Do Some Research! Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BTDT Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Yep the inside team who put this together
> really
> > ignored many great suggestions sent in over the
> > summer. But hey, going back to half day
> > kindergarten from full day, a relatively new
> > concept, gets you 39M right off the bat. Cut
> > preschool programs which are probably more day
> > care than anything then you're there. Increase
> a
> > couple of class sizes for fun. Cut janitorial
> > services at Gateway. That was fun.
> >
> > The more people do this the less flexibility
> the
> > FCPS board will have.
> >
> > I'll take them seriously when they hire an
> > independent auditor who can dig into many of
> the
> > issues everyone brings up.
>
> Well, they did hire an outside auditor a couple
> years ago who found the maintenance crews (OFM)
> are grossly understaffed. The SB chose to ignore
> the findings. The report is here:
>
>
http://www.fcps.edu/schlbd/internalaudit/external%
> 20reviews/Jul%202012%20Final%20Report%20for%20Perf
> ormance%20Management%20Assessment.pdf
>
> The summary says:
>
> Overall, the FCPS OFM is well organized and has
> developed processes that are strategically aligned
> to help FCPS achieve the overall business
> initiatives of the school system by providing a
> safe and comfortable environment that supports
> teaching and learning. There is a high degree of
> technical and managerial competence and high
> levels of trust both within the organization and
> of the organization by OFM customers. OFM operates
> well above the average public school system in
> terms of strategic planning, operations and
> maintenance effectiveness and efficiency, use of
> supporting information technologies and
> performance measurement.
>
> While OFM is well organized and generally using
> resources effectively, our K-12 benchmarking
> analyses indicated a clear and substantial
> shortage of staff and funding levels. At the time
> of this assessment there were 462 full-time staff
> in OFM, including 288 front-line maintenance
> trades/crafts. Using a number of independent
> benchmarking sources and our experience with other
> similar K-12 facilities organizations, we
> identified a shortfall of about 264 full-time
> equivalents (FTEs) of front-line maintenance
> staff. This is a critical issue considering the
> aging facilities, increased total maintainable
> school areas and shrinking operations and capital
> budgets over the past two decades. This shortfall
> does not include grounds, custodial, supervisory
> or support positions.
I see the green FCPS Facilities/Maintenance trucks all over the county. They never seem to have any urgency to anything they are doing, often see them parked for long periods at restaurants and when they show up to a school, again, there is no sense of the time clock.
These guys are all unionized and I would bet their salary and benefits equal 2+ commercial, non union contractors. In addition to salary and benefits, you have vehicles, vehicle maintenance, insurance, fuel and wasted time driving across 400 square miles.
I can bet that there could be a big change in what we get for our money if some creativity as used here.
Same holds for transportation. What about electric buses. Longer lifespan, lest maintenance headaches, no problems getting them going in the cold weather other than clearing off snow and ice. How about even CNG (Compressed Natural Gas). What happens when the budgets are submitted, certain pricing assumptions for fuel for both transportation and schools is considered. One world event and the price of fuel increases by 25% and the budget is shattered for the year.
At least electricity is fairly flat and stable compared to oil.
Again, it does not take a rocket scientist to look at some of this. Also there needs to be a facilities escrow that is built slowly over time so there is something in the pipeline. Bond Referendums are only so good and if they are not voted on and approved, you have nothing.
With ANY $1.4 Billion company there is plenty of waste and room for improvement. You should be easily able to find 1-2% savings without looking very hard. Actually work through some details and actually use your brain, I am guessing 4-5% would not be so hard to flush out.
Why charge for parking? This is just the richer paying for something they should not need to pay for. The spaces are there, other than clearing snow and occasional maintenance there is not much reoccurring expenses here.
What about the free charging for electrical cars at some of the schools?? Who is paying for this?? Nobody gives me free gasoline??
Waste and foolishness all around. The fact that some of these school do not get renovated for 50 years is also an embarrassment.
Do you think your wife would put up with 50 year old bathrooms and other facilities??