LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT Planning, Research and Evaluation BUSINESS CASES FOR TENTATIVE BUDGET L FY 1996-97 May 28, 1996BUSINESS CASES . ADMINISTRATIVE ANNEX RELOCATION . ADMINISTRATIVE REORGANIZATION . ADULT EDUCATION RELOCATION . CONSOLIDATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS-HOME INSTRUCTION PROGRAM FOR PRESCHOOL YOUNGSTERS LRSD FOUR-YEAR OLD PROGRAM . EXPANSION OF THE ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL TO INCLUDE HIGH SCHOOL . INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCE CENTER RELOCATED TO ISH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL . OUTSOURCING COURIER SERVICES . OUTSOURCING SPECIAL NEEDS TRANSPORTATION . STAGGERED STARTING TIMES . STUDENT ASSIGNMENT RELOCATION . TRUANCY REDUCTIONBUSINESS CASE ADMINISTRATIVE ANNEX RELOCATION aI I i I I BUSINESS CASE: ADMINISTRATION ANNEX RELOCATION 1 BACKGROUND: The Administration Annex houses various support activities of the Little Rock School District. BACKGROUND: located approximately two (2) Building at 100 South Arch Street. facility with no parking and The building is blocks from the Administration no It is a 26,273 square foot appears to be a renovated warehouse. excess acreage. The facility It is four (4) stories with no windows and approximately 60 to 70 percent utilized and the fourth floor is entirely used for storage. The facility presents a drab appearance due to the lack of natural light. two (2) blocks from the Administration Building is not germane to the operation of this facility. The location that do not It consists of independent offices require daily contact with other administrative functions in the Administration Building and can therefore be considered for relocation should space become available. In 1980, the Little Rock School District Board of Education excessed this building and deemed it not necessary for School District operations
however, the building has been in constant use since that time. The building has not been sold but may be considered for sale at anytime. The personnel of the Administration Annex would be considered prime candidates to be relocated to any school within the Little Rock School District that might be considered for closure providing that it has sufficient square footage to meet their needs. Their functions can operate quite effectively from anywhere within the District. 2. PROBLEM DEFINITION: should include relocations. The problem is to consider whether we the personnel from the Annex in any current 3 Basically, we have two (2) alternatives: 1) Leave the personnel at the Annex Building where they are presently located until such time as a better facility could be found or a long range plan comnlied or 2) consider ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES: complied relocating them with personnel to be relocated during the summer of 1996 . ALTERNATIVE NUMBER ONE - LEAVE THE PERSONNEL AT THE ANNEX: Leaving the personnel in the Annex Building seems a prudent move at this point in time. with their surroundings. They are fully operational and appear to be content Although it is not the most attractive or most operational building within the district. office needs of the personnel that are located there. it does meet the ALTERNATIVE TWO BUILDING: CONSIDER RELOCATING THE PERSONNEL IN THE ANNEX Relocating the personnel from the Annex at this point may be extremely difficult. The relocation of the Instructional Resource Center from Sixth and Ringo to the Ish Building will be extremely tight and there is no space left in Ish for any other functions. Resource Center. other than those associated with the Instructional While the possibility of additional space may be available at Oakhurst Elementary School with the movement of AdultEducation from Eastside, the amount of space needed has not been determined. Should additional space become available at that school, it is conceivable that smaller offices from the Annex could be relocated. However, which has over fifty building. a primary concern is Special Education (50) people and occupies most of that This is a function that requires direct public access and must be in a location that is readily accessible to meet the publics needs. While Oakhurst may be considered as a possible location, the size of the building will not permit Adult Education and Special Education to occupy the building at the same time. 4. It is recommended that the Annex Building not be considered for relocation at this time. RECOMMENDATION
available within the Little As schools become Rock School District, careful consideration could then be given to relocating the personnel in the Annex to a better location. 5. OBJECTIVE
The objective of this recommendation is to leave things relatively status quo and to limit the disruption to the Little Rock School District because of the moves that have already been planned for this summer. It could be considered a positive move if a school building is vacated within the District. Most assuredly, being in a building with one or two levels, adequate parking and natural light would be a better situation than they are presently in. 6. The movement of any organization is expected to have a limited negative impact due to the disruption of services IMPACT ANALYSIS
until they are fully restored at their required operational level. The personnel in the Annex are all tied in some way to the Desegregation Plan
however, their physical location fosters. detracts from the Desegregation Plan. nor 7 . RESOURCE ANALYSIS
There will. of course. be a relocation impact on the staff, but, it would appear that bettering the office situation of these people would result in a more positive attitude and better operational surroundings. With regard to general District resources, it is conceivable that the Annex could possibly be sold but this can not be determined until a market analysis is completely made. At the present time, the vacancy rate in downtown Little Rock is between eight (8) and twelve (12) percent
warehouse space is slightly lower. There is a possibility that the Annex could be sold as general warehouse space to a downtown agency. 8 . FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS
The force field analysis has not been done because we have not seriously considered relocating this facility
therefore, the aspects of personnel who may be in favor, or against, this move have not been determined.9. GENERAL IMPLEMENTATION
It would be recommended that the Annex personnel stay where they are presently located for the time being, and that no consideration be made to move them during the summer of 1996. When, and if. a facility plan is put together for administrative buildings and administrative offices, that the annex personnel be considered for relocation as space becomes identified. dee/apl/bcaseaarBUSINESS CASE ADMINISTRATIVE REORGANIZATIONBUSINESS CASE ADMINISTRATIVE REORGANIZATION Executive Summary It is often voiced that the Little Rock School District (LRSD) is over staffed with administrators. While the reality does not match the perception that the LRSD is too heavy with administrators, proposed in part a new management plan is being to change that perception. The new management plan combines a reduction in administrators with a new organizational structure. The new structure will place instructional resource teams directly under the superintendents. supervision of the assistant These teams will be composed in large part by the current staff of the curricular support personnel assigned to the IRC. be split and utilized resource teams. The staff development department will as members of these instructional This structure will allow the reduction of some positions while ensuring accountability for needed curricular support. The assistant superintendents will use the instructional resource teams which they supervise to provide technical assistance to weaker teachers and principals who need special help for remediation of performance deficiencies. The current organizational structure makes it harder to direct specific support to teachers and principals because each subject area supervisor or director curricular area can work autonomously. Rather than the currently independent departments, the membership of instructional resource teams will work in concert with one another under the direction of an assistant superintendent on specific problems. The members of the teams will still be utilized as the experts in their field implementation. for While curriculum development there will be a reduction and in personnel, the new structure will provide a more coordinated focus on the technical support provided by the District. Additionally, there will be a recommendation to reduce assistant principal positions in the elementary schools with fewer than 500 students. State standards do not require an assistant principal in schools of fewer than 500 students. 1must be emphasized that in_ this case may not be possible to implement fully in the ]_ggg_97 school year. Nonetheless, the proposed structure should be put into place to the extent possible while full implementation by the start of the It business transitioning to 1997-98 school year. BACKGROUND the recommendations The LRSD is facing a budget deficit for 1996-97 if expenses By far the largest part of the LRSD budget Without a reduction of are not reduced. is expended for personnel costs, those costs it becomes significantly difficult to It has been expressed many costs becomes more difficult balance the 1996-97 budget. well as the Board of Directors that times by the court as any cuts should be as far away from the students as that cuts must be made. possible. Everyone agrees school district which focuses its attention. In a resources and activities on the education of those students, it is very difficult to make any cut which will not impact students. Therefore, everyone becomes parochial. The sentiment is cut programs or benefits
just don't cut mine. When elementary music teachers. counselors, incentive school staff. nurses. HIPPY coordinators. GT teachers. a GT coordinator. school closings. return to a six period day. extra staffing at new futures schools. partial funding of community education. or a reduction of administrator. and teacher contracts were proposed as budget clerical, _ - cutting strategies, they were all considered to be too close to the students. It has been voiced that reducing teachers' or staffs' pay and/or benefits would affect the morale of therefore, it is too close to the students. the employees
Nevertheless, budget reductions must be made if the District's budget is balanced for 1996-97. PROBLEM DEFINITION The central problem to be addressed is the selection of services, or positions which, if appropriate programs. eiunnwucu, or reorganized significantly offset the deficit faced by the District negative impact on the students. Additionally, perception that the District is top heavy or with administrators must be addressed. !' eliminated reduced. will little the over staffed It is a perception which is common to virtually all public institutions undergoing financial crisis and is not necessarily accurate. However, it cannot be ignored if the public is expected to all has been done to remedy the budgetary is believe that -- problems before their children are directly impacted. 2ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES There are several ways that the problem could be addressed. Different combinations can be made including combinations of the non school based administrators and their support staff as well as school based administrators. 1. State standards call for schools having over 500 students to have a part time specialist. schools have Currently, assistant assistant principal ten (10) of or curriculum our enrollments are less than schools, magnet schools. principals 500. Of two (2) are incentive schools, Those four (4) although elementary these ten their (10) and two (2) are non-area schools would take approval from the MRC and/or the court to reduce. While it is possible to make the reductions. their removal would have some immediate impact on the building level administrative services. reduction of the positions. Rather than the complete one alternative would be to reduce the staffing level by having one half r I assistant principal in those six schools school year. time for the 1996-97 2. The current development organizational structure of and instructional supervisors the i can staff be reorganized and reduced by the creation of instructional resource superintendent for teams which answer directly to the assistant secondary schools and the two assistant superintendents for elementary schools. ) (2) These teams would be comprised of some of the staff development personnel and some of the curricular support personnel. These teams would work directly for the superintendent to whom they would be assigned. assistant This will give greater focus to the specific problems which the assistant superintendents encounter teachers in their division. with principals or At the present time the focus on problems and remediation is disjointed. all of the employees may be diligently working. efforts do not always appear to be coordinated. While the This type of structure can allow a reduction in positions while possibly increasing the focus and effectiveness of the remaining staff. 3. The student assignment component of the Associate Superintendent for Desegregation could be removed from his/her responsibilities. The student assignment function would be totally under the responsibility of the Director of Desegregation Student Assignments. Compliance Officer A new would position replace of the 3associate superintendent position and report directly to the Superintendent of Schools. That position would have responsibility for ensuring that the district meets all of its desegregation requirements. 4. In support functions other than curricular support and staff development, it is possible to reduce some department directors and staff by the combining of some departments' functions under different directors. The Planning Research and Evaluation Department could be dismantled with different functions going to different departments. There are six and a director assigned to the department. (6) evaluation specialists the specialists Department as a could go research to the Information Three (3) of Services component. Two of the specialists could work for the Desegregation Compliance Officer. They would have full time responsibilities for the monitoring of and compliance desegregation responsibilities. with This the district's would possibly allow the reduction of one director and one specialist. 5. Two of the transportation positions could be eliminated. Now that the successful, required. outsourcing implementation has been less direct daily coordination activities are During the first year of the contract, the contracted responsibilities have been well established. The remaining special education transportation responsibilities which the district retained have been very closely scrutinized and can be implemented by fewer staff members. Exploration of outsourcing the remaining transportation requirements could make this moot. If the special education transportation functions are retained, the router position can be eliminated because Laidlaw has assumed this function. eliminated. also. One supervisor position could be 6. Funding for Special Assistant to the Superintendent could be moved to the New Futures budget from the operating fund. department activities. The Special Assistant has worked closely with that through This all shift of in the strategic planning funding could reduce the operating fund and be absorbed by the current funding for New Futures. 7. The assistant superintendent position which was planned to oversee the curricular departments was never filled. This position was a part of the budget planning process for this year and was administrative reductions to be funded by part contained in this of the budget. year's That position should be changed to an associate 4superintendent position which superintendents and coordinates supervises the the services and curricular personnel. remaining assistant f student 8. The resignation of the Manager of Support Services will create a vacancy. Moving the Manager of Financial Services to the support services position would allow the elimination of one manager level position. However, it must be recognized that it is not practical to assume that the Manager of Financial Services can perform all of the duties of two positions. A lower pay grade financial/budget position will be needed if the manager level position is eliminated. 9. The Director of Labor Relations position could be filled with an attorney. staff attorney without This would have the effect of hiring a the creation of a attorney position. Relations (DLR) Currently the Director new of staff Labor is called upon to coordinate and answer most of the EEOC complaints which are filed. Unless there is an active lawsuit involving the complainant, the DLR completely handles the District's case. The DLR also handles all complaints filed with the Office of Civil Rights (OCR). These areas might be more appropriately handled by a staff attorney without the expense of using an outside attorney or the District's law firm. Many other routine legal matters could be handled internally without the extra duties of the DLR expense of outside counsel. such as grievance arbitration could contract negotiations lilcewise be staff attorney. Other 1 and assumed by a This organizational change could provide greater legal coverage for the District at no additional expense. Without question there could be additional alternatives. There are as many possible variations of an organizational plan as there are people who consider the components. The alternatives presented in this business case are possible to implement and address functional and financial considerations. RECOMMENDATIONS Each of the recommendations presented would streamline the administrative functions of the District and would reduce administrative costs. 1. It is at all recommended that the assistant principal position six (6) of projected enrollments the of area less elementary schools than 500 students with be 1 I. I, 5 Areduced by one half. If the Board elects to reduce the other positions, the two (2) magnet elementary with fewer than 500 students would have to be presented to the MRC for consideration. The court would also have to similar reductions incentive schools. at the two (2) similarly Because the District would approve situated recover approximately thirty percent (30%) the salary saved by the reduction in magnet schools, savings which would come to the LRSD. there is little actual The amount of the savings would need to be great enough to offset the possible negative public relations that the reduction could cause. A reduction of the positions situated approval. in the incentive schools which assistant principal are would almost certainly have to have similarly court Additionally, the District would still have to double fund the schools and little real savings would be produced without the elimination double fund the schools. of the obligation to is to reduce by one Therefore, the recommendation half the positions in the six area elementary schools. assistant principal 2. It is recommended that school established to work under the direct resource teams be assistant comprised of superintendents. supervision of the These teams would be some of the current staff Development Department and specialists from the Staff from Reductions the in current administrative include one staff development position. support IRC. would would be reassigned as possible throughout the Current staff school 1996-97 year. The target should be to have complete implementation by the start of the 1997-98 school year. 3. It IS recommended that a new Desegregation Compliance Officer position be created to replace the position .of Associate Superintendent evaluation Evaluation specialists Department for Desegregation. Two (2) from the Planning Research and would be assigned to the Desegregation Compliance Officer to monitor desegregation compliance. research Department. Two (2) positions from PRE would go to the component of the Information Services the target Using the 1996-97 school year as transition. director's should position be the elimination along with one of (1) the PRE specialist position before the start of the 1997-98 school year. 4. It is recommended that two transportation positions be eliminated. It is recommended that the transportation router position be eliminated if the special education transportation function is not outsourced because Laidlaw has picked up that responsibility. Additionally, one 6supervisor position would be eliminated, covered in another business case. Outsourcing is 5. It IS recommended that Superintendent's position be moved the Special Assistant to the budget to the New Futures Department budget. from the operating 6. It is recommended that a new associate superintendent position be filled to have responsibilities supervising the student side of the District. I the assistant superintendent This position replaces current year which was never position filled. funded for the This would not significantly impact the budgeted cost because the funds for the position are in the current year budget. It obviously impacts the real cost because nothing was spent for the position because it was never filled. 7. The Manager of Support Services vacancy would be filled by moving the Manager of Financial position, position. Then would the Manager be replaced financial/budget services position. of by Services Financial to that 8. The Director of Labor Relations a lower Services grade replaced with position should be i. a staff attorney position. staff attorney could be hired without A gualified amount currently budgeted for the increasing DLR Secretarial support for the position would existing staff. OBJECTIVE the position. come from y These recommendations have two (2) primary objectives. One is to reduce expenditures for administrative positions and administrative support positions. The other IS to more efficiently structure the organization of functions to supply focused support. administrative directly to strategy nine (9) This objective ties will develop and implement plans in the Strategic Plan, "We I' to establish financial stability district." and achieve the strategic objectives of the It also addresses the perception that the administration is top heavy. The elimination of director level positions and the complete restructuring of the IRC as well as the absorption of the functions of PRE by other departments should help remedy that perception. IMPACT ANALYSIS 7Implementation of the building level administrative recommendations will support by reduction of six assistant principal positions. the impact the possible District successfully operates other schools Because the which have similar numbers of students without an assistant principal, it must be assumed that the schools impacted by this recommendation can be successfully administered, too. The reduction of support positions at the IRC will impact of curriculum development and support which is the level possible
however, the restructuring of the remaining core of into instructional resource teams directly supervised by the assistant superintendents should result in people more focused support. It is quite possible District can do more with less in this area. that the The separation of the student assignment functions which are under the current position of Associate Superintendent for Desegregation is possible by assigning them to the Director of Student Assignment. The desegregation functions would fall under a new Desegregation Compliance Officer position. Assigning two (2) specialists from PRE to the Compliance Officer will help ensure that there is continual monitoring of the District's compliance with all of its desegregation obligations. This should be a positive impact. It may be possible to fill this position at a lesser paid level than This should be a positive impact. an associate superintendent. The absorption of three (3) of the PRE evaluation specialist positions to Information Services will assure greater focus of their research capabilities. Because much of this is Because much of this done through computer technology this should have a positive impact on both Information Services and research opportunities. All of the PRE functions would be absorbed in such a manner as to concentrate the strengths of PRE into the departments with which they are most closely aligned. It may not be possible to complete this transition immediately because of employees already in place. It should have both a positive financial and operational impact when fully implemented. The elimination of the two transportation positions should not negatively impact the services delivered. District has operated for one year transportation requirements outsourced, with Now that the most of its for a top heavy transportation department. there is less need All of the essential functions can be covered by existing staff. If there are no major surprises, this department may need to be 8T evaluated for additional reductions in the 1997-98 school year. The New Futures Department has worked in concert with the Special Assistant to strategic planning the Superintendent throughout process. Because of the the close relationship of similar activities shared by them, there is a natural tie that has evolved. recommendation, the costs of the By implementing this Special position can be removed from the operating budget. Assistant's FINANCIAL ANALYSIS The reduction of the assistant principal salaries results in the LRSD share of the costs being approximately $160,000. This amount does not include the two incentive school and two magnet school assistant principals. The school resource team concept would save approximately $180,000. Realistically, the savings would be somewhat less for next year because it might not be possible to reassign all of the people who are currently under contract. The potential savings is very possible for subsequent years, and some possible. significant savings in the first year are still The abolishment of the Truancy Reduction Center saves approximately $55,000 and is covered in a separate business case. The reassignment of the functions of PRE will save approximately $154,000 annually when fully implemented. The savings from the reduction of administrative staff would be approximately $67,500. transportation's Replacing the Manager of Support Services and eliminating the Manager of Financial Services saves $85,000. approximately This would be partially offset by the addition of a lower grade financial/budget services position. It is probably realistic to expect that at least $30,000 would be a net savings. The replacement of the Director of Labor Relations position I J with a budget. staff attorney would not have any impact on the I Because there are contractual obligations in place for some of the positions covered by this reorganization it IS difficult to establish with any degree of certainty what the 9 Aactual However, savings would be for the 1996-97 school if implemented fully by the 1997-98, year. will be in excess of $500,000. the savings FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS As was indicated in the first part of the business case. most of the groups will agree with most of the proposed reductions
reductions however, it is likely that all of the proposed impacted by them. will be opposed by the groups most directly The patrons and possibly the staffs of all of the schools which have their assistant principals reduced by one half will be the groups most opposed to that reduction. There will likely be questions regarding the creation of Desegregation Compliance Officer position. However, a a compliance officer position with permanent monitors should be indicative implementation responsibilities. of and the District's commitment to the monitoring of its desegregation The realigned IRC staff would lose a great deal of their independence and others could be reassigned to classroom teaching positions. and more coordinated responsibilities. Although there could be greater focus it is likely that there will be resistance mustered by the effected people. The Transportation Department reductions should meet with general approval. It is resistance to the recommendation. unlikely there would be any The change of the funding source for the Special Assistant to the Superintendent should not be controversial. The Support Services reduction should not controversy. cause any real IMPLEMENTATION PLAN Notice must be provided to all of the employees whose contracts would have changes in the terms and conditions by the legal deadlines. deadline has already passed. For the certified personnel the May 1 For classified (non-certified) personnel, the deadline is thirty (30) days before their next contract would begin. Even though the certified deadline has passed, it is still possible to transfer and/or absorb personnel by using them to fill vacant positions. 10 JThe changes would be implemented by transition so that as many as possible are in place for the start of the 1996-97 school year. Other changes would be made during the 1996-97 school year and would be completed prior to the start of the 1997-98 school year. I 11LRSD Associate Supt Gadberry I Superintendent Williams Organizational Chart DRAFT May 22, 1996 Asst. Supt -Elem Gremillion Asst SufA - Elem Mitchell Instructional Resource Team * Instructional Resource Team  Elem Principals Elem Principals Early Childhood Price Student Hearing Watson Staff Attorney Director Staff Dev & Curriculum Ingram Asst Supt - Sec Anderson Director Exceptional Children Kohler Instructional Resource Team.* Director Pupil Services Elston Sec Principals Adult Ed Martin Athletics Alt Learning Center Marshaleck Director New Futures Young Director Security Jones Director Federal Programs Adams Director lidbrmation Services (Teclmology & Research) Beason Desegregation Compliance Director Student Assignment Acre Director Communications Vann Director VIPS Milam Manager Support Services Milhollen J Director Food Service McCoy Director Plant Services Eaton Director Transportation Cheatham Dirctor Procurement Neal Director Human Resources Hurley The Instructional Resource Teams are comprised of IRC and Staff Development staff who will now report directly to one of the Assistant Superintendents.BUSINESS CASE ADULT EDUCATION RELOCATION1. BUSINESS CASE: ADULT EDUCATION RELOCATION BACKGROUND - The Adult Education Program is presently located at Eastside Junior High School on Scott Street. It has been in that location for a number of years. In 1983, the Little Rock School District excessed that property and deemed it sellable. Although this has not been actively pursued, recent interest has indicated that some agency may be preparing an offer to secure that property
therefore, consideration should be given to relocate the Adult Education Program. Consideration has been given over the years, and was approved by the Board in 1995, to relocate Adult Education and to proceed with the selling of Eastside. While Eastside Junior High School may be adequate at the present time to meet the needs of Adult Education, future educational programs have yet to be determined and therefore their impact on the building can not be ascertained at this time. Current requirements regarding maintenance are high and the necessity to eventually adapt it to ADA standards, to meet the needs of our disabled adult students, must be considered this next year. 2. PROBLEM DEFINITION The problem that we are facing is the consideration of relocating Adult Education to a facility which better meets their needs and capitalizes on vacant space within the Little Rock School District. 3 . ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES alternatives available to consider: Essentially, there are three (3) in the current facility. 1) Allow the agency to remain While this is a viable alternative, the backlog of maintenance and repair for that facility and the necessity to determine new work regarding Americans with disabilities and the remote possibility of expanded programs must be taken into consideration. 2) undetermined, academic ie: Adult Educations requirements Relocate the facility yet are essentially administrative and classroom space
therefore, the relocation into a school would be considered most appropriate. A primary concern would be the location of that school and the ease with which that school can meet the needs of the adults that it serves. Consideration could be given to considering Adult Education relocation into facilities if facilities close due to the implementation of any long range planning. existing vacant facilities. 3) Relocate into School District has one At the present time, the Little Rock facility which is vacant, Oakhurst Elementary School (Ish Elementary School has been identified as the new home for the Instructional Resource Center). On the surface. Oakhurst may appear to be a building that is not in much better shape than Eastside, but it does possess a more centralized location, has the capability of being more readily adapted for ADA standards and appears to meet the general requirements of the Adult Education Program. In addition. it would assist in vacating Eastside and would allow us to proceed with a more aggressive plan to sell that property. IWhile two of the alternatives deal with relocations, the only advantage to alternative three is the fact that it is a move that could possibly occur during the summer of 1996 due to the vacancy of Oakhurst Elementary School. 4. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that serious consideration be given to relocating Adult Education into Oakhurst Elementary School. 5. OBJECTIVE - The objective of this recommendation is purely one of financial initiatives. It is expected that the operating cost of Adult Education and Oakhurst will not be appreciably different from that at Eastside. Additionally, certain renovations will have to be made to Oakhurst to make the facility adaptable for the Adult Education Program and to improve certain structural elements of the building so as to insure the safety and comfort of its inhabitants. However, it will assist the Districts financial planning through the disposal of excess property which is not deemed necessary for It should be noted that Eastside also its operational needs. houses the HIPPY Program and the Truancy Center. Each of these are being considered separately for moves within the Little Rock School District and as of this point in time, final destinations for those programs have not been identified, made. But, considerations are being 6. Adult IMPACT ANALYSIS - The most concern should be the impact on the Education Program. Preliminary discussions with the Supervisor and staff indicate that the general location of the facility will meet their needs. until 10:00 at night. Bus transportation, operating is within two (2) blocks of the facility. Adequate parking is available and the classrooms are of sufficient size to accommodate all academic programs. The area is more residential and appears to be more settled than that of the present location. Discussions with the Director indicate that the program can be relocated easily into Oakhurst Elementary School. The Adult Education Program services a wide range of people throughout the Little Rock area and it is not considered a major element of the Districts desegregation plan and should not require any coordination with parties regarding change elements of the plan. The writer knows of no Court Orders that outline any stipulations with regard to Adult Education and, in general, it is not felt that undue risks are being taken in relocating this program. I I 1 7. RESOURCE ANALYSIS There will, of course. be a relocation I impact on the staff of the facility, but it appears that most personnel drive to this facility so therefore transportation is not deemed a detriment. Other than the fact that people may be resistant to move, it is felt that the facility will meet the needs of the personnel running the program. operate at the same approximate cost as Eastside. Financially, Oakhurst will While Oakhurst will not be completely filled by the Adult Education Program, consideration is being given to moving other agencies into the building which will maximize the facility and bring the per capita cost down. I 1 I I.FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS 8. - At the present time, preliminary indications are that some members of the faculty are opposed to the move while others support it. The general relocation into a facility with which the staff will have the opportunity to input their needs into minor renovations at the building will hopefully go far in easing the burden of relocating this program. 9. GENERAL IMPLEMENTATION It is expected that Adult Education could be moved during the month of June 1996. Preliminary planning has already begun. Floor layouts are being drafted at this time, communication plans and surveys are being taken, the building has been assessed for repairs and construction, and instructions will soon be given to the staff on packing and relocating. dce/apl/bcaseaepBUSINESS CASE CONSOLIDATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS - HOME INSTRUCTION PROGRAM FOR PRESCHOOL YOUNGSTERS LRSD FOUR-YEAR OLD PROGRAMLITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT CONSOLIDATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters LRSD Four-Year Old Program April 19, 1996 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Little Rock School District (LRSD) provides educational services for four-year old children through the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) and the school based Four-Year Old Program. Each program operates as a desegregation strategy. HIPPY is a home based developmentally appropriate intervention program which recognizes the mother as the first significant teacher of the child. HIPPY assists mothers in preparing their children to be ready for kindergarten. The LRSD Four-Year Old Program provides school based instruction delivered by certified teachers. The classes are located at schools that have been difficult to segregate. The students are prepared to enter kindergarten. During this time of financial crisis all budget reduction strategies must be reviewed. Savings can be realized by consolidating the administrative functions of the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters and the Little Rock School District Four-Year Old Program. The estimated savings could be $23,720.76 or $57,056.58 depending on the option selected.A. BACKGROUND The Little Rock School District (LRSD) provides educational services for four-year old children through the Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) and the school based Four-Year Old program. Each program operates a desegregation strategy. as HIPPY is a home based developmentally appropriate intervention program which recognizes the mother as the first significant teacher of the child. HIPPY assists mothers in preparing their children to be ready for kindergarten. The LRSD Four-Year old program provides school based instruction delivered by certified teachers. The classes are located at school that have been difficult to segregate. The students are prepared to enter kindergarten. B. PROBLEM DEFINITION There is a need to reduce spending within the Little Rock School District. Therefore, some programs have been identified for possible merger. HIPPY and the LRSD Four-Year Old program were reviewed to determine if the administrative functions could be combined for cost savings and management efficiency. C. ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES The District must now decide if it will continue the of the LRSD Four-Year Old Program and HIPPY. The alternatives at this time are: separate management functions 1. Make no changes The current management cost for the LRSD Four-Year Old Prosram i 'I'lz 'tl
____  ,1 . . , - o -- vwou iMi uic L^ixoLj rour-iear uia rrogram is $70,335.82. This amount is the total salary cost for one (1) coordinator. No secretaiy is assigned to this department. " L ___ i desegregation budget. (See attached reorganization chart for details.) This cost is charged to the The current management cost for HIPPY is $99,797. Because of budget reductions for the 1995-96 school year, the two coordinator positions which total $48,441.52 are currently funded through Federal Programs. The remaining $51,355.86, which is part of the desegregation budget, supports one (1) supervisor at $31,313.15 and one (1) secretary at $20,042.71. (See organizational chart for details.) currently funded through Federal Programs. 1 A2. Consolidate Administrative Functions a. Assign the Early Childhood Coordinator the administrative responsibilities for HIPPY and the LRSD Four-Year Old Program. In order to maintain HIPPY at its current level of servicing 249 families, the Early Childhood Coordinator may need to supervise 4 home visitors m addition to assuming the administrative duties. ESTIMATED SAVINGS: HIPPY Supervisor (1.0) less HIPPY training cost for Early Childhood Coordinator $24,220.76 500.00 $23,720.76 b. Assign HIPPY supervisor the administrative responsibilities for the LRSD Four-Year Old Program and HIPPY. The Early Childhood Education Coordinator position requires an Arkansas teachers certificate, K-6 and a masters degree. The current HIPPY supervisor does not hold an Arkansas teachers certificate. An Arkansas teachers certificate is not required to occupy the HIPPY supervisor position. The current HIPPY supervisor would need to obtain an Arkansas teacher s certificate and a masters degree. Since responsibilities would include supervision of the Kindergarten program. Early Prevention of School Failure (EPSF) training would be HIPPY supervisor. required for the current ESTIMATED SAVINGS: Early Childhood Coordinator less training cost for ESPF $73,335.82 350.00 $72,985.82 This does not appear to be a viable option at this time. c. Reassign Early Childhood Coordinator to an elementary school Reassign HIPPY Supervisor to a HIPPY Coordinator position. Hire a person to supervise HIPPY and Four- Year Old Program at a lesser salary. principal position. 2 ID. A number of elementary principalship vacancies occur each year. Since the current Early Childhood Coordinator has served as a principal, consideration could be given to reassigning the coordinator to an elementary principalship. The District could hire a person with less administrative experience at a lesser salary. ESTIMATED SAVINGS
(1) Early Childhood Coordinator less salary for new coordinator at lower rate of pay less cost for HIPPY and EPSF training (2) HIPPY Supervisor (1.0) OBJECTIVES $73,335.82 40,000,00 (estimate) 33,335.82 850.00 $32,485.82 $24,220.76 $57,056.58 The objective of the business case is to identify means to reduce spending with the Little Rock School District. A merging of HIPPY and the Four-Year Old Program will save the District money during the current financial crisis. EVALUATION CRITERIA The merger of the HIPPY and Four-Year Old Program administrative functionswill be determined a success if actual expenses are reduced and service of both programs are maintained at the current level. EXPECTED BENEFITS The Districts financial condition will improve and greater administrative efficiency will be evident. E. IMPACT ANALYSIS No modification of the Desegregation Plan would be required. Some persons may believe that the administrative functions of the two programs are to broad for one person to manage effectively. 3 AF. The District can reap the two programs. some savings from combining the administration functions of RESOURCE ANALYSIS a. Assign Early Childhood Coordinator as manager of both programs ESTIMATED SAVINGS: HIPPY Supervisor position less HIPPY training cost for Early Childhood Coordinator $24,220.76 500,00 $23,720.76 b. Assign HIPPY Supervisor as manager of both programs ESTIMATED SAVINGS
Early Childhood Coordinator position less training cost for EPSF $73,335.82 350.00 $72,985.82 c. This does not appear to be a viable option at this time. Reassign HIPPY Supervisor and Early Childhood Coordinator - Hire person to manage both programs at a lesser salary. ESTIMATED SAVINGS: (1) Early Childhood Coordinator $73,335.82 less salary for new coordinator at lower pay rate 40,000.00 (estimate) less cost for HIPPY training and EPSF training $33,335.82 850.00 $32,485.82 (2) HIPPY Supervisor position $24,220.76 $56,706.58 4G. FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS The primary supporters of a merger of HIPPY and the Four-Year Old Program will be persons who believe the District has too many administrators and that the District can "streamline" its operations and become more efficient. The primary detractors will be persons who believe that the uniqueness and  * ---- *" wiiiuuvil VOO t 11 I complexity of HIPPY and the Four-Year Old Program requires the attention of an administration assigned exclusively to each program. GENERAL IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES ACTIVITY COMPLETION DATE RESPONSIBLE PERSON 1. 2. Identify administrative option Make reassignments 05/23/96 Superintendent/ Board of Directors 3. Identify appropriate inservice needs 07/01/96 05/23/96 I 5 T Director of Human Resources Director of Staff Development iLCOORDINATOR OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION RESPONSIBILITIES j! ' 5u--^L n r/- r J "I 'atiJFA'J:
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i SUPERVISOR OF HIPPY PROGRAM ei'=^ |p. 'J  4' w 8W'^ aria eisi t.v 7/ Mi ' X^4 r' '1 J>'A< .  r '7 ijg) ? >7^ n, i !
,'.,iz5igfft43 PM f > 1 veS >........... *' <? uZ/rl SiW gBUSINESS CASE EXPANSION OF THE ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL TO INCLUDE HIGH SCHOOL 1Business Case EXPANSION OF ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL TO INCLUDE HIGH SCHOOL EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Little Rock School District's Alternative School serves only junior high schools (grades 7-8-9) in the district. There is no alternative school for senior high schools. The Inter-district Desegregation Plan (April 29, 1992) requires the parties to "Develop (an) alternative school for students in need of intervention .... It The Little Rock School District's Alternative School has had a capacity of 60 students since its opening. During the last quarter of the 1995-96 school year, two significant improvements were made to expand the number of students served. Today we can serve 72 students in grades 7, 8, and 9. This limitation is based on the number of faculty and staff. It is proposed that 60 additional seats be added to the program for high school students Considerations Students who are not successful at the regular school setting, in spite of interventions, require an abnormal amount of each school's resources. Students who are disruptive in the regular school setting damage the educational environment for the rest of the students. Serving students, who are not successful at the regular school setting, will improve the educational outcomes of both the alternative school student and the regular school students. Options 1. Expand the maximum number of students able to be served in the facility at 800 Apperson Street. Maintain the junior high school program to include the same number of students from grades 7, 8, and 9 and hiring six more teachers and support staff to serve the high schools (grades 10, 11, and 12). The six classrooms that are needed are available. This would almost double the capacity from 72 students to 132. 2. Expand the maximum number of students able to be served by providing services at more than one facility in the Little Rock District. Other campuses could be Metropolitan or at other unused buildings owned by the school district. 3. Expand the alternative services by creating alternative classrooms at each regular school.Recommendation Due to the critical need for alternative services to include senior high students and the limitations in the budget and funding, it is recommended that an immediate expansion of the alternative program be included for senior high grade classes. This would increase the maximum capacity of the facility to serve 60 senior high school students. This recommendation would require an immediate search for six qualified teachers and for other support staff. Impact Analysis Positive Better support for junior and senior high school students' specialized needs. Fewer disruptions at the regular school setting. More students being offered specialized alternative services. Public perception improvement concerning importance of alternative services. Disparity improvement required by the desegregation plan. Negative Increased budget and funding required for teachers' salaries. Increased funding required for classroom furniture and additional building modification Increased risk of security and discipline problems at the alternative school. Resources Analysis Personnel
Six teachers One instructional aide One caseworker One security officer Furniture: Five classrooms @ $1,800 ea. $216,000 12,000 25,000 12,000 9,000Curriculum: Science equipment Multimedia equipment Social studies equipment English equipment Vocational equipment Behavior modification equipment 2,150 1,000 500 500 500 500 Textbooks: Science - 60 @ $33 ea. Math - 60 @ $33 ea. Social studies - 60 @ $30 ea. English - 60 @ $30 ea. Vocational - 60 @ $30 ea. Behavior modification - 60 @ $30 ea. 1,980 1,980 1,800 1,800 1,800 1,800 Building Modification: Renovation of five classrooms and restroom facilities Security cameras 10.050 9,000 Transportation 62.300 - 155.750* I I I *Laidlaw Transportation will add routes for the program at $31,150 per bus. It is anticipated that the minimum number of additional routes necessary would be two (2). The maximum would likely be five (5), based on where the 60 students live in relation to one another. I I Total cost $465,110Background The Tri-County Alternative School began approximately three years prior to the opening of the Little Rock Alternative School (Alternative Learning Center). Late in the 1990-91 school year, Ms. Othello Faison became the first principal. During April 1992, the Office of Desegregation Monitoring evaluated the alternative schools of each of the three districts in Pulaski County. Their findings included: "To develop and provide sound and effective alternative education programs, . . . (each district) should understand what the term 'alternative education' means." Dr. Raymond Mosely, a consultant with the Iowa Department of Education, stated, "Alternative education is a perspective, not a procedure or program." There are many other ways to become educated. There are other types of environments and structures. Teaching strategies, expectations, services, and programs must contribute to increase the chances for academic achievement. Alternative schools include magnet schools, vocational schools, and other continuation schools. Continuation schools are those that provide another option for the dropout, potential dropout, suspended student, and other students who are not successful at the regular school setting. These schools are expected to provide less competitiveness and more individualized strategies. The typical reasons to assign students to an alternative school include: ** ** ** excessive absenteeism failure or retention suspension feelings of rejection, isolation, insecurity, or alienation ** ** ** ** poor grades low math and reading scores low self-esteem lack of motivation lack of cooperation The alternative school is nontraditional by nature. Intervention strategies are in constant flux. Learning styles and modes must be reevaluated often. The alternative school staff must be flexible and open to change. Each situation is unique and requires specialized care. Dr. Kenneth Clark, a noted expert on at-risk students, reminds us that our future society depends on our ability to break the cycle of risk. Experts agree that there is often resistance to institutional change
however, it is just that change that can bring us closer to the answers. The Little Rock School District's Alternative School serves only junior high schools (grades 7-8-9) in the District. There is no alternative school for senior high schools. The Inter-district Desegregation Plan (April 29, 1992) requires the parties to "Develop (an) alternative school for students in need of intervention . . ." The Little Rock School District's Alternative School has had a capacity of 60 students since its opening. During the last quarter of the 1995-96 school year, two significant improvements were made to expand the number of students served. Today, it can serve 72 students in grades 7, 8, and 9. This limitation is based on the number of faculty and staff.The facility at 800 Apperson Street has 24 classrooms, a library, and a cafetorium. Several of the classrooms are used for other purposes. With the eleven classrooms presently in use, six classrooms are required for the additional students. Problem Definition The number of students in our district junior and senior high schools requiring alternative services exceeds the maximum capacity for the 72 students presently being served at the Alternative School due to faculty/staff limitations. Limits on budgets and funding restrict the District from maximum use of the Alternative School. Considerations Students who are not successful at the regular school setting, in spite of interventions, require an abnormal amount of each school's resources. Students who are disruptive in the regular school setting damage the educational environment for the rest of the students. Serving students who are not successful at the regular school setting will improve the educational outcomes of both the Alternative School student and the regular school students. Analysis of Alternatives In order to serve the required number of students who qualify for alternative school services, expansion of the present program is necessary to include senior high school students. Expansion can be achieved in several ways. 1. Expanding the maximum number of students able to be served in the facility at 800 Apperson Street. Maintain the junior high school program to include the same number of students from grades 7, 8 and 9 and hiring six more teachers and support staff to serve the high schools (grades 10, 11, and 12). The six classrooms that are needed are available. This would almost double the capacity from 72 students to 132. 2. I I I I 3. Expand the maximum number of students able to be served by providing services at more than one facility in the Little Rock District. Other campuses could be Metropolitan or at other unused buildings owned by the school district. Expand the alternative services by creating additional alternative classrooms at each regular school. Recommendations Due to the critical need for alternative services to include senior high students and the limitations in the budget and funding, it is recommended that an immediate expansion of the alternative program be included for senior high classes. This recommendation would require an immediate search for six qualified teachers and for other support staff. This expansion is the least expensive of the other alternatives due to the ability to expand without an increase in administrative support. Further expansion, beyond this recommendation, would require additional administrative support, such as attendance secretary and assistant principal. Objective According to the desegregation program description, The Alternative Learning Center (ALC) provides the support (academic, educational, and social) necessary to students so that they can return to their regular school setting and function effectively. The student population at ALC consists of "at-risk" youngsters, those who are at compulsory attendance age and are experiencing difficulties in school because of poor attendance or other dysfunctional situations which seriously impede the students ability to succeed . . .. Our objective is to insure alternative educational services are available for students who II are in need of services. Therefore, our goal is to NOT turn down students who need services and are recommended for services by the junior or senior high principals. Goal our To provide an appropriate educational environment for senior high students who are not having success at the regular classroom setting and have been recommended by their principal for admission to the Alternative School. Evaluation Criteria Report bi-weekly student enrollment by grade level, race, and gender with a comparative analysis between enrollments prior to this expansion and enrollments after this expansion. Expected Benefits Additional students will be offered alternative services. Secondary principals will be able to devote more attention to the educational improvements at their schools instead of the management of the disruptions, interruptions, and fhistrations caused by the at-risk students who are now being served by the Alternative School. Teachers will be able to provide better services for the remaining students without the pressures and fhistrations of interruptive and disruptive behaviors. Impact Analysis Positive: 1 2 3 4 5 Better support for junior and senior high school students' specialized needs. Fewer disruptions at the regular school setting. More students being offered specialized alternative services. Public perception improvement concerning importance of alternative services. Disparity improvement required by the desegregation plan. Negative: 1 Increased budget and funding required for teachers' salaries. 2 Increased funding required for classroom furniture. 3 Increased risk of security and discipline problems at the alternative school.7 Resources Analysis Personnel: Six teachers One instructional aide One caseworker One security officer $216,000 12,000 25,000 12,000 Furniture: Five classrooms @ $1,800 ea. 9,000 Curriculum: Science equipment Multimedia equipment Social studies equipment English equipment Vocational equipment Behavior modification equipment 2,150 1,000 500 500 500 500 Textbooks: Science - 60 @ $33 ea. Math - 60 @ $33 ea. Social studies - 60 @ $30 ea. English - 60 @ $30 ea. Vocational - 60 @ $30 ea. Behavior modification - 60 @ $30 ea. 1,980 1,980 1,800 1,800 1,800 1,800 Building Modification: Renovation of five classrooms and restroom facilities Security cameras 10,050 9,000 Transportation 62,300 - 155,750* Laidlaw Transportation will add routes for the program at $31,250 per bus. It is anticipated that the minimum number of additional routes necessary would be two (2). The maximum would likely be five (5), based on where the 60 students live in relation to one another. Total cost $465,110 I/ General Implementation Plan: Milestones Timeline Tasking 1. Approval of Proposal Immediate School Board 2. Advertise for Personnel May 96 Human Resources 3. Order Furniture and Resource Materials May 96 Procurement 4. Renovate Classrooms and Prepare for Class June 96 Plant Services 5. Interviews Complete July 96 Principal 6. Personnel in Place August 96 Human Resources 7. Evaluation of Proposal Objectives Quarterly 1996-97 Principalr BUSINESS CASE INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCE CENTER RELOCATED TO ISH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ( ISUBJECT
COST CUTTING PROPOSAL FISCAL YEAR 1996 Introduction - It is recommended that the following be considered as a cost cutting measure to be implemented in the budget process and subsequently the 1996 budget. Proposal - It is proposed that the Instructional Resource Center, presently located in the Parkin Building at 6th and Ringo, be relocated to Ish Elementary School during the sxnsmer of 1996. Background - The Instructional Resource Center was relocated from Lee School at 12th and Cedar to the Parkin Building at 6th and This was due to the deteriorated condition of the The Parkin Building is leased by the Little Rock Ringo in 1993. Lee School. School District for an suinual rental of $88,800.00 per year plus utilities and parking. The present lease is for 24,000 square feet of which approximately 13,000 square feet is office space and the remaining 11,000 square feet is unfinished warehousing space. Ish Elementary School became vacant in 1993 and remained vacant iintil a final decision was reached by the courts. school presently houses the relocated children The elementary from Chicot Elementary School, but it is anticipated that they will vacate that space in March of 1996. regard to Ish Elementary School. No future plans have been developed with Requests have been received from at least five agencies desiring to occupy the Ish Elementary School. (5} different Each of these agencies are not Little Rock School District agencies and have requested to lease either part or all of the building. It is anticipated that they would desire to lease this building at an extremely low rate in hopes that the Little Rock School District would absorb most of the operating costs. Problem Definition - The problem is to institute measures that will assist the Little Rock School District in cutting its operating costs in 1996 and future years. Analysis of Alternatives - There are basically two (2) alternatives with regard to the Instructional Resource Center
1) allow the Instructional Resource Center to remain in its present location. If we were to select this alternative, the present operating cost for 1996 for the Parkin Lease is expected to be $127,112.00. This is based on the 1995 rental of $88,800.00, the rental of additional parking at $276.00 per month, and the estimated utility costs of It is, however, anticipated that the rent may go up by $35,000.00. as much as three (3) to five (5) percent in 1996. While the Instructional Resource Center located at 6 th and Ringo convenient to the general operation of the Little Rock School isPage Two Continued District, the annual cost of over $127,000.00 may not warrant its remaining in that facility
2) relocating the Instructional Resource Center to Little Rock School District space. The recommendation to relocate the Instructional Resource Center to building presently owned by the Little Rock School District is principally offset the rental cost presently incurred by the District. The operating cost of Ish Elementary School over the last two (2) years has only averaged $16,000.00 for utilities. Maintenance costs have averaged approximately $24,000.00 per year. With an anticipated cost next year of operating Ish at approximately $40,000.00, it would appear to save as much $87,000.00 next year. However, there would be a one time cost associated with the relocation to cover such items as moving costs, to include packaging and relocation, rewiring of the facility for computers and telephone relocation. in operating a to I I Recommendation - It is recommended that the District relocate the Instructional Resource Center from the Parkin Building to Ish Elementary School. The Parkin Building is approximately 24,000 square feet. Elementary School, although subdivided into rooms, totals 31,800 square feet. In addition, parking without the additional lease is square feet. Ish approximately the same at both locations. However, consideration to expanding the parking lot during meetings and in instruction can be done, as the Little Rock School District owns However service property immediately adjacent to Ish Elementary School. While Ish Elementary School may not appear to be as centrally located as the Parkin Building, travel throughout Little Rock to this facility make it easily reachable within 20 - 25 minutes from any location in the City. Estimating the one time cost of approximately $35,000.00 would at least give us approximately $50,000.00 savings during the first year and a savings of approximately of $85,000.00 to $90,000.00 in future years. These monies could be used to offset current operational short falls. The objective Objactive - Tne oojective of this proposal is two-fold. 1) To reduce the operating costs of the Little Rock School District by decreasing its overhead and 2) by better utilizing space that is presently owned by the Little Rock School District for which no future plans have been developed. Consideration must also be made to retaining the presence of the Little Rock School District in the community surrounding Ish Elementary School. This building has been constantly occuoied occupied since the middle 1950's and only recently became vacant during the construction of King Elementary School. The relocation of the children from Chicot Elementary School into the facility in October of 1993 has again made the building occupied. The permanentPage Three Continued relocation into this facility of the Instructional Resource Center would most assuredly be seen as a positive step by the surroxuxding community and the local government as being an initiative of the Little Rock School District to have future plans for its closed facilities. Impact Analysis The Ish Elementary School Facility is approximately 7,000 square feet larger than the facility presently being used by the Instructional Resource Center. The ability for them to conduct their operations in Ish Elementary School will not in any way be hampered by the fact that it is subdivided into classrooms as this was the situation in Lee Elementary School. The subdivision of rooms will be offset by the additional 7,000 square feet which will allow for divisions of the Instructional Resource Center to operate independently, yet all be contained in the same facility. Another distinct advantage of relocating the facility at this time would be to put them in a permanent home in a building which is not perceived to be used as a school building in the future. Resource Analysis There is no specific items with regard to resource analysis except to identify that present staffing of the Little Rock School District would be responsible for the relocation of both the children from Chicot Elementary School to Chicot School upon its completion in March of 1996 eind the subsequent relocation of the Instructional Resource Center in June of 1996. Implementation Plan - A tentative time line follows: January, 1996 A tentative decision must be made this month so as to proceed with preliminary planning. February and March - During this period of time we would complete the final plans, layout the building, plan the move and allow the Instructional Resource Center persoimel to look at their organization to determine how they can operate in the new facility. April, 1996 - During this period of time, it is hopeful that we would prepare and finalize necessary to support the move. any contracts May, 1996 We would make the placement of orders for anything necessary to accomplish the move. such as materials for rewiring to support computers and telephones and any possible construction. Additionally in May, we would make official notification of our intent not to renew the lease at the Parkin Building.Page Four Continued June, 1996 - It is anticipated that upon the closure of the school that the Instructional Resource Center would move to Ish Elementary School. This move can easily be completed within a one month period. DCZ/apl/ccpircBUSINESS CASE OUTSOURCING OF COURIER SERVICESBUSINESS CASE OUTSOURCING MAIL COURIER SERVICE CURRENTLY HANDLED BY THE PROCUREMENT AND MATERIALS MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Procurement and Materials Management Department currently has a mail and courier service section consisting of two vehicles and two drivers. Intra-district mail is collected and sorted daily for next day delivery. In addition, correspondence going to out-of-district destinations is picked up daily and metered at the central administration building for deposit to the main U.S. Postal Office the same day. Limited, on call special delivery, pick up, and messenger service is also provided as time and available vehicle cargo space allow, as well as video distribution and A/V equipment pick up and delivery for Media/Library Services. The intent of this business case is to determine the efficiency and/or economy of continuing this service in-house versus outsourcing the service to a private company. This analysis is in response to a request by the LRSD Board for potential areas of savings that could be realized by the District. There are only two alternatives considered: One alternative is to do nothing and continue performing the service in-house. This alternative is not recommended because of the increasing overhead costs each year in terms of labor (salary and benefits) and equipment maintenance expenses. The other alternative is to contract with a private provider of this type service and take advantage of the savings available due to the efficiencies inherent in a contract with a firm that specializes in this work. This outsourcing alternative is recommended. The only negative aspect is the displacement of two employees, one of whom has indicated that he will be leaving the District soon anyway. The savings by adopting this recommendation are two (2) FTEs in the Procurement Department and approximately $43, 700 each year starting with the first annual contract. 1 April 26, 1996A. BACKGROUND The Procurement Department has provided the internal mail distribution and courier service for the District since 1964. Up until 1987, this was accomplished with one employee and one mail van. In order to maintain the same level of daily service, an additional driver and van were added after the 1987 annexation. At this time the two couriers deliver and pick up mail/distribution each day at each District facility pbs ODM, State Department of Education and the CTA offices. In addition to mail items, they also pick up and deliver, as space on the van allows, media related equipment and videos for the Library Services oflBce. The feasibility of outsourcing this service to a private contractor was investigated on a couple of occasions in years past but never seriously considered. Previously, there was essentially only one courier service operating in Little Rock (SunBelt). Also, the savings achieved by contracting out were not very significant during previous evaluations. The District is searching for areas in which economies can be achieved. Contracting with a private courier company can result in a savings while maintaining a satisfactory level of service. B. PROBLEM DEFINITION: 1 The District s current financial situation places a responsibility on all departments to operate as efficiently and cost effectively as possible to provide required services at an acceptable level. The mail courier service currently provided in-house has been at an acceptable performance level
however, the cost for this service is excessive when compared to having a private company perform the same work. There are now numerous established private companies in the Little Rock area that provide mail courier service, and a substantial savings opportunity is possible. The costs associated with performing this function have escalated in recent years due to the overhead of owning and operating vehicles dedicated to a single purpose and the siaries paid the employees performing this task. Both employees have performed satisfactorily over the years but this longevity has resulted in salary increases that represent compensation considerably greater than what a private company would pay for the same work. The vehicles currently being used for this service are: 1) a 1988 Ford Van with an odometer reading of 138,825 miles and 2) a 1993 Ford Van with an odometer reading of 49,000 miles. If the in-house mail service is to continue, a new van will need to be purchased to replace the 1988 van as it has had numerous mechanical problems over the past two years. The estimated cost to replace this van is $17,000. 2 1If the District were to choose outsourcing, two FTEs would be eliminated. One employee is graduating from college in May and is expected to leave the District. The other employee has been with the District for eight years and would be offered an option to accept another position within the District in accordance with policy. In addition, the warehouse manager devotes roughly 1/3 of his time to helping with the mail courier effort. As a result of outsourcing, this would free him to handle other warehouse management responsibilities. However, the warehouse manager would be required to coordinate and supervise the activities of the contracted service provider. C. ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES These alternatives were generated during 1996-97 Support Services staff budget meetings where possible areas of saving were discussed. There are only two alternatives considered, (1) continue the services as is, or (2) contracting out. The Procurement OfiBce also had preliminary discussions with a private company concerning the methods used by courier service companies and the associated costs. Alternatives 1. Continue providing the service in house: The level of service currently provided has worked relatively well for several years. The timing for a change is convenient in that one employee is anticipated to leave soon after receiving his college degree. The other employee, who also acts as the Assistant Warehouse Manager, would need to be placed in another comparable position, if possible. The current system is, of course, reasonably responsive to emergency or on-call courier requirements. However, some on-call deliveries could be eliminated with better scheduling and discipline. It is sometimes too easy to pick up the phone and call for an emergency pickup or delivery, rather than wait for the regular scheduled service. There is the tendency not to associate cost to those resources owned/operated in-house. The primary disadvantage for continuing the current service in-house is the associated armual cost to the District for providing the service
Both labor costs and the increasing expenses associated with owning and maintaining the mail vans, make outsourcing attractive from the standpoint of cost versus benefits derived from providing this routine service. The dollars below reflect 1995-96 annualized cost: Salaries (current including benefits for two employees) Vehicle Maintenance and Depreciation Fuel Vehicle Insurance (premium cost plus average one claim per year) Mail Handling Supplies TOTAL $69,128 5,806 5,159 2,260 1.275 This alternative is least desirable in that this administrative function can be accomplished more economically by contracting out to a private courier service. 32. Outsourcing the service to a private company: The level of service would be expected to be at or better than cunently received. In addition, a private contractor could provide: a. More flexibility (EflSciency) by furnishing more personnel and vehicles during the busy school year and less during the summer. Vehicles are radio-equipped and could be reached at all times to expeditiously handle emergency or on-call requirements. b. Reduced management (Efficiency & Economy)- The District would be required only to monitor the contract for compliance rather than conduct the day to day activities, allowing the Supply Center Manager to expend more time on his Supply Center Management responsibilities, thereby eliminating the need for an Assistant Warehouse Manager. (One of the mail drivers fills in at this position part time or as needed.) c. The same service at a lower cost (Economy! by providing necessary personnel, vehicles, insurance, and management to meet the requirements of the District. The efficiencies inherent to a company whose existence depends upon fast, courteous service, are evident when comparing outsourcing against performing this function in-house. Cost estimates obtained from a local company currently providing service to the City of Little Rock for the past six years were obtained and are estimated based on the delivery service presently performed by the District couriers: Monthly Charge for daily pickup and delivery to schools including handling of U.S. postal mail Per Delivery rate for extra deliveries over and above routine service Assuming the District has a requirement for 25 additional deliveries per month the annualized cost would be ($7 rate x 25 avg. deliveries x 12 months) Annualized cost for routine service ($3,150 x 12 months) Total expected annualized outsourcing cost $3,150 $7 per delivery $2,100 37.800 $39,900 D. RECOMMENDATION 1 It is recommended that the District outsource the mail/courier service currently provided by the Procurement and Materials Management Department. The expected annual cost savings of $43,728 ($83,628 - $39,900) is the primary consideration 4E. OBJECTIVE The objective of this recommendation is to help the District reduce costs while assuring the same and/or better level of service currently provided. The efficient and cost effective delivery/mailing of intemal/extemal correspondence is essential to the operations of the District. Implementation of this recommendation supports LRSD Goals relating to reducing costs and improving service. The successful contractors performance will be evaluated annually by the Procurement and Materials Management Department. Some of the criteria used in this assessment will be
1. School/Dept. satisfaction as measured by the number of complaints received. 2. Timeliness of extra service deliveries. 3. Response time to District requests. 4. Adherence to cost as stated in the contractors proposal. 5. Reduction in LRSD management involvement in daily mail operations. The expected benefits of this recommendation will be an immediate cost savings realized by the district in current and future years. In addition, the level of service will be equal to or better than that currently provided. The recipients of these benefits will be all District schools/departments. F. IMPACT ANALYSIS The positive impact of this recommendation will be the cost savings and reduced management time required. The negative impact will be employee reaction to outsourcing and the resulting displacement of one employee. Implementation of this plan will not impact the desegregation plan or court orders There should be no disruption of service during transitioning to a contracted courier service. The recent outsourcing efforts by the District in other areas should not adversely affect the implementation of this recommendation in that it involves only minimal employee impact. Any potential negative reaction in converting to a contracted courier service can be minimized by careful coordination and implementation of the change-over. There is no risk to the District if this recommendation is not accepted. The Procurement Department will continue the service in-house. 5Titning. it is recommended that an RFP be prepared with a contract awarded and service to begin July 1, 1996. The transition should not be difficult
however, in order to reduce a hurried start-up by the successful contractor, a contract should be signed by June 15, 1996. G. RESOURCE ANALYSIS Personnel The recommendation is expected to reduce the FTEs in the Procurement Department by two (2) positions. Financial A yearly savings of $43,728 is expected. The costs obtained from the contractor are conservative
therefore, actual savings could be greater. A Request for Proposal would be prepared by the Procurement Department. H. FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS The primary supporters of this recommendation will be patrons and taxpayers of the District and the administration. Those most opposed to this recommendation will be the employees impacted and those generally opposed to outsourcing District services for whatever reason their personal agenda may dictate. 1. GENERAL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN The following milestones for implementing this recommendation are suggested and will be monitored by the Director, Procurement and Materials Management: Milestone Date Business Case Approved April 1996 Responsible Person LRSD Cabinet/Board Prepare RFP May 1, 1996 Neal, Procurement Director Proposals Submitted May 15, 1996 Neal, Procurement Director Proposal Evaluated May 22, 1996 Neal, Procurement Director Award Made May 24, 1996 Neal, Procurement Director Notice to Employees June 1, 1996 Hurley, Human Resources Director Contract Negotiated and Completed June 15, 1996 Neal, Procurement Director Contractor Begins Operations July 1, 1996 Neal, Procurement Director 6BUSINESS CASE OUTSOURCING SPECIAL NEEDS TRANSPORTATIONOutsourcing Special Needs Transportation System Business Case 4/19/96 1 Outsourcing Special Needs Transportation System Executive Summary The most expensive part of student transportation is transportation services for special needs students. Curb-to-curb service, smaller capacity buses, bus aides/monitors, special equipment, extra driver training, and restrictions on ride time are some of the components contributing to these higher costs. Medically fragile students require even greater resources. The intent of this business case is to explain the current issues confronting the district related to transporting special needs students. Parents, teachers and others are concerned that the transportation service provided by the District for special needs students may neither be safe nor meet the needs of each student. Over half (58%) of the buses in the fleet are over seven years old. Of the 18 lift buses in the fleet, 12 are over seven years old. These buses often have mechanical breakdowns which create problems in getting students to school or home in a timely manner. The recommendation of this business case is to outsource the system to a private contractor. The goal statement is
To provide special needs students -with a safe, reliable, and cost effective transportation system. This proposal supports the districts strategic plan in the areas of safety and meeting the needs of individual students. The following is a list of criteria to be used in determining whether or not the problem is solved when this solution is implemented: 1. 2. The District will successfully defend the transportation system against the current and future lawsuits related to special needs transportation. Driver satisfaction will increase by a reduction in the number of complaints from drivers about the equipment. 3. Buses will be on time. 4. Accidents will decrease. 5. The number of buses out-of-service for repairs will decrease. 6. A schedule for replacement will be strictly followed.Outsourcing Special Needs Transportation System Busir>ess Case 4/19/96 2 All students will have safe, reliable and appropriate service to meet their needs. Outsourcing will bring stability to the transportation system, costs can be identified and contained, and effective training will be provided to all staff. The risk of not implementing this solution is increasing parental complaints, continued driver dissatisfaction, equipment failure, and the lack of the ability to respond student needs. to The risks of implementing this solution are the unfounded presumptions that the costs will be greater than calculated and people will lose their jobs. Transition will strain current management because of the short period of time available when considering the activities associated with the start up of the school year. It is critical that the decision be made before June 1 so personnel can be notified of the elimination of administrative and other positions within the timelines of the law and contracts. If outsourcing is to be implemented, patrons will need to know when the Board of Directors approves. Awareness must be generated in the community, staff must be notified of the change, and a number of other tasks as noted in the timeline included must be addressed. No additional costs for personnel are necessary to implement this proposal. Some long time District administrators will be displaced. At least $100,000 can be saved from the current proposed transportation budget or 1996-97. There is a real possibility of additional savings depending upon the selected proposal. The old buses can be replaced on a strict schedule which should reduce the number of late buses due to breakdowns.Outsourcing Special Needs Transportation System Business Case 4/19/96 3 The following milestones for implementing this proposal are suggested and will be monitored by the Manager of Support Services. Milestone_________________________ 1 Establish a transportation steering committee________ 2. Write request for proposal (RFP)______________ 3. Steering committee review RFP__________________ 4. RFP mailed to potential contractors _____________ 5, RFP information session for potential contractors 6, Proposals submitted____________________ 7, Proposals screened by steering committee ______ 8. Recommended proposal presented to the LRSD Board of Directors for approval________ 9, Notice to employees________________ 10. Include this as a budget reduction strategy__________ 11. Recruitment of current employees____________ 12. Recruitment of new employees__________ 13. Inventory property_______________ 14. Finalize contract_________________________ 15. Property transfer and occupancy______________ 16. Complete initial bus routes____________ 17. Retrain current employees_____________ 18. Notify patrons_________ 19. Begin delivery of replacement equipment__________ 20. Complete driver/aide/monitor orientation and dry runs Date 4/17/96 4/26/96 4/29/96 5/1/96 5/15/96 5/22/96 5/23/96 5/23/96 5/24/96 5/24/96 6/4/96 6/4/96 6/26/96 6/27/96 6/30/96 8/8/96 8/1/96 8/1/96 8/12/96 8/16/96 Person________ Smith, Neal Neal, Cheatham Committee Neal__________ Neal, Cheatham Contractors Neal__________ Williams Hurley_______ Milhollen_____ Contractor Contractor Neal_________ Neal, Attorneys Neal, Milhollen Contractor Contractor Vann, Smith Contractor ContractorOutsourcing Special Needs Transportation System Business Case 4/19/96 4 Background: Current situation: Everything has a cost. The per student costs of transporting students with special needs are higher than for regular student transportation. Curb-to-curb service, smaller capacity buses, bus aides/monitors, special equipment, extra driver training, and restrictions on ride time are some of the components contributing to these higher costs. Medically fragile students require even greater resources. The number of medically fragile students is increasing because of the improvements in medical technology. It is impossible to meet the needs of individual children and have a very efficient program. Every attempt is made to serve special needs students in the least restrictive environment such as on the regular buses. At this time during the 1994-95 school year 395 special needs students and 60 Alternative Learning Center (ALC) students rode special needs buses. This year 450 students are currently assigned for special transportation. The district transports 40 students to the Arkansas Schools for the Blind and Deaf. Also, 80 ALC students are transported this year. The Districts special needs transportation operation was in the media on September 25, 1995 when a parent padlocked the gates to the bus terminal. Later that parent and other individuals filed a lawsuit against the district which included charges related to the transportation of special needs students. Even though the districts equipment and personnel meet all state and federal requirements, issues related to labor uruest, safety and poor service continue to plague the district concerning special needs transportation. The maintenance of the fleet is done by contract with Laidlaw Transit. Two mechanics are assigned to do routine and emergency service. Breakdowns continue to be a problem due to the age of the fleet. Background information: Prior to this year, the day-to-day operations of the regular transportation and special needs transportation were intermingled. There was no clear delineation of services and no clear way to determine actual costs by program. Special needs drivers and aides received very little specialized training. The 1995-96 state funding for transportation was based on the number of buses used and the number of students transported in 1994-95. At this time there is no money earmarked for transportation under the new formula. What had been used in the past was folded into the new formula. Of the $1,600,000 in regular transportation aid this year, only $36,000 was included for the increased costs related to transporting special needsOutsourcing Special Needs Transportation System Business Case 4/19/96 5 students. The district does receive funding from the settlement for all costs incurred for transportation related to the M-to-M and Magnet programs which is estimated to exceed 2.1 million dollars for 1995-96. The laws and regulations impacting special needs students continue to change. The students Individual Education Plan (lEP) determines when the student is to be transported and if special accommodations are needed such as a monitor or aide assigned to assist the student. More options are available to students with lEPs and specialized service is often required such as transportation home at noon because the student is attending for a half day rather than the whole day. Problem Definition: Problem Statement: Parents, teachers and others are concerned that the transportation service provided by the District for special needs students may neither be safe nor meet the needs of each student. Considerations: The Districts financial situation places a strain on all departments to operate efficiently to provide the students with an acceptable level of service. Special needs transportation is more expensive than regular transportation. Specialized equipment is needed for medically fi-agile students. The district can contract with other agencies or parents to provide some of these services but not having the appropriate equipment is not an acceptable reason for not providing transportation if it is part of the students lEP. The Districts special needs fleet is aging. There are 52 buses of which 18 have lifts and locks for wheel chairs. Only five buses use diesel fuel. Year # of Buses # of Lifts 83 1 1 84 0 0 85 4 2 86 16 9 87 8 0 88 0 0 89 1 1 90 11 0 91 6 0 92 2 2 93 0 0 94 0 0 95 3 3 The district has used the following criteria for replacing buses in the past: Gasoline powered buses: Any such bus that exceeds eight years of age or 120,000 miles at the start of any school year. Diesel powered buses: Any bus that exceeds 10 years of age or 160,000 miles at the beginning of any school year.Outsourcing Special Needs Transportation System Business Case 4/19/96 6 Thirty buses are more than seven years old. It normally takes seven to eight months to get buses once the order is placed. If buses are ordered in April, they should arrive in December or January. Driver performance is another consideration. One of the concerns regularly expressed by drivers is the need for new equipment. Drivers are frustrated when their buses are not available due to mechanical problems and students can become confused when their bus is changed. Good equipment that is well maintained can contribute to improved service. Analysis of Alternatives: Process: A committee of administrators, parents, teachers, and drivers was formed in the fall of 1995 before the lawsuit was filed to work on solutions to perceived problems within the special needs section of the transportation department. The group identified the need for new buses and better training as solutions to most of the concerns. Identification: Alternative solutions are as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Change nothing. This will not address the problem and will cause costs to grow annually as the fleet ages and training is not maintained when the staff has turnover. Follow industry standards for equipment replacement, personnel, etc. including a strict schedule for replacing the fleet. This is the most expensive alternative. The district would continue to manage the system. Buses would be replaced on schedule. This would impact the current and future budgets. Phase in the industry standards over a five year period of time. This alternative would have a modest cost and would lead to stabilizing costs over an extended period of time. The district would have more flexibility to respond to the changing state and federal laws as well as student needs. The district would continue to manage the system. Consolidate special needs transportation in all Pulaski County Districts. Getting an agreement on this would be a major challenge. Outsource the special needs transportation to another public agency. The local agencies that provide specialized transportation cannot meet the current community demands for services and do not have the resources and equipment to meet the districts transportation needs.Outsourcing Special Needs Transportation System Business Case 4/19/96 7 6. Outsource the special needs transportation to a private concern. This alternative would provide cost containment and more recent equipment. The district would monitor the contract for compliance rather than conduct the day-to-day activities of the system. Recommendation : Action recommended to address the problem: Outsource the special needs transportation system io a private concern. Rationale: The costs of special needs transportation continues to rise. Outsourcing can assist the District in containing the costs. Other factors include a reasonable and predictable fleet replacement, lower driver absenteeism, improved vehicle maintenance , and reduced vehicle accident rate will be realized. These improvements will lead to significantly fewer problems and complaints, as well as establish more stable and reliable special needs transportation system for the future LRSD needs. Objective: Objective of the recommendation: To provide special needs students with a safe, reliable, and cost effective transportation system. Goal support: This recommendation will support the recently adopted strategic plan as follows: Strategy 10 We will develop and implement plans to restore public confidence in the safety and security of our schools. Strategy 8 We will construct a delivery system that allows us to plan and implement individualized educational goals for all LRSD students that does not predetermine or limit options at an early age. The safety of students on special needs buses is one of the major concerns of everyone. Providing appropriate transportation to enable students to access programs identified in each students lEP is a goal of the transportation department.Outsourcing Special Needs Transportation System Business Case 4/19/96 6 Evaluation criteria: 1. 2. The District will successfully defend the transportation system against the current and future lawsuits related to special needs transportation. Driver satisfaction will increase by a reduction in the number of complaints from drivers about the equipment. 3. Buses will be on time. 4. Accidents will decrease. 5. The number of buses out-of-service for repairs will decrease. 6. A schedule for replacement will be strictly followed Expected Benefits: The students will have safe, reliable and appropriate service to meet their needs. Outsourcing will bring stability to the transportation system, costs can be identified and contained, and effective training will be provided to all staff. Impact Analysis: Positives: 1. The District will successfully defend the transportation system against the and future lawsuits related to special needs current 2. Driver satisfaction will increase by a reduction in the number of complaints from drivers about the equipment. 3. Buses will be on time. 4. Accidents will decrease. 5. The number of buses out-of-service for repairs will decrease. 6. A schedule for replacement will be strictly followed. 7. Currently employed drivers/aides will maintain their jobs.I Outsourcing Special Needs Transportation System Business Case 4/19/96 9 Negatives: 1. Current employees may oppose change. 2. Some parents may express concern related to change. 3. At least four long time non-certified administrators will be displaced. Desegregation Plan: This recommendation has no impact on the Desegregation Plan. Court Orders: This recommendation addresses issues raised in the current lawsuit. Political factors: The union will likely oppose efforts to privatize the special needs transportation. Risks: The risk of not implementing this solution is increasing parental complaints, continued driver dissatisfaction, equipment failure, and the lack of the ability to respond to student needs. The risks of implementing this solution are the unfounded presumptions that the costs will be greater than calculated and people will lose their jobs. Transition will strain current management because of the short period of time available when considering the activities associated with the start up of the school year. Timing: It is critical that the decision be made before June 1 so personnel can be notified of the elimination of administrative and other positions. If outsourcing is to be implemented, patrons will need to know when the Board of Directors approves. Awareness must be generated in the community, staff must be notified of the change, and a number of other tasks as noted in the timeline included must be addressed.Outsourcing Special Needs Transportation System Business Case 4/19/96 10 Resources Analysis: Personnel Analysis: No additional costs for personnel are necessary to implement this proposal. Some long time District administrators will be displaced. Financial Analysis: At least $100,000 can be saved from the current proposed transportation budget for 1996-97. There is a real possibility of additional savings depending upon the selected proposal. The old buses can be replaced on a strict schedule which should reduce the number of late buses due to breakdowns. Force Field Analysis: Forces For: Supporters of this proposal include administrators within the District and patrons because of the improved services for students. The Board of Directors and administration of the district are aware of the financial benefits to the district of this solution. Forces Against: Those most opposed to the solution will be bus drivers/aides/monitors who fear losing their jobs and those who fear private sector managing public sector services.I Outsourcing Special Needs Transportation System Business Case 4/19/96 11 Implementation Plan: The following milestones for implementing this proposal are suggested and will be monitored by the Manager of Support Services. _____________________Milestone____________________ 1. Establish a transportation steering committee________ 2. Write request for proposal (RFP)__________________ 3. Steering committee review RFP___________________ 4. RFP mailed to potential contractors _______________ 5. RFP information session for potential contractors 6, Proposals submitted_____________________________ 7, Proposals screened by steering committee___________ 8. Recommended proposal presented to the LRSD Board of Directors for approval______________________ 9. Notice to employees_____________________________ 10. Include this as a budget reduction strategy__________ 11. Recruitment of current employees_________________ 12. Recruitment of new employees___________________ 13  Inventory property______________________________ 14. Finalize contract________________________________ 15. Property transfer and occupancy__________________ 16. Complete initial bus routes_______________________ 17. Retrain current employees_______________________ 18 Notify patrons_________________________________ 19. Begin delivery of replacement equipment___________ 20. Complete driver/aide/monitor orientation and dry runs Date 4/17/96 4/26/96 4/29/96 5/1/96 5/15/96 5/22/96 5/23/96 5/23/96 Person Smith, Neal Neal, Cheatham Committee Neal Neal, Cheatham Contractors Neal Williams 5/24/96 5/24/96 6/4/96 6/4/96 6/26/96 6/27/96 6/30/96 8/8/96 8/1/96 8/1/96 8/12/96 8/16/96 Hurley Milhollen Contractor Contractor Neal Neal, Attorneys Neal, Milhollen Contractor Contractor Vann, Smith Contractor ContractorBUSINESS CASE STAGGERED STARTING TIMESstaggered Start Times Business Case 4/19/96 Staggered Start Times Executive Summary: One of the budget cutting strategies used by many school districts across the United States is staggered opening and closing times. This strategy allows the same bus to pick up and deliver students to several schools instead of just one or two schools. Currently the elementary schools open at 7:50 A.M. and close at 2:35 P.M. and most secondary schools open at either 8:45 A.M. and 8:50 A.M. and close at 3:45 P.M. The intent of this business case is discuss the budget impact of staggering school starting and closing times. The District has limited resources to spend on student transportation. The average number of students per bus run living more than two miles from their assigned school is 43. This is a 66% utilization rate. Some of the vacant seats are used for courtesy stops for students living within two miles of their assigned schools Based on the 1995-96 contract, the average cost per student per day is $1.86. The average cost per student for a year is $331.08 just to go to and from school. There are 11,513 students assigned to regular buses and 2221 students assigned to magnet buses. The goal statement is
To increase the utilization rate of regular buses from 66% to 85% for home to school transportation during the 1996-97 school year. This proposal supports the districts strategic plan in the area of financial stability. The following is a list of criteria to be used to determine if the goal is met: 1. 2. The utilization rate for regular buses will increase to at least 85%. The district budget will be reduced by at least $267,000. The risks of staggering opening/closing times include complaints from parents and staff about the time changes, reduced number of seats available for courtesy stops, and possible student management problems on buses. The risk of not implementing this recommendation is the lost opportunity to reduce the budget by $267,000.Staggered Start Times Business Case 4/19/96 2 The following milestones for implementing this proposal are suggested and will be monitored by the Manager of Support Services. Milestone____________________________ 1. Determine the schedule for staggered starts. 2. Notify principals. 3  Notify public._________________________ 4. Notify parents as students register for school of the official opening and closing times of the school. Date 5-3-96 5-3-96 5-3-96 August 1996 Person Williams Gremillion, Mitchell, Anderson Vann______ Student Assignment, PrincipalsI staggered Start Times Business Case 4/19/96 Background: 3 Current Situation: All Little Rock elementary schools are scheduled to begin at 7:50 A.M. and close at 2:35 P.M. The junior highs are scheduled to begin at 8:45 AM. and close at 3:45 P.M. The senior high schools are scheduled to begin at 8:50 A.M. and close at 3:45 P.M. except for Parkview and Metropolitan. Parkview opens at 8:41 A M. and closes at 3:45 P.M. Metropolitan opens at 8:40 A.M. and closes at 3:27 P.M. with student exchanges scheduled at lunchtime. The average number of students per bus run living more than two miles from their assigned school is 43. This is a 66% utilization rate. Some of the vacant seats are used for courtesy stops for students living within two miles of their assigned schools. Based on the 1995-96 contract, the average cost per student per day is $1.86. The average cost per student for a year is $331.08 just to go to and from school. There are 11,513 students assigned to regular buses and 2221 students assigned to magnet buses. Board policy EEAB states Insofar as educational requirements permit, school schedules will be adjusted to allow maximum utilization of each bus. More buses are required to support the elementary schools than the secondary schools. When there is less than 55 minutes between the opening and closing times of the two runs, it is difficult to match an elementary school with a secondary school for efficiency. During the 1995 -96 school year, Booker and Carver students were scheduled on the same buses. Once the bugs were resolved, this seems to work. If these schools had been routed separately, an additional six buses on the first run would have been required. Background information: When the district annexed the 14 county schools and went to the controlled choice student assignment plan, the transportation department grew to support the changes. A three run system (Each driver/bus had three different runs.) was initiated because of the limited number of buses available and the personnel costs involved in a two run system. As part of the desegregation plan, the district went back to a two run system. Each bus now has an elementary run and a secondary run. In many neighborhoods only one or two students are assigned to any one school and several buses enter the neighborhood. The district regularly receives complaints from patrons concerning the number of buses entering neighborhoods.staggered Start Times Business Case 4/19/96 4 Problem Definition
Problem statement: The District has limited resources to spend on student transportation. Considerations: The number of buses that must be used to transport students to and from home is based on the guidelines, policies, practices and procedures established by the school district. Changes in the current parameters can result in savings or additional costs. The practice of every school having its own buses for regular transportation results in more buses being used than would be used if students from the same or nearby neighborhoods rode the same bus to different schools. Analysis of Alternatives: Process: A committee of drivers and administrators investigated this option during the 1994-95 school year and recommended that the Booker and Carver runs be combined to see if this option was feasible. This pilot reduced the number of buses needed by six. Identification: 1. Change nothing. The cost of student transportation for the 1996-97 will be as reflected in the initial budget. 2. Consolidate runs without changing opening/closing times. This may work with one or two schools but the savings would be limited. This would be a change from current practice. 3. Change opening/closing times and consolidate some runs. This would allow all possible consolidations to be considered. The savings for the District would be at least $267,000 to the proposed budget. Recommendation: Action Recommended: Alternative three should be selected for the 1996-97 school year. The savings of at least $267,000 can help to balance the districts budget.staggered Start Times Business Case 4/19/96 5 Rationale: The spacing of start times would allow students who are going to different schools to ride the same bus to and from the same neighborhood. This recommendation would result in better utilization of the buses. Objective: Objective of the recommendation: To increase the utilization rate of regular buses from 66% to 85% for home to school transportation during the 1996-97 school year. Goal Support: This recommendation will support the recently adopted strategic plan as follows: Strategy 9 We will develop and implement plans to establish financial stability and achieve the strategic objectives of the district. If the cost of student transportation can be reduced by staggering the opening and closing times of schools, then the savings can be used to balance the budget with fewer cuts. Evaluation criteria: 1. The utilization rate for regular buses will increase to at least 85%. 2. The district budget will be reduced by at least $267,000. Expected Benefits: 1. Reduce the number of buses required to transport students. 2. Reduce the number of buses going into one neighborhood. 3. Maintain or reduce number of late buses. 4. Reduce the number of drivers/monitors required.staggered Start Times Business Case 4/19/96 Impact Analysis: 6 Program
Negatives: 1. Fewer students within the two-mile walk zone will be given courtesy stops. 2. Teacher report times at different schools would vary. Teacher assignments between schools would need to be adjusted to be sure that instructional time is not lost. 3. Seat assignments and student behavior would require coordination among various school administrators. Positives
1. Reduce the number of buses required to transport students. 2. Reduce the number of buses going into one neighborhood. 3. Maintain or reduce number of late buses. 4. Reduce the number of drivers/monitors required. Desegregation Plan: There is no impact on the desegregation plan because the transportation system is still a two run system. The staggered time allows more than one school to be served by one bus run. Court Orders: There are no court orders that this recommendation will impact. Political factors: Parents may be concerned about combining students from different schools on the same bus and the change in school times. These concerns can be reduced by keeping everyone informed as the decision is made and implemented. staggered Start Times Business Case 4/19/96 7 Risks: The risks of staggering opening/closing times include complaints from parents and staff about the time changes, reduced number of seats available for courtesy stops, and possible student management problems on buses. The risk of not implementing this recommendation is the lost opportunity to reduce the budget by $267,000. Timing: The parents and staff need to be informed as soon as possible concerning changes in opening and closing time. This decision must be made by July 1 in order for bus routing to be completed by August 1. Resource Analysis: Personnel Analysis: No additional staff is required to implement this recommendation. The opening and closing times are a consideration when staff is shared between buildings. Financial Analysis: The implementation of this recommendation will reduce the transportation budget by $267,000. If this savings is projected over the five years the total will be $1,335,000. Force Field Analysis: Forces For: Patrons who are concerned about the number of buses in the neighborhood, the Advisory Committee for Financial Stability, private day cares that pick up students after school, and the Director of Transportation will support this recommendation because it improves the efficient operations of the fleet. Forces Against: School personnel may be concerned about the change in time and its impact on their personal lives. Some parents may be concerned because students from other schools may be on the bus with their students.staggered Start Times Business Case 4/19/96 8 Implementation Plan: Milestone_________________________ 1. Determine the schedule for staggered starts. 2. Notify principals. 3. Notify public.___________________ 4. Notify parents as students register for school of the official opening and closing times of the school. Date 5-3-96 5-3-96 5-3-96 August 1996 Person Williams Gremillion, Mitchell, Anderson Vann______ Student Assignment, PrincipalsBUSINESS CASE STUDENT ASSIGNMENT RELOCATION1. BUSINESS CASE: STUDENT ASSIGNMENT RELOCATION BACKGROUND - The Student Assignment Office is presently located at the Cashion Building at 501 Sherman. square feet sitting on one (1) acre of land. It is approximately 6,418 This is a newly renovated facility and houses only the offices of the Associate Superintendent for Desegregation and Assignment. Its separate location the from Office all of Student administrative functions lends itself to easy access by parents and students of the Little Rock School District. The location across the street from the new Post Office makes it relatively easy to find within the City. The building lacks for nothing, space is considered adequate to meet the needs of their operation and the building appears to be well maintained. in the parking lot and along side streets. There is adequate parking There is also a small area which can be considered for expansion of this facility should the need arise. 2. PROBLEM DEFINITION - We have been requested to look at the possibility of relocating Student Assignment and selling this building. 3 . ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES There alternatives: 1) are basically two relocate the facility. Leave the facility where it is and 2) (2) to ALTERNATIVE ONE - LEAVE THE FACILITY WHERE IT IS PRESENTLY LOCATED
This building was specifically purchased in 1989 and renovated in 1990 for the purposes of drawing together the functions necessary Portions of that to support the student enrollment program. program were previously located at the Administration Building
however, due to the congestion and large volume of public traffic to enroll students, it was determined that the facility would be relocated. meet the Districts needs. The Cashion Building was purchased and renovated to In addition, we have recently completed The image of a computer wiring project to update student services. the Cashion Building and the location of Student Assignment presents a very positive image of the Little Rock School District      ' ' With with new parents enrolling their students in our program, regard to selling the building, there are no guarantees that the building will sell at a cost that would be beneficial to the Little Our estimated renovation $550,000 dollars Rock School District. for that building, which included the purchase of the building and surrounding lands, means that we would have to sell the building for over $500,000 dollars just to recoup our original cost in 1990. Allowing for depreciation of the building, it is estimated that the $500,000 could be reduced to approximately $400,000 dollars but, I do not believe that this would be supported by any appraisal.To move Student Assignment and Desegregation without any long range plan to put them in a location that would better meet their operational needs is not a prudent consideration. However, it is considered an alternative for the purposes of this Business Case. ALTERNATIVE TWO RELOCATION: Determining the requirements of Student Assignments and their subsequent location within the City can began immediately if it is the desire to relocate that office. However, if the intended purpose is simply to relocate the Student Assignment Office in hopes of selling the facility for profit to subsidize our budget, without any thought whatsoever towards the cost incurred with relocating the facility, you can not present a true picture or viably weight the alternatives. time, since no At this point in requirements have been compiled with regard to Student Assignment and Desegregation and no preliminary plans have been made as to where this facility would relocate other than the possibility of a vacated school, it is difficult to make a cost comparison. 4. RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that Student Assignment and the Office of Desegregation stay where they are presently located in the Cashion Building on Sherman Street. 5. OBJECTIVE
financial one. The objective of this recommendation is purely a Because the new location is not known, the cost to relocate Student Assignments can not be determined at this time. Although, it is conceived that the relocation and renovation costs would, hopefully, not exceed the appraised or purchase price of that building, some cost savings could be realized
however, it can not be accurately determined. Assignment to present a very positive image. Because of the need of Student its location is essential to the overall academic programs of the Little Rock School District. 6. IMPACT ANALYSIS
The most important concern should be the impact of the general educational program and the ability of the District to present a positive image to the public, our need to continue on a year round basis. with minimal interruption. our recruiting program and our requirement to meet the needs of the parents to enroll their children. Though it is possible to relocate Student Assignment should the decision be made, these are the impacts that must be weighed carefully. 7. RESOURCE ANALYSIS
staff due to relocation. It will, of course, be an impact on the It can not be ascertained whether the long term operational cost of a relocation would be more or less than the present costs that are presently incurred. true picture of the resources necessary recommendation to relocate is not available. to Therefore, a support the8. FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS
A force field analysis has not been made
however, it can be assumed that some people will object to relocating Student Assignment for the sake of relocating them so that the building can be sold. overcome by placing them. if possible. But, hopefully, that could be in a location which is better suited for the overall needs of the School District. 9. GENERAL IMPLEMENTATION
If a decision is made to relocate Adult Education, occur this year. it would be further recommended that this not With the present turmoil that is expected this summer due to relocations of administrative and support staff, the additional move of the Student Assignment Office would have to be weighed carefully against the benefits. dce/apl/bcasesarBUSINESS CASE TRUANCY REDUCTIONBusiness Case Truancy Reduction Center Program Executive Summary The LRSD Truancy Reduction Program opened for operation on November 1, 1993. Advocacy for the implementation of a collaborative approach to school truancy reduction a group of concerned citizens composed of community leaders, youth services arose from This group agency representatives, the LRPD and LRSD officials. developed a proposal that would take advantage of permissive legislation (Act 867 of 1989) that authorized school districts to partner with the local police department in implementing a joint truancy reduction plan. The collaborative, working with the LRSD Assistant Superintendent for secondary schools and the director of Pupil Services presented a proposal to the LRSD Board of Directors for its review and Approval was granted by the Board to A staff of three paid employees and a approval on October 28,1993. open the Center forthwith. pool of volunteers has operated the Truancy Reduction Center since its beginning in November, 1993. Effective January 4, 1994 the city of Little Rock passed nocturnal curfew ordinance restricting the presence of minors a on the streets. in public places or to be in or operate a vehicle between the hours of 10:00 p.m. & 5:00 a.m. Sunday through Thursday or between 12:00 midnight & 5:00 a.m. Friday and Saturday. This Ordinance, number 16825, was amended January 3, 1995 to add a curfew for minors during normal school hours from 9:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Passage and enforcement of this ordinance has had a significant impact in reducing the number of children and youth being picked up for truancy this school year. Consequently, the need to continue to maintain the Truancy Center has been reduced. A. Background Prior to the amendment of the curfew ordinance effective January rise. 17, 1995, the number of truants being picked-up by the LRPD and processed through the LRSD Truancy Reduction Center continued to The daytime curfew that makes it unlawful for school age children & youth to be on the streets or other public places during school hours has effectively reduced the number of youth being found on the streets between 9:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. During its first year of operation, the Truancy Reduction Center processed 460 The Center staff saw a 21% increase during the truant students. 1994-95 school year with 580 truant students being brought to the Center. However, with the passage of Ordinance number 16564 as amended in January, 1995, fewer & fewer students are being found on thestreets during school hours. During the first semester of the 1995-96 school year, the number of truants picked up dropped to 113 students. When compared with the first semester of the 1994-95 school year, we have had a 26% decrease in the number of truants processed. Because of the success of the curfew in reducing the presence of truants in public places during school hours, the need to operate a fully staffed Truancy Center has been eliminated. B. Problem Definition Three full time staff and a pool of volunteers have effectively and efficiently operated the Truancy Center since it opened on November 1, 1993, school aged students in January, With the enactment of the daytime curfew law for 1995, the average number of students processed has dropped to between five and six youngsters per week. With an annual budget of $45,915.26. and the dwindling number of students being processed, the operation is no longer cost effective. Because of the need to cut the District's operational expenses, a more cost effective method for achieving our goal of reducing truancy is needed. Three alternatives were considered. The first one is to reduce staff by 50% and reassign supervision of the Center to the Director of Safety & Security, alternative is to continue the Center's operation as is. The second The third alternative is to eliminate all paid staff and have truant students who are picked up by the police delivered directly to the schools to which they are assigned. This alternative would eliminate the need for a paid staff and the overhead for the operation of a central processing point. The local schools would be responsible for receiving truants. processing them, contacting parents and providing the required follow-up. C. Analysis of Alternatives 1. Alternative one would maintain the Center's operation with fewer budgeted positions. Personnel would include a secretary and one Truancy investigator. The coordinator's position, would be eliminated and those functions transferred to the Director of Safety & Security. Estimated costs for this option are as follows: Personnel FTE Salary/cost Truancy Officer 15,500.00 Secretary 9,000.00 (2) 1 1I Supplies Office Supplies & Copy machine use II Vehicle Expenses Gas, oil, maintenance 1,500 1,500 Total Cost $27,500.00 I j I 2. Alternative two would maintain the current three budgeted positions and operating budget as shown below: Personnel (Including Fringes) FTE Salary/cost Truancy Center Coordinator $26,405.00 Security Guard 17,004.00 Bus Driver 10,000.00 Sub-Total 53,409.00 Purchased Services Materials & Supplies 900.00 Copier Rental 133.00 Telephone Service 4 lines @ $150.00 ea (installation fee one time charge) 600.00 Wiring/Jacks- Harper 606.00 Recurring Yearly Charges 7/1 to 9/30 (3 months) 23.50 X 4 lines 94.00 X 3 months 94.00 284.00 10/1 to 6/30 (9 months) 10.85 X 4 lines 43.40 X 9 months 43.40 390.00 Sub Total 2,913.00 Annual Cost 56,322.00 (3) 1 1 I I I I 1 Clearly, in view of the District's need to reduce operational costs, with personnel costs driving around 75-80% of the total District budget, consideration of eliminating or restructuring the program to achieve its goals at a lowered financial burden is within the Districts' long-term best interest. To maintain the status quo is not a fiscally responsible option at this time. 3. Alternative three would continue the collaboration with the LRPD up but operate without having centralized processing point with paid staff. in picking students, The truants would be taken directly to the assigned schools by the police officer and turned over to a building administrator. A copy of the release form would be sent to Pupil Services as a way to continue to track truants being picked up. Each local school would be responsible for scheduling and documenting the follow-up parent conferences. This arrangement would eliminate all operational expenses, personnel or otherwise, while maintaining a commitment to truancy reduction. a Recommended changes would become effective with the beginning of the 1996-97 school year. D. Recommendation as cutting measure. It is recommended that alternative three be adopted as a cost _ This recommendation is cost efficient since no budgetary expenditures are required. E. Objectives 1. To implement a cost effective procedure for compliance with Arkansas compulsory attendance laws. To reduce personnel and operational expenditures for Truancy Reduction by eliminating manpower intensive operation. 2 . F. Impact Analysis IMS Since the partnership with the LRPD in truancy prevention will be continued and the only change is in the reduction of operational expenses, no negative impact is foreseen. A final decision of the Center's operation should be made in a timely manner so as to notify staff within contract negotiated timelines. Political Factors Closure of the Center may be perceived by commitment to truancy reduction. some as a lesse
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