In an age of increased accountability and reduced budgets, school districts are under great pressure to balance the diverse needs of their students and staff with limited financial resources. Looming fiscal challenges with the increase of pension costs and medical premiums have made it even more important for school districts to reduce costs and optimize the use of currently available resources. Districts that automate key processes and increase operational efficiency will realize fiscal savings that will offset the rising cost and could be repurposed toward mission-critical projects. Attendees will learn how to: Identify opportunities for cost reduction How can school districts reduce operational costs while avoiding layoffs? It's possible. But the answer requires first identifying all the hidden cost centers within your institution. Create operational efficiency and do more with less From streamlining hiring practices to managing purchasing more efficiently, there are tremendous cost savings to be made by optimizing your existing system processes. Prepare for the future while managing the present Join us for a presentation and discussion on how to best prepare for the future fiscal challenges while addressing the immediate financial needs of your school district. Your Presenter: Gabe Soumakian is principal consultant at Soup Du Jour Consulting. He is a former superintendent at Oxnard Union High School District, and prior to that served as an assistant superintendent of human resources in the Burbank Unified School District. He is involved and presents regularly with leading associations, including AASA, ACSA, CSBA and CALSA.

1. Cost reduction optimization
strategies in times of fiscal
challenges
Gabe Soumakian, retired superintendent,
Oxnard Union High School District
© 2017 Informed K12

2. Agenda
● Introduction
● What is Informed K12?
● Why are we here today?
● Cost reduction optimization strategies
in times of fiscal challenges
○ Reducing personnel costs
○ Budget beyond personnel
○ Budget development process
○ Automation and systems alignment
○ Benefits of leveraging analytics
● Q & A

3. What is Informed K12?

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5. We’re on a mission to help school district administrators improve
operational efficiency and gain insight into their most critical processes.
Our goal is to improve productivity, accountability and equity by helping
you unlock the potential of your paper forms.
Our platform enables school districts to bring their paper-based processes
online, track those processes and unlock the data currently trapped on
paper forms. This allows them to eliminate waste, operate more efficiently
and make better decisions.
Unlock the potential of your district
WHY ARE WE HERE?

6. An easy-to-use workflow
automation solution for school
business, HR and student
services professionals that
allows you to:
● Digitize forms
● Route approvals
● Track progress
THE SOLUTION
Our Technology

7. Get the right teachers in the right
classrooms. Deliver excellent
service with a focus on people not
paperwork:
● Personnel requisitions
● Onboarding packets
● Leave requests
Improve resource allocation,
streamline processes, boost
productivity:
● Purchase orders
● Reimbursement
● Travel requests
Free teachers and staff to do their
jobs. Watch engagement and
satisfaction rise:
● Permission slips
● Student handbooks
● Acceptable use policies
Business & finance Human resources Student services

8. Are fiscal resources going
where they’re needed most?

9. Are we hiring the right staff
with the right skill sets?

10. Where are the bottlenecks in
our approval processes?

11. See where resources are going,
where approvals are being held
up and just how long things are
taking. Use these insights to boost
efficiency throughout your district.
Capture data accurately,
automate workflows, streamline
and standardize processes, and
communicate seamlessly across
departments and the district.
Get a clear picture so resources
are distributed in a fair and
equitable way. Ensure teachers,
supplies and facilities are going
where they are needed most.
Productivity Accountability Equity
THE CONSEQUENCES OF OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY
Imagine a world where you’re not chasing paper

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13. Why are we here today?

14. In many ways, district-level processes have
the greatest impact on student outputs
and outcomes. Districts control hiring,
placements, and professional
development processes.”
“A New Vision for School Accountability”, Center for American Progress
WHY ARE WE HERE TODAY?

15. Uncertain times for school funding
WHY ARE WE HERE TODAY?

16. Meet Gabe Soumakian.
Gabe Soumakian, Ed.D. is principal at Soup du Jour
Consulting and retired superintendent at Oxnard
Union High School District in Ventura County,
California.
Prior to serving as a superintendent at Oxnard
Union, he was an assistant superintendent of
human resources at Burbank USD. He has nearly
40 years of experience as an educator and speaks
regularly at industry events, such as AASA, ACSA
and CALSA to name a few.

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18. Cost reduction optimization strategies in
times of fiscal challenges

19. The problems districts need to address
COST REDUCTION & OPTIMIZATION STRATEGIES IN TIMES OF FISCAL CHALLENGES
● Managing local funding formulas (eg. ESSA, in
California: LCAP and LCFF).
● Addressing flat or declining revenue sources.
● Responsible allocation of existing resources and
sharing resources.
● Managing workers compensation and leaves.
What are we dealing with now?
● Managing student enrollment to determine
staffing allocation.
● Managing position control to ensure adequate
staffing and avoid overstaffing.
● Increase district contributions to STRS/PERS.
● Increase in medical premiums.
What does the future have in store?

20. Reducing personnel costs
COST REDUCTION & OPTIMIZATION STRATEGIES IN TIMES OF FISCAL CHALLENGES
The challenges
Rethink reduction of force by looking at
how work gets done:
● A strong position control system
is critical.
● Improve accuracy of enrollment
projections.
● Managing excessive teacher
absences, sub desk and sub
shortages.
● Managing leaves and workers
compensation.
● Look at creative scheduling...
Teacher attrition makes it
difficult to plan ahead.
High-cost of professional
development.
Inaccurate enrollment
projections make hiring a
gamble.
Special ed increases: Due
process, litigation,
compliance systems,
professional development.
The facts How do we address it?
Personnel cost
are between 85%
to 90% and most
districts look to
personnel first to
reduce cost.

21. National Implications on Healthcare
COST REDUCTION & OPTIMIZATION STRATEGIES IN TIMES OF FISCAL CHALLENGES

22. California STRS Rate Increases
COST REDUCTION & OPTIMIZATION STRATEGIES IN TIMES OF FISCAL CHALLENGES
Year Employer Employees
hired before
January 2013
Employees
hired after
January 2013
2016-2017 12.58% 10.25% 9.205%
2017-2018 14.43% 10.25% 9.205%
2018-2019 16.28% 10.25% 9.205%
2019-2020 18.13% 10.25% 9.205%
2020-2021 19.10% 10.25% 9.205%
• Employer rates increase
to 14.43% in 2017-18
• Employer rates will
increase to 19.1% in
2020-2021

23. What about non-personnel
costs?

24. $6 billion
Energy costs account for 2.2% of school district spending
annually, more than schools spend on textbooks and
computers combined.
Source: USDOE

25. $3,500
Monthly cost of using paper at a school of approximately 1,000.
That’s $42,000 a year!

26. Reduce budget beyond personnel
● Leveraging data and analytics to identify greatest cost expenditures
● Instituting behavioral management practices...turn off the lights!
● Streamlining your procurement and purchasing processes.
● Just-in-time deliveries vs. managing a large warehouse.
● Efficient IT systems design and deployment of technology.
● Going to paperless or near paperless learning environments:
○ Reducing print costs
○ Implementing digital learning solutions
○ Reducing textbook expenditures
COST REDUCTION & OPTIMIZATION STRATEGIES IN TIMES OF FISCAL CHALLENGES

27. Budget development processes
COST REDUCTION & OPTIMIZATION STRATEGIES IN TIMES OF FISCAL CHALLENGES
• Most districts simply roll over their
budgets…rather than starting with a zero
budgeting process.
• Periodic Cabinet Review of major expenses at
site and district office
• Maintain a strong budget reserve to prevent
from going Qualified or Negative Certification.
FIXING EXISTING PLANNING
• In California the Local Control Accountability
Plan (LCAP) has driven the new Local Control
Funding Formula(LCFF).
• This process should drive help districts
rethink how to redesign their goals and
priorities.
• Unduplicated Student Count impacts LCFF
Revenue Calculations
• Not all districts are funded the same
based on student demographics
CONSIDERING LOCAL IMPACT

28. Automation and systems alignment
COST REDUCTION & OPTIMIZATION STRATEGIES IN TIMES OF FISCAL CHALLENGES
• Conduct a business services and operations
efficiency study.
• Identify areas to reduce expense and
eliminating unnecessary spending in budgets
you can control.
• Understanding the processes, resources, and
the flow of funds.
• Assess the current state of business services
and operational/facilities processes.
• Implement System Analytics to Manage
Funding Stream
PROCESS OPTIMIZATION

29. Benefits of designing analytics systems
COST REDUCTION & OPTIMIZATION STRATEGIES IN TIMES OF FISCAL CHALLENGES
• Increase of productivity results substantial
cost savings.
• Dive deeper into the data to Improve
Operational Efficiency through Automation.
• Thinking about going paperless
• Automate Complex Workflows
• Track Resources Across the District
• Insight into resources allocation to determine
where funding is going to address needs of
your LCAP.
MEASUREMENT & IMPROVEMENT

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31. Questions?

32. Questions?
COST REDUCTION & OPTIMIZATION STRATEGIES IN TIMES OF FISCAL CHALLENGES
Sup Du Jour Consulting Group
GabeSoumakian@SupDuJour.com
www.SupDuJour.com
Gabe Soumakian, Ed.D.
Visit InformedK12.com for more information like this.
Additional resources:
• FCMAT: Fiscal Health Risk Analysis
• http://fcmat.org/wp-content/upload
s/sites/4/2015/10/Fiscal-Health-Risk-A
nalysis-K-12-10-2015-final.pdf
• Strategies for Cost Containment
• https://webspm.com/articles/2016/03
/01/cost-containment.aspx
WANT TO LEARN MORE?

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