Changes, Changes, Changes.

Three lists for you to ponder. First: 5,712; 5,188; 4,575; 4,061; 3,550; 3,185; 2,937. Next: Remington Rand, Union Carbide, Marietta Paint and Color; Connex. Finally: Fairview; Stanleyville; Norwood.
Those three lists offer insight to your local schools past and present. Sort of a synoptic history of where we were and how we got to where we are. And by extension, the future.
Anyone watching local employment issues will remember the company names cited above. Companies that either have left the area, been absorbed by another company and jobs eliminated, or no longer exist at all owing to changes in markets and technology. Here’s another one. Strecker Brothers. Manufacturer of saddlery and other horse related equipment much less in demand today than in days gone by.
Changes in the U. S. job market have impacted the local economy in ways that continue to ripple through various systems. The impact has not been favorable from a demographic perspective. There are fewer jobs locally than in previous years. Which means fewer families, fewer children fewer residents overall. You can add an embarrassingly large number of other names to the above list of companies that no longer provide jobs in the area.
The last list above should not be a mystery to anyone who has lived in the local area for some time. These are the names of three of the eleven elementary schools that once served our district. Only four remain. It takes only four buildings to house all of our current elementary students.
Each of the closings was anguishing to the residents of the areas served by those schools. Each closing reflected a decline in the number of area students served by that school. Along with each closing came hard feelings. Lost community spirit. Increasing challenges to provide for the remaining students.
By contrast, perhaps one of the fastest growing districts in the country is Clark County, Nevada. Their population is growing by over 6,000 residents per month. They open a new school every month to accommodate the children of those residents. A situation that brings many problems of its own but most not related to the problems we experience locally.
Finally we come to the first list above. 5,712 was the peak number of students served by Marietta City Schools. 5,188 is the number of students in the school year 1972-73. 4,575 was the number in 1978-79. 4,061 was the count in 1988-89. 3,550 attended in 1999-00. 3,185 were present in 2003-04. Our current year finds 2,937 students in attendance. 48.6% less than our highest number of students.
Our student body has declined on average 89.1 students per year for the past ten years. It gets a bit better as you approach the present. Only an average decline of 77.2 students per year over the past 5 years and 74 per year average over the past 3 years. The loss seems to be declining with time. But it is still alarming and indicative of times to come. It sends a clear signal that planning is required.
The current Senior Class has 226 students and the Kindergarten Class has 220. This translates to an average reduction in class size in the district of 6 students.
All of this information must be taken into account as future plans for the district are contemplated. The future comes whether one is prepared or not.
This and other board articles may be found at: http://mariettacityschoolboard.blogspot.com

Do The Dump Truck Bump for $300,000.

The first day of school is usually filled with expectation and excitement. New learnings to be had. New friends to enjoy. The promise of exciting new teachers. Instead, in August of 2005, the first day of school lead to the dump truck bump that will cost local taxpayers $300,000.
Bright, sunny warm. A great day to begin school. The first day for new Superintendent Dr. Doug Baker in the Marietta City Schools. On that day a minor accident occurred. A dump truck bumped the rear of a school bus. Perhaps “bumped” is underplaying the reality.
None of the children on the bus received any serious injury. The bus was not badly damaged. The driver, however, was injured to the point of requiring medical attention and lost work which resulted in a Workers Compensation claim.
The Marietta City Schools has for many years participated in the Ohio Valley Safety Council sponsored by the Marietta Area Chamber of Commerce. This organization conducts safety trainings and sponsors programs aimed to promote safety in the workplace.
As a result of participation, local employers experience reduced rates on their Workers Compensation premiums. These savings can be considerable depending on the size of the employer and the nature of their business.
The premium reduction is also dependent on an ongoing record of safety on the job and therein is where the problem began for the schools. The “accident” of having one of its buses bumped and a resultant claim on the Workers Compensation resulted in the schools losing their favorable rating in the system.
Even though the accident was not the fault of the bus driver, the claim itself moved the schools’ rating out of the favored and discounted category. It took over two years for that change to occur.
One might logically ask why our other insurance would not have come in to play. And one would be confounded by the answer that does not satisfy the question. One might also ask why any loss suffered as a result of premium increase or property damage might not be regained by filing suit against the dump truck driver’s employer’s insurance company. And again, one would be disappointed. This time by state law.
It turns out that a Supreme Court ruling in 1992 precluded lawsuits against those at fault in Workers Comp cases unless those at fault were under contract with the injured party to begin with. In this case, perhaps bringing a load of gravel to a school property. Such was not the case.
We have been advised by our attorney that a challenge to this ruling is possible and has happened unsuccessfully at least a dozen times over the years. The Supreme Court has refused to hear the cases. The cost of pursuing such a case is estimated to be in the range of about $25,000. The chance of prevailing in such suit depends first on the court being willing to hear it, and then on the court deciding in favor, against the previous ruling. They call it a long shot at the horse race track.
It is such a long shot that your board of education members are unwilling to gamble with your money on the outcome. The result is that this dump truck bump and losing the favorable premium rating means the amount we will pay over the next 4 years will be about $300,000 more than we would have paid prior to the accident. Through no fault of our driver or safety practices. Government at its best.

Bill Clinton to the rescue. Special ed costs.

The dismal financial news in this column has given precious little to feel good about. Take heart. Bill Clinton reminded this writer about something we should all feel good about.
During his Marietta College speech Bill mentioned the 1970’s and how laws were passed that gave an equal opportunity for students of all abilities to receive an education. Bill said, “It made us better people.” He was correct.
For the first time in history some students who did not fit the standard mold were given a chance to maximize their learning potential. This writer was pressed into his first political activity by Nancy Hollister and Fran Alleman-Luce in stumping to get levies passed that would fund Ewing School and its operating monies.
Young, naïve and inexperienced, I just knew it was the right thing to do. And I sort of felt like a better person for having helped.
For many years Ewing was a magnet for students with special needs. They had a grand facility, wonderful equipment and a staff that was skilled in helping overcome or work with nearly any disability. Families moved to Marietta just because we had such a facility.
As time went on, the philosophy and national legislation evolved. In an early phase called “mainstreaming” students from Ewing were encouraged to move into the regular classroom. Your writer had a ring side seat thanks to his physical education teacher wife, Barb. She brought home tales of these new students and how they were interacting with traditional students.
It seemed there was much learning and change going on from many different perspectives. Kindness, caring, compassion were all part of the new education setting. Kids learned that not everyone was just like they were. It was a valuable lesson.
Through more evolution of philosophy and legislation yet more students were moved from the Ewing setting into classrooms. And more aides and assistants and equipment were needed. The latest word for this change is “inclusion.” The accompanying regulations are called, “least restrictive environment.”
At this point the Ewing facility is nearly empty of school age students except the most medically fragile. The public schools have geared up and staffed up to handle the changing demands of the new students. And families are still attracted to Marietta owing to the fabulous services being offered through Marietta City Schools to these special needs students.
Yes, we are better people for it. And our students gain a perspective and appreciation for others that would have been denied them just a few decades ago. In fact it was denied for the entire history of public education until the 1970s.
Does it cost more to be better people? You bet. Quite a lot, in fact. We’ll examine some of those costs in future articles. And that’s the other bright spot that Mr. Clinton shone the light on in his speech at Marietta College.
He ended his comments on this change in educational practice and laws to give equal opportunity by saying, “And it’s about time the federal government paid its fair share for the cost of special education.” Words that were music to the ears of any board member.
In reflecting on his words one can hardly escape observing that while he failed to address this issue during his turn at bat, perhaps the next person in that office will take a different view and step up to the plate. It is long overdue. The downside, of course, is that with funding come yet more demands. A very mixed blessing. I’m not sure that’s going to make us better people.
This and previous articles available on the blog: http://mariettacityschoolboard.blogspot.com

Searching for Savings with LEAN practices

You live in a country where the federal government hands down directives to schools but insufficient funds to carry them out.
You live in a state that does not fund its schools constitutionally. The Legislature been told four times by its Supreme Court to fix the problem. It refuses,
You live in a school district that is experiencing loss of jobs, declining population, reduced enrollment and increased expenses.
And, if you live in the Marietta City School District, you live where the projected shortfall for next year’s spending has been trimmed by over half a million dollars as of last week.
Stopping short of eliminating the entire $1.2 million shortfall, the board feels comfortable that it has bought time for the system to work through the changes and find yet more savings.
This district suffered closure of two buildings discharge of 45 employees to avoid financial disaster a few years ago. Difficult times.
Inadequate information lead to that unfortunate situation. We are now better able to asses our position. And to make choices. We will soon be getting even better information. From those best able to provide it.
The need to have a Curriculum Guide in place so that enrollment for classes next year can begin forced the board to seize the moment and take action on several fronts to effect savings.
Some new class offerings were eliminated. Some old offerings were trimmed. Many changes.
Virtually none of the changes will impact elementary classrooms as they were adjusted during the last round.
The goal was to focus on basic and core subject areas and make certain our offerings serve our students and their futures. Other areas were fair game.
Administrative changes will be made. Changes to athletics will be made and our disciplinary process will be impacted with an eye to reducing costs.
When eighty cents of every dollar spent is employee related, it is impossible to effect savings without affecting people. The choices are not easy. The alternative is forbidding.
We feel we have bought time for a new process to work that will lead us to a brighter future. We are currently working on developing a vision for the school system. We will be involving the community in various ways during the development and final adoption of a vision. Our mission is to be world class within our constraints. We are breaking the system down into its primary functions, assessing where we think they are now and defining what World Class would look like. We then will set milestones to get from where we are to where we need to be.
The business practices and information systems for doing school business are primitive. We still run notes through the hall and do requisition forms with multiple sign offs to purchase approved supplies. Our leaders are bogged down in busy work that in many cases is unnecessary. We intend to bring a common industry related concept into the school system to help improve the systems.
Well known in the business world, LEAN management keeps companies competitive and alive. It is a discipline of continuous improvement and standardization that helps cut waste and find best methods. And yes, education is a competitive environment. It competes for the taxpayer’s dollars to keep its doors open. It competes for students with other options available to them. To ignore competition is to ignore reality.
Our employees are in the best position to find and implement efficiencies that can maximize our efforts. They are best able to point the way to the future. And they are best able to judge the academic implications of any changes being considered. We will count on them to be an integral part of the process as we move ahead toward operating most effectively with available dollars.