DISTRICT ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT
This chapter discusses the organization and management of the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) in seven sections:
- A. Governance
- B. Planning
- C. Policies and Procedures
- D. District Management
- E. School Management and Site-Based Decision-Making
- F. Legal Services
- G. Desegregation Order
A. GOVERNANCE (PART 3)
Recommendation 5:
Maintain the board's Committee of the Whole and eliminate the remaining four standing committees.
The board should eliminate the Audit Committee, Public Input Committee, Governance and Policy Committee and the Education Committee that are standing committees under the Carver Policy Governance Model®. This will require that Board Policy BA (LOCAL) be revised.
Eliminating these committees and retaining the Committee of the Whole will allow the superintendent and his executive leadership team to conduct the business of the district more efficiently by reducing duplicate information requests between committees and reduce the opportunities for board micromanagement at the committee level. The Committee of the Whole will continue to be the place for all board members to interact with the superintendent and his cabinet about action items that will appear on the regular meeting agenda.
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIMELINE
1. The president of the board directs the executive director for Board Services to revise Board Policy BA (LOCAL) to eliminate all committees except the Committee of the Whole. August 2001 2. The executive director for Board Services revises the policies and presents them to the board for approval. September 2001 3. The board approves the revisions to Board Policy BA (LOCAL). September 2001 4. The president of the board eliminates all committees except the Committee of the Whole. October 2001 FISCAL IMPACT
This recommendation can be implemented with existing resources.
FINDING
A majority of board members said information provided by the administration is often incomplete or inaccurate. Most board members agree that the existing executive staff and administrators are competent, but cite instances when they have had to vote on agenda items without adequate information. As a result, many board members are concerned that DISD administrators do not provide them with accurate information through the executive-level reporting process.
A minority of board members, however, said the board receives enough detailed and accurate information from the administrative staff to be well informed if they do their homework. The minority says that some board members do not take the time to review information provided to them in their board-agenda packets. During the November 15, 2000 Committee of the Whole meeting, some board members appeared not to have read information provided to them by the administration.
Houston Independent School District executive-level administrators review material in board-agenda packets with each board member the Monday before the regular board meeting held on Thursday. This formal review is scheduled as a part of the board's monthly meetings leading up to the regular board meetings. During this session, the superintendent and key executive-level administrators walk board members through the agenda packets to be sure they have reviewed the packets before the board meeting and are familiar with the issues on which they will be required to take board action.
TSPR reviewed board-agenda packets prepared for regular board meetings held on August 24, 2000, October 26, 2000 and February 22, 2001. Each of the packets contained minutes from previous board meetings, action items for approving budget amendments, contracts and memoranda of understanding between the district and local agencies. The packets also included a ratification of personnel actions from the previous month. Each board action item included supporting documentation detailing the specifics of contracts, agreements, memoranda of understanding or budget amendments.
Although the board-agenda packets included specific supporting documentation related to action items for the regular board meeting, they did not include standard financial reports or performance reports in areas such as student performance, transportation performance and the like. Reports are not in an executive level summary format to encourage board members to review the data to make informed decisions. Financial reports, while not included in board agenda packets, are presented by the chief financial officer during Audit Committee and Committee of the Whole meetings.
Recommendation 6:
Present to the board financial, management and program-related information in a summary format and use computer technology to provide detailed information.
The board must work with the superintendent and executive leadership team to enhance the existing executive-level reporting formats to provide board members with summary data. The format should take into account the information needs of specific board members and include comparative summary reports prepared by the superintendent's cabinet. For example, TSPR recommends enhancing the existing financial reports presented at the board meetings with variance analysis and accompanying notes to explain significant differences from period to period.
In addition to enhancing the executive-level reporting to the board, the superintendent should conduct a formal briefing of all board members to review all pertinent information and action items before each regular board meeting. This will force each board member to review board agenda material in detail before both the Committee of the Whole meeting and the regular board meeting.
Exhibit 1-7 presents examples of summary-level executive management reports that will be helpful to the board.
Exhibit 1-7 Source: Developed by McConnell, Jones, Lanier & Murphy LLP.
Examples of Summary - Level Executive Management Reports
Report Title Sample Contents Budget Control
- Summary of departmental budgets by function, with columns for prior-year actual amounts, adopted budget, revised budget, projected balance at year-end and associated variances.
- Departmental performance measures, including the status of performance measures for the month.
- Summary section highlighting operational or administrative issues affecting performance goals.
Financial Management
- Revenue and expenditure data showing columns for current and prior-year actual amounts for similar periods.
- Notes explaining significant variances.
- Bar graphs and pie charts depicting comparative revenue and expenditures.
- Administrative cost ratios, cost per student, transportation costs per mile, food and labor cost per meal, etc., compared to prior years.
- Monthly reconciliation of fund balance, including specific items that increase or decrease the balance.
- Summary of monthly grant activity, including number and dollar value of grants submitted, number and dollar value of grants awarded and the ratio of grants awarded to grants submitted-all compared to prior years.
Education Program Performance/Student Discipline
- Comparative data related to performance such as annual graduation rates, dropout rates and TAAS test scores by school.
- Comparative funding of specific education programs between fiscal years (Compensatory Education, Gifted and Talented, Vocational Education).
- Actual vs. planned performance, with accompanying notes explaining significant variances between planned and actual performance.
- Monthly incidents by school, ethnicity and gender compared to the same month the previous year.
- Monthly hearings and related disposition by school, ethnicity and gender compared to the same month in the previous year.
- Monthly referrals to alternative-education settings by school, ethnicity and gender compared to the same month in the previous year.
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIMELINE
1. The board identifies critical management information desired by board members and designates the type, format and content of executive management reports. August 2001 2. The superintendent polls the board to determine if monthly briefing sessions are desirable. August 2001 3. The board approves monthly briefing sessions and sets a standard date on the monthly meeting calendar for the board. September 2001 4. The superintendent, in conjunction with the cabinet, develops executive-level reports for review and comment by the board. September - October 2001 5. The board suggests the appropriate revisions and the cabinet finalizes the reports. October 2001 6. The superintendent submits executive-level management reports to the board. November 2001 and monthly thereafter 7. The superintendent and executive team conduct formal briefing sessions for board members before each Committee of the Whole meeting and regular board meeting. November 2001 and monthly thereafter FISCAL IMPACT
This recommendation can be implemented with existing resources.
FINDING
The roles, responsibilities and the appropriate staffing levels for board member assistants in the Board Services Office are not clearly defined. Board member assistants are assigned to individual board members rather than to discreet functions such as board travel, constituent communications and event management. Board Policy BBI (LOCAL) states: "The superintendent shall assign a minimum of four administrative assistants whose exclusive duties and responsibilities shall be to assist board members with their official responsibilities." The Board Services Office has a budgeted staff of 10, including four board member assistants; one of the four assistant positions is currently vacant. Three assistants serve two board members each, and one serves three board members.
Employees within the central office told TSPR that some board members use their assistants to attend meetings and luncheons on their behalf as "surrogates." Additionally, because board members are assigned assistants, there is some question as to whether some of the members use the board assistants as "personal valets" to handle unofficial duties for them.
Based on interviews with the executive director for Board Services, it appears that there is not enough work to keep the board assistants busy. The remaining support staff include a data manager and three project liaisons. The support staff transcribe and compile minutes, complete agenda packets, control board documents and assist with records management activities.
Exhibit 1-8 presents the 2000-01 budget for the Board Services Office.
Exhibit 1-8 Source: DISD Board Services Office.
Board Services Office Budget
2000-01
Object Class Line Item Amount Percent of Budget 6100 Salaries $459,079 32% 6100 Benefits 27,444 2% Subtotal Object 6100 $486,523 34% 6200 Contract Maintenance & Repair $750 0% 6200 Leases - Furniture, Computers and Equip. 12,200 1% 6200 Printing 80,000 6% 6200 Miscellaneous Contracted Services 21,204 1% Subtotal Object 6200 $114,154 8% 6300 General Supplies and Forms Object 6300 $19,000 1% 6400 Travel & Subsistence - Employee Only $3,500 0% 6400 Election Expenses 796,000 55% 6400 Miscellaneous Operating Expenses 22,750 2% Subtotal Object 6400 $822,250 57% 6600 Technology Equipment Object 6600 $5,000 0% Total Organization Budget $1,446,927 100% Approximately 57 percent of the Board Services Office budget is allocated to election expenses, and 34 percent is allocated to salaries and benefits. The average salary for the three board assistants is $44,805, with the lowest paid board assistant earning $36,484. The salary for the vacant board assistant position based on DISD's Staffing Report by Job Code for a Specialist I 226 (Job Code 1160) is $39,374. The average salary for the two executive-level positions within the Board Services Office, including the executive director for Board Services and the policy administrator, is $92,830.
The Houston Independent School District's (HISD) Board Services office has a staff of six to provide support services to the board. The office is responsible for preparing and mailing board agenda packets and assist board members with correspondence, speech-writing and travel arrangements. Assistants in the HISD Board Services Office are assigned specific duties and are not assigned to support individual board members.
Recommendation 7:
Restructure the roles and responsibilities of support staff in the Board Services Office according to functions performed and eliminate two board assistant positions.
The superintendent should require the executive director for Board Services to review, evaluate and clearly define the roles and responsibilities of support staff, to reallocate responsibilities, and to eliminate two board assistant positions. Board assistants should be redefined based on the support functions the office should perform such as board travel, constituent communications and event management.
The job descriptions for all the positions in the Board Services Office should be rewritten to reflect the revised roles and responsibilities. Board Policy BBI (LOCAL) should be revised to reflect the reduced number of board assistants.
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIMELINE
1. The superintendent directs the executive director for Board Services to evaluate and define the responsibilities of all board support staff, and to eliminate two board assistant positions and to draft an amendment to Board Policy BBI (LOCAL). August 2001 2. The executive director for Board Services reviews, evaluates and clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of board support staff, eliminates two positions and submits the proposed policy amendment to the board. August 2001 3. The executive director for Board Services revises the job descriptions of the staff in the Board Services Office to reflect the revised roles and responsibilities. August 2001 4. The executive director for Board Services presents the revised job descriptions to the superintendent for review and approval. September 2001 5. The executive director for Board Services assigns board assistants to perform support functions such as travel and constituent communications. September 2001 FISCAL IMPACT
The salary for the vacant Specialist I-226 position is $39,374, and the average salary for the three remaining board assistants is $44,805, plus a flat employee benefits amount of $2,272 and annual car allowance of $647 per employee. The annual savings of eliminating two assistants would total $90,017 ($39,374 + $44,805 + $2,272 + $2,272 + $647 + $647).
Recommendation 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Restructure the roles and responsibilities of support staff in the Board Services Office according to functions performed and eliminate two board assistant positions. $90,017 $90,017 $90,017 $90,017 $90,017 FINDING
Some DISD board members incur excessive travel expenses and cellular phone charges conducting DISD-related business when compared to their colleagues. DISD Board Policy BBI (LOCAL) provides certain benefits for board members, referred to as "trustee perquisites." Trustee perquisites allowed by board policy include:
- Assistance from the executive director for Board Services or administrative assistants in the preparation of correspondence, speeches, memoranda, resolutions, travel arrangements, hotel accommodations, meetings and other clerical services for district purposes.
- Voice mail and e-mail communications system for district business.
- Access to a board conference room and workstation reserved for trustee use.
- Appropriate parking privileges.
- Reasonable and necessary transportation in district-owned vehicles for public purposes in extraordinary situations. This shall not include regular transportation to perform duties as a trustee.
- Cellular telephone and long-distance telephone service for district and/or trustee-related business.
- Group memberships in regional, state and national educational associations as approved by the board based on the merits of each and its value to the educational program of the district.
- Transportation, meals and housing expenses to local, state or national meetings germane to the board's role.
- Subscriptions to journals pertinent to trusteeship.
- A telephone dictation service available 24 hours-a-day.
- Postage for correspondence relating to the trustees' official duties.
- Board administrative assistants assigned to assist board members with official responsibilities.
- Filing cabinets and materials loaned to trustees during their tenure for use at their residence/office.
- Assorted technological tools such as computers, hand-held organizers and fax transmission resources including a dedicated fax and DSL line.
The 2000-01 budget for the Board of Education includes $60,000 for board travel and training, $112,500 for additional board perquisites such as cell phones, printing memos and newsletters to schools within board members' districts, mileage reimbursements and $30,000 for computer equipment. Board members travel to national conferences that address urban school issues, including conferences sponsored by the National School Boards' Association, Council of Great City Schools and the National Association of Black School Educators.
TSPR reviewed actual expenditures incurred from September 1999 to August 2000 and from September 2000 to January 2001 for board perquisites such as travel, cellular phones, mileage reimbursements, printing and school-related expenditures within board members' districts. Based on this review, TSPR noted that some DISD board members travel extensively to conferences and conventions, use district-provided cellular telephones and incur printing and costs for newsletters, memos and other information items that are distributed to schools in their areas disproportionately compared to their colleagues. For example, four board members accounted for 81 percent of the travel expenditures from September 1999 to August 2000, and four board members accounted for 57 percent of cellular telephone charges during the same period. It is important to note that for members who represent the district on national committees, their travel expenditures may justifiably be higher than other members. Exhibit 1-9 summarizes actual expenditures from September 1999 to August 2000 for four categories of trustee perquisites.
Exhibit 1-9 Source: DISD Board Services Office, February 2001.
Actual Expenditures for Trustee Perquisites
September 1999 - August 2000
Trustee Cell
PhonesSchool
Printing/Misc.Travel Mileage Totals Percent Member A $757 $5,308 $10,755 $2,825 $19,645 23% Member B 1,255 2,975 8,926 2,107 15,263 18% Member C 1,687 2,606 8,935 0 13,228 15% Member D 1,929 2,870 4,305 2,851 11,955 14% Member E 1,557 668 7,955 154 10,334 12% Member F 1,166 826 3,476 1,103 6,571 8% Member G 1,371 2,611 314 0 4,296 5% Member H 2,057 721 228 0 3,006 3% Member I 843 673 395 0 1,911 2% Totals $12,622 $19,258 $45,289 $9,040 $86,209 100% An analysis of Exhibit 1-9 reveals that although board members as a whole did not exceed the budgets for travel and board perquisites, five of the nine board members account for 82 percent of the board's expenditures. More significantly, three board members account for 56 percent of the expenditures for trustee perquisites, with one board member accounting for almost one-fourth of the expenditures. Additionally, Board Member A spent significantly more on travel, school-related expenditures and printing than other members of the board. TSPR reviewed detailed travel schedules for Board member A and noted that the board member accompanied DISD staff to two conferences and one trip to observe a unique educational program in Washington, D.C. TSPR also noted that another board member attended a convention held by an advocacy organization that is not education-related.
Exhibit 1-9 also shows that four board members incurred annual cell phone charges in excess of $1,500 each, accounting for 57 percent of total cell phone expenditures. TSPR reviewed the monthly detail for each board member's cell phone charges and found that the four members in excess of $1,500 consistently used their cell phones more frequently than their colleagues, and that some board members incurred significant cell phone roaming charges. One board member incurred $1,258 in cell phone charges from September 2000 to January 2001, including $840 in roaming charges.
Recommendation 8:
Review board travel, cell phone use and printing expenditures as part of the board's self-monitoring process and reduce the budget for board perquisites.
Individual board members should discontinue sending memos or newsletters to schools within their districts at DISD's expense. Any communication should be a publication from the board as a whole or from the superintendent. In addition, as part of the board's self-monitoring process included in Board Policy BA (LOCAL), the president of the board, through the superintendent, should designate the executive director for Board Services to prepare a monthly report of expenditures for trustee perquisites by board member for the board's review. The monthly report should be distributed to each board member to be reviewed at each meeting as required by BA (LOCAL). Board members should justify expenditures that appear excessive or disproportionate to those of other board members. The self-monitoring process and related report should be used as a basis for reducing subsequent years' budgets for board perquisites if abuses continue to occur.
Given that board members only spent 75 percent of the $60,000 travel budget ($45,289) and 36 percent, $40,920, of the $112,500 budgeted for additional board perquisites, the board should reduce the annual budget for board perquisites other than travel by 50 percent. This reduction would curb the abuse of board perquisites.
Additionally, board members should not accompany DISD staff members to conferences or fact-finding trips unless specifically authorized by action of the full board as enumerated in the Policy Governance Model®.
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIMELINE
1. The superintendent directs the executive director for Board Services to begin preparing monthly reports of expenditures for trustee perquisites. August 2001 2. The board president recommends a 50-percent reduction in the board-perquisites budget. August 2001 3. The board approves a 50-percent reduction in its perquisites budget. August 2001 4. The executive director for Board Services prepares the monthly reports of expenditure for trustee perquisites and distributes copies to each board member. September 2001 and monthly thereafter 5. The board reviews the monthly report of expenditures for trustee perquisites as part of its self-monitoring process, and individual members justify excessive expenditures as appropriate. September 2001 and monthly thereafter FISCAL IMPACT
The 2000-01 budget for board perquisites other than travel and computer equipment is $112,500. A 50-percent budget reduction will yield annual savings of $56,250.
Recommendation 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Review board travel, cell phone use and printing expenditures as part of the board's self-monitoring process and reduce the budget for board perquisites. $56,250 $56,250 $56,250 $56,250 $56,250