1. Leaving the One Room Schoolhouse:
Tips for Effective Next Generation Fiscal Leadership
Earl P. Burke, MBA, CPPA, CSBA
Assistant Superintendent for Business Services and Operations
Chief Financial Officer
Hinds County School District

2. Comparatively Speaking
October 2014 4

3. When the rate of change on the
outside of your organization is
greater than the rate of change on
the inside, the end is in sight.
Jack Welch
(Chairman & CEO General Electric)
October 2014 5
Competitive Warnings

4. Whatever made you successful in the
past won’t necessarily make you
successful in the future.
Lew Platt
(Chairman, President & CEO, Hewlett-Packard)
October 2014 6
Competitive Warnings

5. October 2014 7

6. Our Mission Brief
• Difficult funding environment is forcing new strategies
• Common conditions or situations across districts; but
school districts are unique in ability to respond
• Failure to assess potential pitfalls, harms or dooms
fiscal strategy
• Controlling non-instructional costs is only one strategy
• Necessary decisions can be emotional, so it is critical
to identify district “culture resistance”
• Adopting a reliable approach for identifying, raising
and anticipating issues
• Beware lack of clarity in Board and Administration
roles can lead to confusion
October 2014 8

7. October 2014 9

8. Leader Needs
Strategic Vision: ‘The ability to look ahead’
Peripheral Vision: ‘The ability to look around’
Carly Fiorina
(CEO Hewlett-Packard from 1999 to 2005)
October 2014 10

9. 11
Seven Tips to Next Generation Fiscal
Leadership
11October 2014
1. Embrace the Fiscal challenge
2. Drive Fiscal Change by Challenging Status Quo
3. Shape Your Fiscal Culture
4. Connect to Fiscal Learning Communities
5. Decide & Systematize Fiscal Direction
6. Align Fiscal Expectations and Test Endurance
7. Demand Fiscal Accountability

10. Tip 1:
Embrace Fiscal Challenges
October 2014 12

11. Understand Objectives
• Basis of successful fiscal strategy
• Obvious and most critical objective:
• Increase resources for core educational mission
• Other objectives:
• Achieve cost savings
• Ease pressure of large cash outlays
• Deliver better support services
• Overcome lack of planning and fiscal discipline
• Capitalize on new external technologies, best practices,
and innovations
October 2014 13

12. Ask Yourself
• What are your district’s
specific fiscal
challenges?
• Do assumptions keep
you from seeing the
possibilities?
October 2014 14

13. Take This Challenge!
Draw a circle.
October 2014 15

14. Take This Challenge!
October 2014 16

15. Take This Challenge!
Now fill the circle as fast
as you can!
October 2014 17

16. Take This Challenge!
October 2014 18

17. Take This Challenge!
October 2014 19

18. Take This Challenge!
October 2014 20

19. The assumptions you make
about the challenge you face
will affect the quality of the
solution.
Embrace the Fiscal Challenge
October 2014 21

20. 22
Identify Your Challenges
Leaving the one room schoolhouse requires us to think
outside the box and …
October 2014
Knowledge — Access to intellectual
property and wider experience and
knowledge.
Operational expertise, best
practices — Access to
operational best practices
that would be too difficult or
time consuming to develop
in-house.
Contract — Services will be provided based
on a legally binding contract with financial
penalties and legal redress; not the case
with internal services.
Access to talent — Access to a larger
talent pool and a sustainable source of
skills, in particular in technology and legal.
…drives us to change.

21. 23
• Student transportation services;
Buses
• Custodial services
• Building and grounds
maintenance services
• Child nutrition services
• Trade services – electrician,
carpenter, HVAC, etc.
• Auditing services
• Civil Engineering Services
• Waste Water Management
October 2014
• Investment services
• Legal services; Board attorney,
Bond attorney
• Architectural services
• Technology services
• Substitute Teachers
• Hiring Services
• Professional Development
Services
Outside the Box!!!

22. The attitude of a leader is
contagious and will infect
everyone around him or her.
Embrace the Fiscal Challenge
October 2014 24

23. Tip 2:
Drive Change by Challenging Status Quo
October 2014 25

24. Seven Words That Derail Change
“But we’ve always done it that
way!”
October 2014 26

25. Insanity is doing the
same thing over and
over and expecting
a different result.
-Albert Einstein
October 2014 27

26. Understand Environment
October 2014 28
• Once challenges are accepted and
objectives are identified, assess your
environment.
• You must anticipate critical issues
that can be raised by stakeholder
groups
• Consider carefully local conditions
that will support or create obstacles

27. Effecting Change
• Changing bad fiscal habits can not be achieved by a one-
size-fits-all strategy.
• At a minimum, review and determine the following:
• Economics – What’s going on around you?
• Politics – Who is with you or against you?
• Organizational Ability – Is your District ready?
• Institutional Concerns – What legal, policy, procedure and
resource hurdles exist?
October 2014 29

28. “You can’t talk your way out of
problems that you behaved
your way into.”
-Stephen Covey
October 2014 30
Effecting Change

29. 31
Reject Status Quo
Leaving the one room schoolhouse requires us to reject status
quo factors and …
October 2014
Organizational Ability – Consider
organizational environment by assessing
internal capacity to support needed change
Is staff supportive?
Politics — Don’t underestimate.
Internal and external political
environments should be assessed
Board composition and its
predisposition toward supporting
change
General sentiment toward District in
the community
Demographics and socioeconomic
characteristics of District
Politics can slow change
Push through!
Institutional Hurdles – Does law and regulation
favor? Does the District have authority to
change? Are there limits on the authority?
Economics — Provide drive. Declining fund balances, State
funding reductions, Declining enrollment, No fiscal discipline,
Need for significant, but unaffordable capital outlays.
…seek solutions that
reshape our internal
culture!

30. Words of wisdom from a
farmer, when describing
the need for change:
If the horse you’re riding
dies…
get off!
October 2014 32
Overcoming Status Quo

31. “Molasses Points” in Your District
(Things that slow down change):
•Find ‘em!
•Fix ‘em!
October 2014 33
Overcoming Status Quo

32. There’s no limit to what
can be accomplished if
you don’t care who
gets the credit.
October 2014 34
Overcoming Status Quo

33. An Interesting Definition:
“Bureaucracy is energy
converted to mass.”
October 2014 35
Overcoming Status Quo

34. Nothing ever gets done
until there’s a
“Maniac on a Mission.”
October 2014 36
Overcoming Status Quo

35. Tip 3:
Shape the culture
October 2014 37

36. • Innovative leaders…
• Must create a culture of risk, change, and
critical and creative thinking,
• Must think for themselves,
• Question the rules, and manage on
principles,
• Open their minds to different ideas.
• Ask hard questions and expect their staff to
grapple with the questions alongside them.
October 2014 38
Shape the culture

37. Difference Between Management and
Leadership
• Management: Authority to tell
people what to do
• Leadership: Ability to get them
to want to do it
October 2014 39

38. Basic Management Styles:
October 2014 40

39. Dysfunctional Fiscal Culture
• Indecision
“I don’t care what the decision is, just make one!”
• Inconsistency
“Put a thermometer on your office door so we
know if you’re running hot or cold today”
• Re-active vs. Pro-Active Management
“It’s like the boss is playing Whack-a-Mole, sitting
around waiting for some problems to pop up”
October 2014 41

40. Functional Fiscal Culture
October 2014 42
• Clear expectations
• “I know what is expected of me.”
• Autonomy
• “I have the opportunity to do what I do best.”
• Appreciated and Respected
• “My opinions seem to count.”
• Collaborative workplace
• “My fellow employees are committed to
quality work.”

41. October 2014 43

42. 44
Shape Culture
Leaving the one room schoolhouse will require leaders to face
uncomfortable internal culture issues and …
October 2014
Hard Questions – Asking a difficult
question, regardless of the setting, can be
a tense moment. When it comes to asking
the tough questions, there are a few things
you should do to be prepared before you
start talking.
Change — Change isn't necessarily
good or bad; it just is. We impose
value judgments on change after the
fact, and such judgments are
relative. If a change opens
possibilities and gives new ways of
approaching goals, then that change
is good — for the person who sees
the opportunities. If change prevents
someone's efforts to pursue goals,
then it will seem bad. In fact, one
person can see a change as positive,
while a neighbor swears that it's the
scourge of the earth.
Teamwork – An important part of workplace
culture. An efficient team helps each other
maximize performance, and help to make an
inviting and productive atmosphere.
Risk — The huge jump between what you should do and
what you will do? One can only think of the possibilities!
…require a new level
of fiscal knowledge!

43. Behavior Buzz Words You Should Know
October 2014 45

44. Blamestorming
When employees get together after a
project fails to look for a scapegoat
October 2014 46

45. BMW’s
B#@$%^%s, Moaners and Whiners
October 2014 47

46. Adminisphere
Any school meeting where big, impractical
and expensive decisions are made
October 2014 48

47. Bobble heading
The mass nodding of agreement by
employees, even when the idea is a really
bad idea
October 2014 49

48.  N.O.P.E.
 B.A.N.A.N.A.
 C.A.V.E.
 S.C.U.M.M.I.
Groups in Any School District, MS:
Not On Planet Earth
Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything
Citizens Against Virtually Everything
Socially Concerned Until My Money’s Involved
October 2014 50

49. Tip 4:
Connect to Fiscal Learning Community
October 2014 51

50. Get On The Same Page
October 2014 52
• In order to be successful, it is critical to
understand the financial nuts and bolts
• Superintendents and Business Managers
must speak the same language
• Expand knowledge
• Build credibility and trust

51. Expand Financial Literacy
October 2014 53

52. Remain Open to New Ideas
October 2014 54

53. Consult External Experts
October 2014 55

54. Professional Organizations
October 2014 56

55. 57
Leaving the one room schoolhouse will require leaders to expand
their fiscal knowledge community if they hope to…
October 2014
Identify Opportunities – Whether you’re
looking or not. We’ve all heard the old
adage, “It’s not what you know, but who
you know.” Experts can put you in direct
contact with knowledge.
Enhance & Grow
Knowledge —Meeting and
carrying on conversations
with new people has given
countless opportunities to
increase knowledge.
Share Results – Every endeavor may not net
success, but having a community of support,
can take a failure and turn it around.
Assess Best Practices — Often focuses on sharing some
type of industry best-practice. Great way to learn what others
are doing and using.
…determine and
systemize a fiscal
direction!
Connect to Fiscal Learning Community

56. Tip 5:
Decide Fiscal Direction and Systematize
October 2014 58

57. Decide Fiscal Goals
• Innovative leaders create a
blueprint of principles,
strategies, approaches and
resources.
• Then they get out of the way
and let their staff figure out the
details.
• The overall goals guide the
innovative leaders direction.
October 2014 59

58. • State exactly what is to be done with the
money involvedSpecific
• Write the exact dollar amount the goal is
forMeasurable
• Determine how it can be reached, which
is often determined by the budgetAttainable
• Do not set goal for something
unattainable or unrealisticRealistic
• Specifically state when the goal needs
to be reachedTime Bound
Decide Fiscal Goals
October 2014 60

59. Communicate and answer the
strategic how’s.
Choose among strategic
alternatives.
Promote and reward actions that
support the end goal.
Foster a collaborative team effort
that involves everyone at all
levels.
2–61
Systemize Fiscal Goals
October 2014 61

60. Executing The Plan
• Converting plans into
actions requires:
• Directing school district
action.
• Motivating people.
• Building and strengthening
competencies at all levels
of the school district.
• Creating and nurturing a
supportive work climate.
• Rewarding or correcting
efforts to meet
performance targets.
2–62
October 2014 62

61. 63
Staff have Roles in the Process
Administrative Staff
• Plan and manage fiscal performance
• Communicate district and school goals to
staff. Guide staff expectations to align
with broader organizational goals
• Foster a work environment that
encourages active staff participation
• Provide regular, clear, constructive
feedback
• Monitor fiscal performance throughout
the year
• Devote the time and effort needed to
plan and evaluate performance, and
support staff
• Help guide and coach staff in their
professional development
Employees
• Understand how performance expectations
align with goals, and participate actively in
setting expectations
• Be open to feedback and take it to heart to
improve performance and/or remain on
track
• Monitor own performance compared to
expectations. Seek advice and guidance as
needed from their supervisor
• Participate actively in the performance
evaluation
• Be open and honest about fiscal
performance
October 2014 63

62. 64
Leaving the one room schoolhouse will require leaders to
establish district-wide goals and systems that…
October 2014
Build Competence – Canned tools and
processes often fail as they do not provide
ownership and fail to account for different
cultures, climates, and nuances found in
every school district. System change must
involve the individuals effected in the
development and implementation of a new
process.
Motivate — Positive motivation in
practice should improve productivity,
quality, and service. It helps
employees: achieve goals; gain a
positive perspective; create the
power to change; build self-esteem
and capability, manage their own
development and help others with
theirs.
Nurturing Climate – "It isn't a question of who
is in charge but rather what is the best way to
resolve issues and accomplish the goal."
Direct Action — Required to reveal an existing problem,
highlight an alternative, or demonstrate a possible solution to a
direct issue.
…will realign fiscal
expectations and try
fiscal resolution!
Decide Fiscal Direction and Systematize

63. “See the ship through the
eyes of the crew.”
Michael Abrashoff
Naval Commander
(As quoted in Fast Company)
October 2014 65

64. Tip 6:
Align Expectations and Test Endurance
October 2014 66

65. High Expectations
• Innovative leaders must
build the capacity for
continued and lasting fiscal
success by laying a solid
infrastructure of high
expectations.
• Without high expectations
for financial success,
you’re not going to be able
to orchestrate a lot of the
things that you want to
accomplish.
October 2014 67

66. Aligning Expectations
October 2014 68
• Board of Education
• Administration
• Staff members
• Students and parents
• Community and business
partnerships

67. Aligning Expectations
• Board of Education
• Awareness of cost, quality, and staff
implications of new fiscal direction
• Awareness of board policies or
guidelines
• Awareness of the political and
regulatory impact
October 2014 69
Best Practice
You should know
whether your board is
protective of certain
employees that would be
effected.
Be prepared to talk about
attrition vs.
terminations.
Be prepared to talk phase
in vs. immediate.
Remember that
contracting is not about
winning an argument or
fight. It’s ultimately
about freeing up
resources for our core
mission.

68. Aligning Expectations
• Administration
• New or modified procedures as a result of
• New reporting structures and requirements
for administrators
• Discuss and plan with administrators before
implementation.
• Staff members
• Advise affected staff members up front
about transitions
• Discuss opportunities and timing
• Staff not directly affected should be made
aware of potential new or changed duties
• Other staff can be valuable sources of
feedback
October 2014 70
Things to Point Out!
Contracting
Transportation can get
assistant principal back
in the instructional
leadership of the
building and out of the
bus operation business.
Contracting substitutes
instead of hiring
reduces the work on
principals to find
substitutes.
Contracting HVAC
improves the quality of
equipment service and
reduce need for district
paid HVAC
maintenance personnel.

69. Aligning Expectations
• Students and parents
• Should be notified before the
transition when necessary
• Students and parents can also
provide valuable feedback on
performance
• Community and business
partnerships
• Awareness of how the fiscal policy
will effect community
• Awareness of how fiscal changes will
be integrated into the school district
and the wider community
October 2014 71
Things to Point Out!
Contracting companies
typically do a better job
of anticipating parent
and student
communication needs.
Contracting companies
can represent a new
source of tax revenue
into a district.
Contracting companies
feel a tremendous
responsibility to be
involved in the district
as well as the wider
community.

70. 72
Leaving the one room schoolhouse will require leaders to
establish clear, long lasting expectations that …
October 2014
How and What – How work gets
accomplished is as important as what gets
accomplished.
Engaging — Should be an ongoing
process of setting expectations,
executing plans and evaluating
results. Engagement is increased
when people are involved in planning
the work.
Feedback – Regular, honest feedback
increases understanding and positive
performance.
Explicit and Mutual — Should be an ongoing process of
setting expectations, executing plans and evaluating results.
…support
stakeholder demands
for accountability.
Align Expectations and Test Endurance

71. All success is built upon
exceeding expectations.
October 2014 73

72. Tip 7:
Demand Accountability
October 2014 74

73. • Fiscal Leaders will face increased
demands for accountability.
• Fiscal accountability systems should
include strategies and systems that
hold everyone accountable for
success, starting with the board of
education and ending with the teacher
in the classroom.
• These systems must recognize
success while also enforcing
consequences and providing support.
October 2014 75
Accountability

74. • Innovative leaders delegate
responsibility but put
accountability in place.
• “The people that we have in our
system right now are capable of
doing the kind of innovation we
want to happen. Many of them
just don’t have the opportunity.”
• We as innovative leaders need
to give them that opportunity.
October 2014 76
Accountability

75. So You Want to Control the Money
• Control begins with the board
setting clear fiscal policy that
directs future behavior of the
board and its administration.
(Principal)
• Control is furthered by the
administration, who then carries
out policy, establishes
procedures for operations, and
makes decisions in line with
policy. (Agent)
Fiduciary
Responsibility
 Financial
Oversight
 Oversee the
operating budget
to protect
resources
 Hold district staff
accountable for
budget
management
 Ensure that
necessary
financial policies
are in place to
prevent fraud,
waste and
misappropriation
October 2014 77

76. What about…We are the School Board…You are the
Administration; therefore, you must do it our way, right?
• School Board (Principal) is the owner of
resources.
• Administration (Agent) is hired and given
a certain stewardship over the
resources.
• This arrangement will usually be based
on a contract imperfectly describing
future contingencies.
• Post-contractual behavior of the agent
must be either monitored or properly
motivated.
• This relationship will be good or strained
based on the objectives of each party.
October 2014 78

77. Causes of Strain on Financial Policy Control
• Operations
• Changes Day-to-day
• Handled according to established policies and
procedures
• Procedures
• Developed to address routine actions that occur
regularly
• May not be flexible enough to deal with non-
routine occurrences
• Decisions
• Actions taken in response to immediate issues
or concerns
• Subject to intent or circumstances
• May or may not be addressed in policy
79
October 2014

78. Outcomes of Strains on Financial Policy
• Rewards Administration (raises,
contract, etc.)
• Remains happy with current
transparency levels
• Respects role boundaries
• Trust is fostered
• Develops less restrictive policies
• Increases decision-making authority
80
October 2014
• Administration (agent) generates positive results -
School Board (owner) reacts positively.

79. Outcomes of Strains on Financial Policy
• Withholds rewards
• Calls for increase transparency
• Micromanagement
• Lack of trust
• Development of stifling policies
• Reduces Decision-making
authority
• Pursues change of administration
81
October 2014
• Administration (agent) generates negative results - School
Board (owner) reacts negatively.

80. Avoiding Potential P-A Problems
• Principal and Agent should be
clear on fiscal policy objectives
and direction.
• Understand your role
• Provide regular, clear,
constructive feedback
• Monitor performance throughout
the year
• Be courageous enough to ask
probing questions and to follow
up for answers
• Commit to safeguarding
resources
82
October 2014

81. Who is responsible?
83
 While everyone in the school
is accountable, the board of
education and the
administration are ultimately
responsible.
 Leaders that seek excellence
in their fiscal management
and operations must
establish and maintain a
strong internal control
system that is effectively
communicated.
October 2014

82. Financial Reports Presented to the Board
• Type of reports required
• Brainstorm with your board
• Ask them what they want to
see
• Train them to read the reports
• Certain reports are required
• Separate specific agenda item for
discussion
• Minutes must show record of
discussion and approval
84
Best Practice
 Boards should expect to
receive monthly financial
statement packages.
 Business Manager should
be allowed to make a
report, so board members
can ask questions.
 Reconciled Bank
Statements
 Statement of
Revenues &
Expenditures
 Current Budget Status
 Cash Flow Forecast
 Combined Balance
Sheet
 Current Fund Equity
Report
October 2014

83. 85
Leaving the one room schoolhouse will require leaders to manage
the demands of accountability …
October 2014
Ask Hard Questions – Expect answers.
Be Transparent — Need I say more!
Be Focused – Keeping you eye on your fiscal
goals is the key. Emergency spend will
happen, don’t get discouraged. The main thing
is to keep the main thing the main thing.
Be Measured — Progress should be monitored and paced.
…while managing the
fiscal position of the
district for the future!
Demand Accountability

84. What Have I learned
• School districts are inefficient, it’s our job to lessen the
inefficiencies.
• Don’t take opposition personally.
• “No good deed goes unpunished.”
• When they setup the picket lines and you have to drive
through, just smile and wave.
• Attrition is not just a warfare tactic, it works pretty well as a
tactic in fiscal policy. It’s a means to an end.
• Fiscal leadership is not a solo mission. Make sure your
everyone is on the same page with you.
October 2014 86

85. October 2014 87

86. October 2014 88

87. Contact
Earl P. Burke, MBA, CSBA
Assistant Superintendent for Business Services &
Operations /Chief Financial Officer
Hinds County School District
13192 Highway 18, Raymond, Mississippi 39154
Office: 601-857-7070
FX: 601-857-8548
Cell:601-946-5718
email: eburke@hinds.k12.ms.us
Website: Welcome to Business Services
"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the
service of others." Mahatma Gandhi
89October 2014