2 percent, compared to a national average of 3 percent).
Recio said the district integrates parks, recreation and community centers into its operations and uses a state of the art energy management program that saves money.
—High school busing was maintained despite cuts.
Recio praised a partnership with the city, county and RTA to keep high school busing this year, but warned that it would be hard to sustain. She also praised camera security systems on new buses.
—Safety and security shows some strengths.
The report cites the fact that no city school has ever been listed as “persistently dangerous” under No Child Left Behind for repeated violent incidents. It also cited good emergency procedures, alarms and perimeter security at schools.
—Food and nutrition serves many kids effectively.
About 60 percent of Dayton kids eat breakfast at school and 84 percent eat school lunches. Lunches are scheduled appropriately in the school day, Recio said.
—Administration technology is connected well to education technology.
The report praises Cincinnati Bell, the district’s computer contractor, for its services and flexibility.
Areas for improvement
The report cited these areas where the district needs to improve:
—Transportation is a high cost.
Dayton spends 6.9 percent of its funds on transportation, while the average district spends 5.3 percent. Bus utilization (number of seats occupied) ranges from 70 to 85 percent nationally, but for Dayton the rate is 58 percent with an average of 46 kids per bus. This is the lowest among the district’s peer group.
Dayton transports 3,800 charter school students, 1,350 private school students and about 10,000 of its own kids each day. The cost for private and charter school busing is $5 million annually. The median cost per student for busing at the district is $1,377 per student per year compared to the peer district average of $770 and the state average of $587.
Recio said the district should consider dropping high school transportation, which is not required by law, to save $1.2 million if money remains tight going forward. She said the district has too many bus stops based on parent requests rather than route efficiency, costing money. And about 449 students who live less than a mile from school rode a bus compared with 147 in the next closest peer school district (Canton). Dayton has a ratio of 2.16 buses per 100 students, well beyond the national ratio of 1.0 to 1.3 in urban areas.
District spending on overtime was $376,000 total with $232,000 coming in transportation, although Recio noted some improvements have been made. She said union contract rule changes might help reduce these costs.
About 30 buses, or 15 percent of the fleet, needs immediate replacement and Dayton should be replacing 15 to 17 buses per year. The district needs better management for the fleet.
Recio cited driver absences as a major problem, causing bus delays and missed routes and prompting complaints from teachers and principals. She also noted turnover in the job of transportation director. The district should explore outsourcing busing, she said.
—Food Services need better monitoring.
Data tracking is an issue for food service, the report states. The district does not track “meals per labor hour,” a common statistic used for comparison purposes. The food service division in November ran a negative balance of $1.5 million even though it is supposed to pay for itself through meal revenue.
The report said the district is not consistently applying fees and costs for after hours food service and catering at school and community events. Food Services also did not have a comprehensive staff allocation plan or a strategic plan aligned to the district’s goals. Comprehensive, written procedures also were not apparent.
—Finance practices could be tightened up.
The report cited a lack of documents tying instructional planning to the annual budget, but allowed this may have been caused by the deep budget cuts. The district does not post financial information in a timely or useful way on its Web site and overtime costs of $750,000 could be reduced if union rules were changed. The report also noted Dayton pays its vendors twice a week rather than every other week.
Recio said Dayton lacks some written procedures for accounting and does not consistently seek grant money to cover all costs that they could cover. Also, cash projections were not always based on current bank reconciliations, which could skew the numbers. Annual inventories of district property are not always done.
The report also noted the district showed a cash deficit last November as a result of a timing issue but should take steps to make sure the balance never shows a negative. Documentation was lacking on workers compensation and procurement was decentralized, leading to individual school orders for materials and supplies that should be ordered districtwide.
The district disaster plan needs to be better communicated and the procedures manual has not been updated since 2000.
—Facilities could be managed more efficiently
With school construction and other changes, the district must study how it uses space to be sure it is done efficiently, the report states.
Dayton has two warehouses, which is inefficient when just-in-time suppliers are available. Union rules on snow removal result in two groups of employees — custodians and grounds workers — having different responsibilities for shoveling at each school.
After hours use of school building is not handled consistently, resulting in some groups not paying the required fees. The school board should seek flexibility in seniority and overtime rules in future labor contract negotiations.
—Education services have improved but more changes could help.
Recio said instruction has improved significantly since 2002 and cuts last year left little maneuvering room going forward. But she said the central office could be better aligned to the schools for accountability.
Use of data by schools is not universal and appears optional. There also is inconsistent monitoring and reinforcement of professional development, although the report praised training programs as high quality.
Dayton has a high percentage of special education students, causing Recio to question whether kids were over-identified for the programs. The progam also has just 10 percent of kids in regular classes through inclusion, which should be the goal for all kids.
Pre-school needs coordination. Four pre-school programs currently have separate curriculum and evaluation. More effort needs to be made to link program evaluations and decisions about classroom instruction. The report also states there is no explicit plan for delegating resources to low performing schools.
The district lacks comprehensive training for new administrators and veterans, despite a good program for aspiring administrators. The district also does not have an active teacher recruitment plan or data on employee retention.
Recio urged the district to explore pay-for-performance plans for teachers, principals and administrators and said some assistant principals should be reduced to 10 or 11 month contracts to save money.
(Image credit: Allegeny, Va., schools)
Permalink | Comments (15) | Post your comment | Categories: Dayton Public Schools
Comments
By null
May 21, 2008 5:31 PM | Link to this
On the 2 warehouse. The one at Farr Ave (sp)is a waste. Employees store personnel items there, metal scrappers and non employees can be seen there on any given day. On weekends employees and non emloyees are doing personnel business/projects with Bd. of Ed equipment & supplies. It’s a snake den. It’s concerning as an employee, appaling as a tax payer.By Concerned parent
May 19, 2008 10:50 PM | Link to this
A few comments: Congratulations on the Montissori schools - what Montissori schools, DPS has basically closed all but 1 of them down or shifted them out of the Montissori method. Special Ed Services - We have a large amount of pre-school special education services, and most of those classes are full. It is not just the K-3 grade level. The whole IEP program needs work, as there is a huge lack of communication there. Busing - The director of Transportation needs to get his head out of his backside. His comments to me were basically there are never any issues on the buses, that he can assure me that my child will be perfectly safe on the school buses. My favorite is that most of the people in Juvenile Court are not students in DPS. As for educational improvements - how, when they were out of academic failure/watch for 1 year and then went right back in and that was prior to the budget cuts.By charteschoolhater
May 5, 2008 11:38 PM | Link to this
What an insightful post on the part of Laura. My brother works at the transportation center. I know many people who also work there. A big complaint is the fact that many students are so out of control on the busses that many drivers are stressed out and distracted. This is very unsafe for all those who ride the bus. THe problem is that many drivers get told that the kids bad behavior is the fault of the driver who drives the bus. Lets get this straight? It is an adults fault that a child is misbehaving. These comments come from some of the principals and supervisors at transportation. Seems to me that the principals and supervisors do not want to do what we pay them for. That is the principals must discipline unruly students. The drivers supervisors must ensure that the safety on the bus is protected. This is not happening. It does not suprise me though. The district leadership gets a pass on everything else. why not give them a pass on student and driver safety as well. I would challenge anyone who can counter my charges to come forward. Scott, instead of wondering why Mr. Lemaster is not in jail, why don’t you check it out. No one will because I speak the truth. Mark my word, there will be a severe accident and students will be killed some day in Dayton. And we will all wonder why something was not done about it. It can be and is not being done. Why do we treat the safety of our children with such a cavalier attitude. This is sick!!By lou
May 3, 2008 7:17 PM | Link to this
Neiborhood schools. If you want your child in another school, YOU transport. Problem solved.By Laura
May 3, 2008 4:58 PM | Link to this
Charterschoolhater, I have always heard the reason they keep bus drivers who don’t follow the rules is because they simply can’t get drivers. I really don’t think it is because the unemployment rate in Dayton is so low. I don’t know how the pay compares to other districts. I would bet the working conditions are more stressful. So the solution to that is make the students behave or keep them off the buses. Then haul their parents into court for not getting their kids to school. Maybe the courts could require unemployed parents to ride the bus with their unruly children and make them behave. Since the report says the buses often run nearly empty, there wouldn’t be a problem with space.By Barb
May 3, 2008 10:33 AM | Link to this
After such a glowing report I am wondering where have I been working all these years. I would love working in the district they reported. Wonder if I can find a job.By teacher
May 2, 2008 8:33 PM | Link to this
Your results are based on the evidence gathered. If they never heard the bad stuff - they can’t report on it. If they only talked to “favorable” people, the results would only be favorable. Mack is on the docket for a job in South Carolina, right? You think the timely release of this GLOWING report is accidental? Think again. Hey - whatever it takes to float his boat outta town.By charterschoolhater
May 2, 2008 4:52 PM | Link to this
Am I missing something here? The bus drivers have a contract with the district I presume. In that contract should be a progressive discipline program for violations of rules such as absenteeism, and other things? Progressive discipline works something like this. You are late, you miss too much work. You get a reprimand, then you get a suspension, then they fire you. Remember now, a contract is an agreement between the drivers and the district. This is a two way street. Now don’t say that they can’t fire someone for absenteeism. If you say that, it is a line of garbage. At General Motors whcih has one of the strongest trade unions in the country, people fly out of there like crazy for tardiness and absenteeism. I do not think the driver’s union is any stronger that the UAW. This leads us to but one conclusion. The management of transportation either is too incompetent to read and follow the contract, or are too lazy to do the paperwork to rid itself of people who do not want to come to work. Either way it is an indictment of those who run that department. Outsource busing? Just enforce the contract and there will be no problems. I for one, am a taxpayer who does not want a for profit company providing services to the public using public dollars. Instead of outsourcing the drivers, get new managers and supervisors in that department. They need someone in charge who will crack heads and within the guidelines of a contract. The outsourcing idea is just a cop out advocated by lazy people. Or people who own stock in the company that the services are to be contacted out to. Good comment by Dave!! Good comment by you too Harlan!!By Laura
May 2, 2008 3:52 PM | Link to this
I don’t personally know of one teacher who was asked to fill out a survey regarding Evergreen Solutions. Wonder why? As to the suggestion that the number of special ed students is too high-that is just too sad. As teachers, we complain all the time that we can’t get services for so many of our deserving students. We also know of numerous cases where the law isn’t being followed. Is is just possible that DPS actually has a higher than average number of students who do qualify for special education services due to the fact that Dayton has a high number of crack babies and infants born with fetal alcohol syndrome? As to “least restrictive environment” too many teachers have learned that it really means “least expensive environment”. A child who is not able to learn in a less restictive classroom is not being educated no matter how nice it sounds to some people to say that the child is participating in a “regular” classroom.By DPS Teacher
May 2, 2008 11:41 AM | Link to this
Interesting……I was on a committee of teachers who met with the Evergreen group, but I do not see one comment regarding any of the information shared with Evergreen by this group. Hmmm….Just might this report be a bit biased? I guess the Board of Ed got what THEY wanted - a flowery view of they want the public to hear. Money well spent, Board!By Harlan
May 2, 2008 8:22 AM | Link to this
Consulting — If you can’t be part of the solution, there’s good money to be made in prolonging the problem.By null
May 2, 2008 7:51 AM | Link to this
re: bussing. Would the amount of money spent on overtime due to employee absence be more, less, or equal to a private company’s PROFIT margin? Hmmm…By A TEACHER
May 2, 2008 7:38 AM | Link to this
One way to decrease the number of students in Special Education is to increase the number of available intervention programs. From what we are told this is not only sorely needed at the K to 3 level but is mandated by law. Now, we can’t even make a referral for special education services until a child has had intervention so my question is, how can there be too many kids in the program and where are the interventions for kids in the primary grades? This is where any extra money needs to go.By Mary
May 2, 2008 7:01 AM | Link to this
She did not break out transportation costs of busing high school (and middle school)teams to afterschool and weekend sporting events. It appears to be a coverup on the priorities and the facts while talking about cutting busing to classes. The overtime she mentions would likely all come from afterschool and weekend busing duty. We signal messages to students by what schools will do and not do with limited resources. The not so subtle message is driving athletes to sports is more important than driving students to school, athletes are more important than students, and sports is more important than classes.By Dave
May 1, 2008 7:52 PM | Link to this
Exactly HOW would outsourcing busing save money? Anything a private company can do, the district should be able to do. And the district would not have to cover the private company’s PROFIT margin.