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Chapter 4
PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

This chapter discusses Robstown Independent School District's (RISD) human resources functions in three sections:

A. Organization and Management
B. Recruiting, Employment and Retention of Personnel
C. Training and Staff Development

A. ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT

RISD's human resource management functions involve several offices. The assistant superintendent for Personnel and Special Programs and one secretary manage recruiting and hiring, orientation materials, the use of substitutes, contracts, employee compensation, evaluations and employee relations. The assistant superintendent for Educational Operations manages staff training programs, while the assistant superintendent for Business and Finance handles employee benefits.

Exhibit 4-1 show the division of RISD's human resources responsibilities.

Exhibit 4-1
RISD Human Resources Responsibilities
2000-01
Responsibility Department
Recruiting staff Personnel Office
Hiring staff Personnel Office, board, superintendent, all departments
Background checks Personnel Office
Teacher Certification verification Personnel Office
Salary determinations Superintendent and board
Salary adjustment calculations Superintendent and board
Attendance monitoring (employees) Supervisors, Offices of Business and Finance and Personnel
Benefits administration Finance
Payroll management Finance and Personnel Offices
Employee grievances Supervisors, Personnel Office and board
New teacher orientation Offices of Educational Operations, Personnel and Business and Finance
Substitute orientation Personnel Office
Staff development Educational Operations
Termination Personnel Office, superintendent and board
Planning for staffing level Personnel Office
Source: RISD Personnel Office.

The district's 2000-01 operating budget for the Personnel Office is $114,832. Of that, $93,096, or 81 percent, is salaries (Exhibit 4-2).

Exhibit 4-2
Budget for RISD Personnel Office
2000-01
Expenditures
Categories		 2000-01
Salaries $93,096
Contracted Services $1,700
Supplies & Materials $3,700
Other Operating Expenses $16,336
Capital Outlay $0
Total $114,832
Source: RISD Personnel Office.

Exhibit 4-3 shows the total number of RISD full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) for 2000-01.

Exhibit 4-3
Number of RISD FTEs
2000-01
Staff
Classification		 2000-01
Number Percent of Total
Teachers 302 43.9%
Professional Support 53 7.7%
Campus Administrators 14 2.0%
Central Administrators 9 1.3%
Educational Aides 100 14.5%
Auxiliary Staff 210 30.5%
Total Staff 688 100%*
Source: Texas Education Agency (TEA), Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS), 2000-01.
*Total may not add due to rounding.

Exhibit 4-4 profiles the ethnicity of RISD students, teachers and all staff members.

Exhibit 4-4
Ethnicity of RISD Students, Teachers and All Staff
2000-01
Ethnicity Students Teachers All Staff
  Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
Hispanic 4,019 97.6% 218 72.2% 581 84.4%
Anglo 65 1.6% 74 24.5% 95 13.8%
African American 24 0.6% 7 2.3% 9 1.3%
Other 8 0.2% 3 1.0% 3 0.4%
Totals 4,116 100% 302 100% 688 100%
Source: TEA, PEIMS 2000-2001.

Exhibit 4-5 compares Personnel Office staffing to overall district staffing for 1998-99 through 2000-01. In 2000-01, RISD employs one Personnel Office staff member for every 344 employees.

Exhibit 4-5
Ratio of RISD Personnel Office Employees to Total Staff
1998-99 through 2000-01
  1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01
Number of students enrolled 4,286 4,232 4,116
Number of Total FTEs 708 703 688
Ratio of Students to FTEs 6:1 6:1 6:1
Number of FTEs in Personnel Office * 2 2 2
Ratio of Personnel Office Department employees to total staff 1:354 1:352 1:344
Source: TEA, AEIS 1998-99,1999-2000 and PEIMS 2000-01.
*RISD Personnel Office.

Exhibit 4-6 compares RISD's Personnel Office to those of its peer districts.

Exhibit 4-6
Personnel Office Staffing Compared to Peer Districts
2000-01
Positions Mercedes Raymondville Hidalgo Robstown Roma
Assistant Superintendent for Personnel and Special Programs 1 0 1 1 1
Director of Human Resources 0 1 0 0 0
Clerk 2 0 1 0 1
Secretary 1 1 0 1 0
Number of Total FTEs 805 427 478 688 995
Ratio of Human Resources/Personnel Offices to total staff 1:201 1:214 1:239 1:344 1:498
Source: RISD Personnel Office and telephone interviews with personnel offices in peer districts.

RISD district policy DEA(LOCAL) states that:

...the superintendent shall recommend approval pay structures and compensation plans for all staff within the district. Pay structures shall be designed and administered for the purpose of attracting and retaining qualified employees to achieve the goals of the district.
RISD has salary schedules for four groups of job classifications: teachers and librarians, administrative and professional, clerical and technical and manual trades.

The district's pay schedules for both teachers and librarians are calculated by years of experience. The salary schedule is based on a 187-day working year.

Exhibit 4-7 profiles the salary schedule for teachers and librarians. Teachers with a masters degree receive $500 extra annually, while the additional annual salary for teachers with a doctorate is $1,000 extra.

Exhibit 4-7
RISD Salary Schedule for Teachers and Librarians
2000-01
Years of
Experience		 Annual Salary
(187 days)		 Daily
Rate
Beginning $27,040 $145
1 Year $27,876 $149
5 Years $30,786 $165
10 Years $36,346 $194
20+ Years $43,756 $234
Source: RISD Personnel Office.

Exhibit 4-8 shows salary trends by employee classification.

Exhibit 4-8
RISD Average Salaries
1996-97 through 1999-2000
Classifications 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 Percent Increase
Teachers $30,296 $32,192 $33,227 $36,227 19.6%
Prof. Support $38,834 $40,391 $40,769 $42,329 9.0%
Campus Admin. $49,759 $51,073 $53,625 $53,202 6.9%
Central Admin. $59,167 $62,761 $66,633 $63,477 7.3%
Source: TEA, AEIS 1996-97 through 1999-2000.

Exhibit 4-9 compares RISD's average teacher salaries with those of the peer districts based on years of experience. RISD ranks at the bottom in two of the five categories and is below the peer average in every category.

Exhibit 4-9
Teacher Average Salaries
RISD and Peer Districts
1999-2000
District Beginning 1-5 Years 6-10 Years 11-20 Years More Than 20 Years
Hidalgo $28,197 $29,953 $36,729 $43,587 $48,965
Mercedes $28,903 $30,446 $35,227 $42,356 $46,056
Raymondville $28,572 $30,383 $35,837 $42,779 $45,938
Roma $21,591 $29,825 $35,407 $41,170 $44,843
Peer Average $26,816 $30,152 $35,800 $42,473 $46,450
Robstown $24,942 $28,513 $33,882 $41,446 $45,611
Source: TEA, AEIS 1999-2000.

Exhibit 4-10 compares RISD's average salaries for teachers, professional staff members, campus administrators and central administrators with those of the peer districts. RISD pays below the peer average in every category.

Exhibit 4-10
Average Actual Salaries
RISD and Peer Districts
1999-2000
District Teachers Professional
Staff		 Campus
Administration		 Central
Administration
Hidalgo $39,463 $46,104 $58,071 $66,369
Mercedes $38,351 $44,857 $56,795 $71,380
Raymondville $38,098 $44,728 $54,074 $68,516
Roma $33,278 $38,101 $52,163 $61,589
Peer Average $37,298 $43,448 $55,276 $66,964
Robstown $36,227 $42,329 $53,202 $63,477
Source: TEA, AEIS, 1999-2000.

FINDING

Although RISD's enrollment has been falling steadily over the last four years, reducing the amount of state money the district receives, its schools are overstaffed. During TSPR's review, anticipating a deficit in excess of $1.5 million for the coming school year, RISD personnel began reviewing their current staffing and eliminated 27 positions. Exhibit 4-11 details those positions and the estimated savings that will be realized.

Exhibit 4-11
Robstown Independent School District
Reduction In Force
May 2001
Position
Classification		 Number of
Positions		 Estimated Salary
and Benefits Savings
Teacher 13 $459,699
Para-professionals 8 $112,364
Librarian 2 $89,113
Maintenance & Operations 4 $83,962
Totals 27 $745,138
Source: RISD Assistant Superintendent for Personnel and Special Programs, May 2001.

RISD schools are overstaffed with assistant principals, guidance counselors, secretaries and clerks, teachers and aides. Instructional facilitators at several of the district campuses perform administrative duties of a vice principal position. As each school is adequately staffed with a principal and, in many cases a dual-hatted instructional facilitator, the district's need to staff a vice principal at each campus is diminishing.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) accredits more than 12,000 public and private educational institutions, from pre-kindergarten through university levels, in eleven states in the Southeastern United States (including Texas) and in Latin America.

SACS recommends staff assignments in programs for three and four year old students as shown in Exhibit 4-12.

Exhibit 4-12
SACS Maximum Class Sizes
for Three- and Four-Year Olds
Classes Enrollment Teacher(s) Paraprofessional(s)
3-year olds 1-15
18-22		 1
1		 1
2
4-year olds 1-11
12-22
23-30		 1
1
1		 0
1
2
Source: SACS, Elementary Standards for Accreditation 2001-2002.

SACS recommends minimum personnel requirements for elementary schools, based on enrollment, in its 2000-2001 Policies, Principles, and Standards for Elementary Schools Accredited by the Commission on Elementary and Middle Schools. The minimum standards for elementary schools are represented in Exhibit 4-13.

Exhibit 4-13
SACS Minimum Personnel Requirements for Elementary Schools
Number of
Students		 Principal Professional Admin. or
Supervisor Assistants		 Library or
Media Specialists		 Library Aide
or Clerk		 Secretaries
or Clerk
1-263 .5 0 .5 0 .5
264-439 1.0 0 1.0 0 1.0
440-659 1.0 0 1.0 .5 1.0
660-879 1.0 .5 1.0 1.0 1.5
880-1099 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.5
1100-1319 1.0 1.5 1.0 1.0 2.0
1320+ 1.0 2.0 1.0 1.0 2.0
Source: SACS Policies, Principals, and Standards for Elementary Schools Accredited by the Commission on Elementary and Middle Schools, 2000-2001 School Year.

SACS further recommends minimum personnel requirements for guidance services at the elementary school level based on enrollment as shown in Exhibit 4-14.

Exhibit 4-14
SACS Minimum Personnel Requirements
for Guidance Services in Elementary Schools
Number of
Students		 Professional
Personnel
1-499 .5
500-749 1.0
750-999 1.5
1,000-1,249 2.0
1,250-1,499 2.5
1,500+ 3.0
Source: SACS Policies, Principals, and Standards for Elementary Schools Accredited by the Commission on Elementary and Middle Schools, 2000-2001 School Year.

Texas Education Code (TEC) section 25.112 limits student to teacher ratios in grades kindergarten through four at 22:1. TEC section 25.111 further requires school districts to employ a sufficient number of teachers to maintain an average student to teacher ratio, except as limited in TEC 25.112, of 20:1.

SACS additionally recommends student to professional staff ratios not to exceed 22:1 and states that teachers, principals, guidance personnel, librarians and other professional personnel assigned to the school may be included in computing the student to professional ratio, but they must be considered on the appropriate fractional part of full time equivalency (FTE). Paraprofessionals who assist teachers with instruction may be used in computing the ratio, but should not exceed 10 percent of teaching positions. Each such full time paraprofessional should be considered the equivalent of .5 of one professional. System level staff should be excluded from the computation. Students in self-contained classes for the disabled and their teachers and assistants should be excluded from the computation while special education teachers serving students on a resource basis should be included.

SACS recommends minimum personnel requirements for middle schools, based on enrollment, in its 2000-2001 Policies, Principles, and Standards for Middle Schools Accredited by the Commission on Secondary and Middle Schools. The minimum standards for middle schools are represented in Exhibit 4-15.

Exhibit 4-15
SACS Minimum Personnel Requirements for Middle Schools
Number of
Students		 Principal Administrative
Assistants		 Guidance
Professionals		 Library/
Media Specialists		 Library/
Media Assistants		 Secretaries
1-249 1.0 0 .5 .5 0 .5
250-499 1.0 .5 1.0 1.0 .5 1.0
500-749 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.5
750-999 1.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 1.0 1.5
1,000-1,249 1.0 1.5 2.5 1.0 1.0 2.0
1,249-1,499 1.0 2.0 3.0 1.0 1.0 2.0
1,500+ 1.0 2.0+ 3.0+ 1.0+ 1.0 2.0
Source: SACS Policies, Principals, and Standards for Elementary Schools Accredited by the Commission on Elementary and Middle Schools, 2000-2001 School Year.

SACS further recommends minimum personnel requirements for high schools, based on enrollment, in its Standards for Secondary Schools, 1998 Edition. The minimum standards for high schools are outlined in Standard 4.10.1 and represented in Exhibit 4-16.

Exhibit 4-16
SACS Minimum Personnel Requirements for High Schools
SACS Standard Reference 4.10.1
Number of
Students		 Principal Administrative or
Supervisor Assistants		 Guidance
Professionals		 Library or
Media Specialists		 Secretaries
or Clerks
1-299 1.0 0 .5 .5 1.0
300-499 1.0 .5 .5 1.0 1.5
500-649 1.0 .5 1.0 1.0 2.0
650-749 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 2.5
750-999 1.0 1.0 2.0 1.0 3.5
1000-1249 1.0 1.5 2.5 2.0 4.0
1250+ 1.0 (A) (A) (A) (B)
Source: SACS Commission on Secondary and Middle Schools, Standards for Secondary Schools, 1998 Edition,
Standard 4.10.1.
A) SACS recommends adding one position for each additional 250 students beyond 1,249.
B) SACS recommends adding one clerical position for each additional 400 students beyond 1,249.

Comparing the personnel staffing standards referenced in Exhibit 4-12 through Exhibit 4-16 and student to teacher ratios cited in TEC to RISD's actual level of staffing for administrators, secretaries and clerks, guidance personnel, and teachers indicates that the district is overstaffed for these positions as shown in Exhibit 4-17.Student to teacher ratios of 22:1 for elementary and intermediate grades and 25:1 for middle, junior and senior high school grades were applied in determining minimum needs for teacher staffing and is rounded to the next whole number.

San Pedro, Lotspeich and Salazar Elementary schools include teachers for the 3 and 4 year old students with a maximum student to teacher ratio of 26:1. Robstown High School and Seale Junior High School include teachers and administrative staff for the Career and Technology program offerings, which are in addition to the core curriculum.

RISD instructional facilitators sometimes perform duties of an assistant principal and as such, are considered administrators and are included in the calculation of the number of administrators for each campus.

Exhibit 4-17
RISD Comparison of SACS Standards to Actual Staffing
  RHS* ALC AEP Seale JHS* Ortiz Interm San Pedro Lot-speich Hattie Martin Salazar District
Enrollment 964 104 27 605 577 341 412 406 680 4,116
Recommended Minimum Number of Campus Administrators 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 11
Actual Number of Campus Administrators 5 1 1 4 3 2 2 2 2 22
Variance 3 0 0 2 2 1 1 1 1 11
Recommended Minimum Number of Guidance Counselors 3 .5 .5 1.5 1 .5 .5 .5 1 9
Actual Number of Guidance Counselors 6 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 17
Variance 3 .5 .5 .5 1 .5 .5 .5 1 8
Recommended Minimum Number of Secretaries/
Clerks		 7 1.5 1.5 3.5 2.5 1 1 1 1.5 20.5
Actual Number of Secretaries/
Clerks		 14 2 1 6 2 2 2 3 3 35
Variance 7 .5 (.5) 2.5 (.5) 1 1 2 1.5 14.5
Recommended Number of Teachers 69 5 2 33 27 20 23 19 35 233
Actual Number of Teachers 81 9 6 43 39 24 28 29 40 299
Variance 12 4 4 10 12 4 5 10 5 66
Total Staffing Variance 25 5 4 15 14.5 6.5 7.5 13.5 8.5 99.5
Source: Compiled from SACS Standards, RISD enrollment data and Personnel Roster.
*CATE programs for 766 students at the high school and 215 students at the junior high are staffed separately.

Recommendation 18:

Conduct reduction in force to achieve levels of staffing that more accurately reflect enrollment.

Assuming that only about 75 percent of the staff identified in excess of standards can be reduced, RISD could reduce its number of campus administrators by seven and its number of guidance counselors by six. As 13 teaching positions and one clerk position have already been eliminated for the 2001-02 school year, RISD should seek to reduce teaching positions by another 36 positions (75 percent of 66 less the 13 already eliminated) and secretaries and clerks by 10 (75 percent of 11 less the one already eliminated) in the coming year. It is further assumed that it will take two years for the district to phase in these reductions so as not to jeopardize the educational delivery process.

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIMELINE
1. The superintendent implements a hiring freeze on all non-critical positions. September 2001
2. The board approves staffing allocation formulas submitted by the superintendent. February 2002
3. The superintendent announces reduction in force for the coming school year and forwards appropriate notice to affected employees. March 2002
4. The superintendent imposes reduction in force effective for the
2002-2003 school year for positions not already vacated during the 2001-02 school year. 		August 2002

FISCAL IMPACT

Estimated cost savings are based on beginning salary levels for each of the categories of employees affected by the proposed RIF. Using the minimum rate of pay for an assistant principal in the job grade 4 category of the administrative/professional job classification of $35,160 plus benefits of $3,741, the savings from the elimination of seven positions is $272,307 ($38,901 x 7). The minimum rate of pay for a guidance counselor in the job grade 2 category of the administrative/professional job classification is $30,710 plus benefits of $3,495. Eliminating six counselors will save $205,230 ($34,205 x 6). The minimum salary for a clerk in the pay grade 1 category of the clerical/technical job classification is $6.40 per hour, at 8 hours a day for 180 days amounting to $9,216 plus benefits of $2,307. Reducing 10 positions will save $115,230 ($11,523 x 10). The minimum salary for teachers is $27,040 with benefits of $3,293. Reducing 36 additional teaching positions would save $1,091,988 annually ($30,333 x 36). The total savings from all reductions will be $1,684,755 annually when fully implemented. Assuming that about one-fourth of these positions will be eliminated through attrition during the 2001-02 school year, $421,188 is estimated in savings for the first year. In the second year, 2002-03, another one-half of the reductions should be made, with full reductions in place by 2003-04.

Recommendation 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06
Conduct reduction in force to achieve levels of staffing that more accurately reflect enrollment. $421,188 $1,263,565 $1,684,755 $1,684,755 $1,684,755

FINDING

The Personnel Office has no procedures manual. The Personnel Office annually issues to all employees an Employee Handbook that summarizes some district personnel policies. The current handbook, scheduled to be available in the 2001-02 school year, summarizes information related to compensation and benefits, leaves and absences, complaints and grievances, employee conduct and welfare, employment and the termination of employment.

While this information is important to all employees it does not address the processes used by employees in the Personnel Office. Without a procedures manual that outlines in written detail its current operations procedures the Personnel Office is unable to ensure consistency in the implementation of its process when there is a change in staff.

Recommendation 19:

Develop a Personnel procedures manual.

The Personnel Office should develop a department manual that includes a mission statement and detailed procedures. The mission statement should describe the department's purpose and goals and detail procedures for hiring, recruiting, salary, evaluations, applications, posting of positions, training, compensation and benefits, leaves and absences, and termination.

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIMELINE
1. The assistant superintendent for Personnel and Special Programs develops an outline of the department's procedures. October 2001
2. The assistant superintendent for Personnel and Special Programs assigns responsibility for developing the procedures to the appropriate staff. November 2001
3. Staff meets together to review the written procedures and make necessary changes. November 2001-
January 2002
4. The assistant superintendent for Personnel and Special Programs reviews the procedures for accuracy and efficiency. January 2002
5. The assistant superintendent for Personnel and Special Programs has the procedure manual printed and distributed to all Personnel Office employees. February 2002
6. The manual is updated as needed. Ongoing

FISCAL IMPACT

This recommendation could be implemented with existing resources.

FINDING

Many of RISD's job descriptions are outdated or are simply unavailable. Outdated job descriptions hinder an employee's performance if the duties and responsibilities change over time and the employee is not aware of what is required or expected of the position. An employee must have a written job description outlining duties and responsibilities to protect both the employee and the employer.

Most of RISD's written job descriptions are several years old. Through the years, new positions have been created and others eliminated, but these changes have not been accounted for in job descriptions.

One example of this is in the job descriptions of the assistant principal and instructional facilitator positions. The job descriptions and qualifications are identical except for the title of the positions (Exhibit 4-18).

Exhibit 4-18
Job Description for Assistant Principal and Instructional Facilitator
Title Assistant
Principal		 Instructional
Facilitator
Qualifications Master's degree; administrative certification; three years' classroom experience Master's degree; administrative certification; three years' classroom experience
Supervisor Principal Principal
Supervises All personnel assigned All personnel assigned
Job goals To assist in coordinating and administering the various programs of his/her school. To assist in coordinating and administering the various programs of his/her school.
Instructional Management Assist in monitoring instructional and managerial processes. Assist in monitoring instructional and managerial processes.
Human Resources Management Participate in interviewing, selection and orientation of new staff. Participate in interviewing, selection and orientation of new staff.
Source: RISD Personnel Office.

The assistant superintendent for Personnel and Special Programs recently stated that he intends to appoint a committee to review and revise the job descriptions by late September or early October of 2001.

Recommendation 20:

Update existing job descriptions and develop new descriptions for positions that require them.

The assistant superintendent for Personnel and Special Programs should conduct a review of all job positions within the district's different departments. The Personnel Office should have all employees summarize their job duties for their supervisors. Department heads then should revise the descriptions for accuracy and submit them to the Personnel Office. To ensure that job descriptions remain current, the department should establish a schedule to review each job description at least once every three years.

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIMELINE
1. The assistant superintendent for Personnel and Special Programs and the assistant superintendent for Educational Operations create a master list of positions. September 2001
2. The assistant superintendent for Personnel and Special Programs distributes the master list to department directors who review the list and solicit accurate job descriptions from their employees. October 2001
3. Employees review these job descriptions for updated information. November 2001
4. The assistant superintendent for Personnel and Special Programs meets with department directors to finalize the updating of job descriptions. January 2002
5. The assistant superintendent for Personnel and Special Programs approves revised job descriptions. January 2002
6. The assistant superintendent for Personnel and Special Programs disseminates the approved job description to all employees. February 2002
7. The assistant superintendent for Personnel and Special Programs oversees the updating of job descriptions annually and conducts position audits at least every three years. Ongoing

FISCAL IMPACT

This recommendation could be implemented with existing resources.