The Benefits of Sharing, part 2

This blog post was submitted for publication in the Friday, April 8 edition of the Traer Star Clipper.

In last week’s column, I listed the three basic types of sharing arrangements available to schools: 1) Whole-grade sharing; 2) Program & Staff Sharing; and 3) Operational Sharing. In my column, I emphasized that North Tama is NOT headed toward a whole-grade sharing agreement or merger with any other school district. However, the district is currently benefitting from other types of sharing, and we are investigating more possibilities for sharing for the benefit of our students.

Last week’s column focused on two types of sharing -- Whole Grade Sharing and Program/Staff Sharing -- and described the current staff & program sharing agreements that we have in place with some of our neighboring districts as well as the sharing arrangements that are being considered for next year.

This week, we’ll continue with a description of the third type of sharing arrangement, called operational sharing. If you happened to miss last week’s column and would like to read these two columns together, you can find the article on my blog at http://redhawksupt.blogspot.com/.

OPERATIONAL SHARING

As a way of encouraging school districts to share certain operational positions, the state of Iowa offers a major financial incentive. The state allows districts sharing certain types of positions to count “extra” students in the district’s enrollment, resulting in additional spending authority (funded partially through local property taxes and partially through state aid). Districts involved in operational sharing receive two financial benefits: 1) The SAVINGS that come with sharing the cost of the individual’s contract; and, 2) Additional REVENUE in the form of the ability to count more students in their enrollment.

The law lists certain positions that qualify for the incentive and the number of students that can be counted as an incentive. The following table lists the positions and the number of students allowed as an incentive:

Superintendent (8 students)

Business Manager (5 students)

Buildings & Grounds Director (5 students)

Transportation Director (5 students)

Human Resources Director (5 students)

Guidance Counselor (3 students)

Curriculum Director (3 students)

Districts are allowed to count up to 21 additional students as an incentive for operational sharing agreements. Some of our surrounding districts have been “maxed out” on operational sharing for years, counting 21 additional students year after year and receiving the associated funding. This additional funding has been a large part of the financial solution for many smaller Iowa districts over the years.

While many other districts are making the most of operational sharing, these incentives have largely been an untapped resource at North Tama.  North Tama currently counts just three additional students through operational sharing, as a result of our sharing a curriculum director with GMG, BCL-UW, and Gladbrook-Reinbeck. While our superintendent is also shared, our arrangement doesn’t qualify for the operational sharing incentives because I’m a principal at Union and the superintendent here -- the law requires that the person hold the same job function in both districts.  

We are currently having discussions with two other districts that could allow us to count an additional 13 students by sharing our superintendent and transportation director. The North Tama board recently approved a sharing agreement with the Gladbrook-Reinbeck district to share me as the superintendent of both districts. If this agreement is approved by the G-R board at their next meeting, I will officially become the superintendent of both districts starting on July 1.  We are also having discussions with another area district about sharing North Tama’s transportation director in the coming year.

If these two operational sharing agreements become a reality, North Tama will count 13 additional students in next year’s enrollment, resulting in nearly $86,000 in additional income annually for our district.  We’ll still have a superintendent in the district about half of the time, so the students, staff, and school community really won’t see much of a change in that respect. As for our transportation director, we will all need to get used to the idea of sharing his time with another district. While this will be an adjustment, these types of opportunities are exactly what we need to be looking for! They will save our district money AND bring in additional revenues, while not limiting any opportunities for our students. I see it as a “win-win” for North Tama.

We will continue to look for further opportunities for program/staff sharing and operational sharing, as both of these types of arrangements have the potential to help us achieve our overall goal of financial stability and viability for the long term. I would like to thank those who took time to contact me with your questions and concerns about sharing, and I encourage others to do the same. Perhaps you have a question, a concern, or even an idea to help the North Tama district as we move forward. You are welcome to visit my blog at http://redhawksupt.blogspot.com/ where you can leave comments or suggestions if you wish. You are also welcome to follow me on Twitter, where my handle is @DavidRobertHill, or of course I can be contacted at the school. I appreciate your interest in the future of North Tama Schools!  

The Benefits of Sharing, part 1

This blog post was submitted for publication in the Friday, April 1 edition of the Traer Star Clipper.

Recently, I was contacted by a few of our school district’s patrons that were concerned by something they had read in the school board minutes. Specifically, they had read that North Tama has been having discussions with neighboring school districts about sharing opportunities. These folks were concerned because they had interpreted the use of the term “sharing” as whole-grade sharing, which from the viewpoint of most students and parents is essentially the same thing as a merger.

Your school board’s number one goal is to maintain the financial stability of the district and retain existing programs so that North Tama will remain a viable K-12 school. North Tama is NOT headed toward a merger or whole-grade sharing situation with any of our neighboring districts. However, the district IS looking at some other types of sharing possibilities to help us achieve our goal of long-term financial stability without limiting opportunities for our students.

There are three basic types of sharing arrangements available to schools: 1) Whole-grade sharing; 2) Program & Staff Sharing; and, 3) Operational Sharing. In my column this week and next week, I’ll explain these three types of sharing arrangements, and provide an explanation of the various types of sharing that we are engaged in at North Tama as well as the sharing arrangements that are being considered for next year.

WHOLE-GRADE SHARING

Whole-grade sharing arrangements are usually a precursor to a school merger. While the two districts involved in whole-grade sharing maintain their individual school boards and have separate taxing authority, students are usually transported to another community to attend classes -- at least for some grades. Often times, one district has the high school while a middle school or junior high is located in the other district. Elementary grades may also be combined.

While whole-grade sharing arrangements have the potential to provide greater opportunities for students in small districts, this is NOT the type of sharing that North Tama has been considering. We are, however, making major strides with the other two types of sharing. I’ll describe one of these types of sharing in the next few paragraphs, and will provide an in-depth description of the other type in next week’s column.   

PROGRAM & STAFF SHARING

North Tama and Gladbrook-Reinbeck have successfully shared the GRNT RebelHawks wrestling program for many years.  More recently, North Tama began a sharing agreement with Union for girls’ soccer. In another sharing agreement, students from Hudson wanting to take Family & Consumer Science classes and Business classes are able to enroll in classes here at North Tama. In all of these programs, we are sharing coaching/teaching staff and resources in order to provide opportunities that students may not otherwise have.

For the coming year, our board has approved a new agreement to share our agricultural education teacher and FFA advisor with Gladbrook-Reinbeck. Mr. Cibula will teach two periods each day at G-R before coming to Traer to finish his day at North Tama. He will also advise separate FFA chapters at North Tama and Gladbrook-Reinbeck. While Mr. Cibula will remain an employee of North Tama, the two districts will split the cost of Mr. Cibula’s contract, saving both districts money. What’s great about this arrangement is that no student opportunities will be eliminated; in fact, North Tama’s students will be able to enroll in the exact same agriculture courses that they were able to take in previous years.  

We have also had similar discussions with other districts related to other staff sharing opportunities, and it is possible that other sharing agreements may be enacted for next year or in the coming years. Any time we consider staff or program sharing, the following criteria will be considered: 1) “Will it save money?” and, 2) “Will it provide additional opportunities for North Tama students, or will it at least not take away opportunities for students?”  If the answer to either of these questions is “no” then we most likely won’t pursue sharing. If the answer to both is “yes” then sharing will strongly be considered.  

As many of you know, this year I have been shared between North Tama and Union, serving as a principal in Dysart and the Superintendent at North Tama. This sharing agreement has allowed both districts to realize a financial savings by sharing the cost of my employment contract. While there has been an adjustment period for everyone getting used to having the superintendent in the district less often than before, it has still been a positive move for the district because it reduces our costs and student opportunities have not been limited in any way.  While our sharing arrangement with Union has been beneficial, it does not qualify the district for the OPERATIONAL sharing incentives offered by the state of Iowa, which leads us to the final type of sharing, known as Operational Sharing. We’ll discuss operational sharing in next week’s column.

These Star Clipper columns as well as my blog and Twitter postings are part of my plan for open communication with the community. As a part-time superintendent that also has duties in another school district, I believe that open and clear communication is more important than ever before. If you’ve missed any of my columns or would like to re-read or share them with your friends and family, you are welcome to visit my blog at http://redhawksupt.blogspot.com/ where they are all posted. You are also welcome to follow me on Twitter (@DavidRobertHill) where I will occasionally post updates or other information not found on the blog.

NEXT WEEK: Operational Sharing: What is it, and how can it benefit our school?