-----Original
Message-----
From: Philip Risken
[mailto:prisken@sbcglobal.net]
Sent:
To: 'Sue Berg'
Subject: RE: MDUSD Budget Web Page Review Questions.
Sue
Thank you for the explanation.
You also answered one of
my inferred questions which was how many school
properties does the MDUSD own. In my
mind you have 50 potential profit centers laying at your
feet that you only need to find a way to generate income. Easy things that come to mind are:
§
Cellular Telephone Towers (each carrier
pays fairly substantial rents for space)
§
Sports Advertisers
§
Music Advertisers
§
Book Signings
§
Rental of Facilities for Public Events (ie football stadiums, concert halls)
§
Starbucks Kiosks on every High School
Campus
§
Do we own any buses (more advertising
signage)
§
Cellular Phone Advertisers
§
Rent the name of the school to a company
much like
I
could go on with ideas like this. Some
will be nonsense and some will stick but all it takes is to figure out a way
for each property to generate $80,000 annually and you will have just found
yourself $4M. The cellular telephone
rent alone could generate these kinds of revenue. Also look for ways to cross-brand. For example, integrate the sports advertising
with the sports team (and be prepared to change the name of the team) or
integrate the Cellular Telephone Company who you lease space to integrate into
your schools Science or Physics program.
In this way everyone wins.
I
truly believe you all at the district are trying to find your way out of the
box. I also believe you have probably
squeezed most everything out of the Turnip.
It is time to take a fresh look at thinking out of the box. Tell yourselves to move from the cutting mode
(scarcity) to the building mode (abundance).
Throw the status quo out the window and look for those untapped
opportunities for growth. This will take
a paradigm shift of the School Board’s thinking and culture but unless you
(School Board) are willing to take these kind of bold steps (and frankly that
is what Mr. McHenry is being paid to do as a leader) you will continue to
writhe in pain over the issues. Much
like in the private world, there are times that you need to reinvent
yourself. It seems now may be the time
for the MDUSD School Board to reinvent itself for its own sake, for its
survival and for our children.
Also,
let’s pay the teacher’s what they are worth.
Philip
Risken
Parent
-----Original Message-----
From: Sue Berg [mailto:bergs@mdusd.k12.ca.us]
Sent:
To: 'Philip Risken'
Subject: RE: MDUSD Budget Web Page Review Questions.
These two are easy to answer, so I shall do so now. I still need a couple of days for your first questions.
1. Our
purchasing director, Brian Slaughter, introduced district credit cards (called
“Cal Cards” here) this past year. I believe people are very happy with this system.
2. I am sorry
that the teachers’ union continues to distribute information about the
superintendent’s salary that its president knew was incorrect from the get-go,
but we are in negotiations, so it’s understandable.
The
superintendent has received the same salary raises, and only the same raises,
as other District employees since he came to
If I sound defensive, I am. I know Gary McHenry to be a dedicated, hard-working (as in 60 hours/week) man of high integrity who really is trying to make sure this district serves all students and who believes employees, especially teachers, deserve the salary increases they are requesting. It’s just a matter of finding the money without sacrificing valuable jobs and programs. No easy task.
Susan Berg
Sr. Adm. Asst. to the Supt./Communications Specialist
Mt.
Diablo Unified
1936
(925)
From: Philip Risken [mailto:prisken@sbcglobal.net]
Sent:
To: 'Sue Berg'
Subject: RE: MDUSD Budget Web Page Review Questions.
No
problem at all. Thanks for taking a look into this.
Another
idea that I had to raise money was to have the school district make all
purchases on Pcards (District Credit Cards) that
would provide a direct 1 – 3 % rebate at the end of each year on the total
volume of purchases. The company I work for as well as others have found
this to be extremely beneficial and lucrative not to mention the reduction in
the need to produce Purchase Orders that are typically very costly to
administer.
As
I think of more cost saving or revenue generating ideas, who should I send them
along to?
I
also saw a flier from the Teacher’s Union today saying that Mr. McHenry was
granted a 16.7% pay increase last year and is now making $180k per year.
Is this data correct?
Phil Risken
-----Original
Message-----
From: Sue Berg [mailto:bergs@mdusd.k12.ca.us]
Sent:
To: 'Philip Risken'
Subject: RE: MDUSD Budget Web Page Review Questions.
I hope you appreciate that I cannot answer your questions today as I must prepare for tonight’s public hearing. I shall try to respond by end of week.
Susan Berg
Sr. Adm. Asst. to the Supt./Communications Specialist
Mt. Diablo Unified
1936
(925)
From: Philip Risken [mailto:prisken@sbcglobal.net]
Sent:
To: 'Sue Berg';
Subject: MDUSD Budget Web Page Review Questions.
Sue
Thanks
for your response.
I
had a chance to review the web site regarding the budget and actually came away
with more questions than it answered. I was wondering if you could answer
the following:
% of total cost over time for teacher salaries, health and welfare?
A
comparison of current teacher salaries % with the most successful
%
of total cost over time for School Board members
salaries, health and welfare?
A
comparison of current School Board member salaries % with the most successful School
Districts in the state that are not having to close down programs?
The quantity of properties that MDUSD owns in
The % of those properties generating revenue (positive cash flow)?
A
comparison of our School Districts % of properties generating revenue with the
most successful School Districts in the state that are not having to close down
programs?
What
percentage of our MDUSD property (square footage of buildings) is associated
with supporting our school board?
A comparison of our
School Districts % of properties supporting the school board with the most
successful School Districts in the state that are not having to close down
programs?
What
are the priorities (legally and meeting the Districts vision) for each of the
programs the MDUSD controls (ie is Adult Education
more important than Middle School Math)?
This
is just the beginning of a long series of questions that would lead you to
“Best Practices” by comparing what MDUSD is doing and what another
You
may wonder about my revenue generation questions. These are purely to
open up our school properties to those commercial endeavors that are willing to
pay good money to have access to our students (ie
food vendors etc), our properties (ie Cellular
Telephone Companies etc), our hallways (ie
advertisers of products that would be targeted to our youth) or any number of
other untapped revenue streams.
Have
you thought about streamlining the bureaucracy within the School Board (ie cutting out layers of management, streamline processes
that drive efficiencies within the workforce, look for ways to outsource
repetitive tasks).
Have
you thought about having the School Board take the first major headcount
reduction and the first major Salary Reduction?
Are
there physical properties we can sell that are now obsolete that could generate
one time revenue?
Have
you considered a Luxury Tax for locals targeted to the school district to
generate local revenues (you would first want to “cut the bureaucracy”, reduce
district staff and reduce district salaries significantly)
My
most fundamental thought on this issue is that those things that touch our
children (teachers, school programs, facilities) should be our most sacred
treasures and should be protected at all costs. EVERYTHING
At
times like these “desperate times require desperate measures”!
I
look forward to your response in answering my questions. Thank you.
Philip
Risken
Parent of a MDUSD Musician
-----Original
Message-----
From: Sue Berg [mailto:bergs@mdusd.k12.ca.us]
Sent:
Subject: Responding to your e-mail
February 1
Thank you for your note to Superintendent McHenry regarding budget cuts. The
Board of Education is holding a public hearing tonight, February 1, at Clayton
Valley High beginning at
|
Item # |
Description |
Savings |
|
43 |
Eliminate
classes with enrollment less than 20 students. |
$535,000 |
|
66 |
Reduce
1.2 high school librarian positions. |
$88,843 |
|
67 |
Reduce
3.33 middle school librarian positions. |
$246,539 |
|
69 |
Eliminate
0.5 Senior Secretary position in Curriculum Dept. ( |
$25,208 |
|
70 |
Transfer
excess funds from routine restricted maintenance account. |
$50,000 |
|
72 |
Reduce
operating budget of Curriculum and Instruction by $54,139. |
$54,139 |
|
74 |
Charge
3% of Research and Evaluation Director salary to Emergency Prep. grant in 04-05 and 05-06. |
$15,000/yr. |
If the Board approves these items, we will be within $700,000 of our $4 million goal. However, that goal may be too conservative. We welcome suggestions for other budget reductions than what’s on the list and for ideas for new revenues.
This is the
third year in a row that the Board of Education has had to make cuts in the
District budget. To date, the cuts have totaled $10 million and not touched
programs important to students.
In addition to coping with insufficient revenue, we also face--as you do--increased costs for basic services, such as gas and electricity, for health care premiums, and workers' compensation insurance. Employees have not received raise in nearly three years, and all our bargaining units are in the process of negotiating new 3-year agreements.
Not a single Board member wants to cut the programs you mention. Neither does Superintendent McHenry. But we have few options left. If you look on the Budget Reduction List (available on the District web site: www.mdusd.k12.ca.us), you will see the District leadership is working slowly and carefully on this process. The Board simply has to look at each expense in the context of all District programs and services during this time of fiscal hardship.
For Gary McHenry, I am
Susan Berg
Sr. Adm. Asst. to the Supt./Communications Specialist
Mt. Diablo Unified
1936
(925)