SchoolRisk News
Advancing Risk Management in Public Education
October 2008 - Vol 1, Issue 2
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Greetings!

School risk managers are busy with new tasks that typically arise this time of the year. Turbulence in the financial markets raised some new concerns. Hurricane Ike created anxiety for school transportation directors and finance officers. The events of September 2008 serve as a reminder that school risk managers and school risk group executives play important roles in maintaining overall organizational confidence and effective risk solutions.

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The Public School Risk Institute now has email and contact information for almost 100 school risk managers and 40 executives of school risk groups. These contacts can help school leaders receive valuable reports and news information efficiently. The Institute is committed to building and supporting peer groups and special interest councils. Anne Becker in the Institute office can assist with contact coordination and group opportunities. Anne's email address is [email protected]

The Institute Board of Directors reviewed several images presented in August by an independent graphic design firm and selected the one shown here as the Institute logo. The new logo will begin appearing on Institute letterhead and publications.
For almost 20 years, school districts in New York have worked together to manage risk through the New York Schools Insurance Reciprocal. (NYSIR) The membership has grown to more than 330 districts. Programs and services are wide ranging and appropriate for the needs of school administrators. NYSIR was the first school risk group to earn an "A" rating by the A.M. Best Company and has continued to receive this distinction for the past 13 years. The NYSIR Board of Governors met in August for their annual planning sessions. There were many discussions related to ways that the organization could continue to meet it's mission of providing a comprehensive and cost effective property and casualty insurance program for New York public schools. This year's NYSIR college scholarship winners are a Cerebral Palsy Association volunteer and a West Canada Valley High School graduate. Each student received a $2,500 award.

NYSIR's support was critical to the start-up of the Institute. A grant of $18,000 helped fund the research and development activities from March-June of this year.

Compass
The Board of Directors met at the Airport Hilton Hotel in Atlanta, September 15-16. They adopted a budget for a 'break-even' first year of operation, with revenue expected to be $202,000. A task force was appointed to develop the Institute's initial mission and vision statements. The Executive Director was charged with responsibility for preparing a code of conduct for the Institute. The Board reviewed progress being made in member services, website construction, organization, member campaign and corporate partner program. Michael Florio, Risk Manager, Dekalb County Schools (GA) was elected as Chairman of the Board, and Dave George, Risk Manager, San Francisco United School District (CA) was elected Vice Chair. The Board began a dialogue about benefits of risk management in public education and different ways that risk management is defined. The nine members listened to start-up experiences and development suggestions from two national nonprofit executives whose organizations have reached their 20th year of operation. The Board discussed options for membership fees after the founding member period and decided to review recommendations from the Executive Director at its next meeting. SchoolDude and Munich RE co-hosted the Board dinner.

For a copy of the adopted budget and other documents, please contact Lee Gaby.

The Institute's new website is now under construction. Much of the credit goes to Munich Re America's Public & Nonprofit business unit, part of the Alternative Market Risk Client Group, for their generous corporate sponsorship support. Munich Re America is also the Institute's prime vendor and "thought leader" for the reinsurance company sector. As a member of the Munich Re Group, Munich Re America's Public & Nonprofit unit provides casualty and property protection to public entities, scholastic entities, religious organizations, and secular non-profit organizations, helping self-insurers, risk retention groups, pools, trusts, reciprocals and captives prosper.
The Founding member group now includes 3 of the top 10 largest US school districts and seven districts with enrollment greater than 50,000 students from these states - CA, FL, VA, IL, NV, OH, GA and NC. Individual school districts and school risk groups will be able to continue joining the Founder group through at least the third week in October. Founders and sponsors are being given opportunities to influence decisions about initial services and website construction.

The Institute is continuing to seek corporate partners and 'thought leaders' in 16 business sectors that supply services and products to school districts. A corporate partner information packet is available. All corporate partners will be listed on the sponsor page of the website. There are many opportunities for sponsorship of the Institute's development activity and events.
Please call or send us a note with your comments and suggestions about this newsletter and any projects you would like to see us undertake. We also want to receive school contact names, contacts with organizations you believe may want to be involved and material for the new website resources.

Founding member subscriptions and corporate sponsorships are helping the Institute move forward. Your support will ensure that programs are implemented and projects continue. Please encourage potential sponsors and let us know of any school contacts you feel we should make. The Public School Risk Institute is dedicated to helping all school districts reduce their cost of risk. Please let us know how we can help you.

Thank You.


Lee Gaby, Executive Director
Public School Risk Institute

phone: 706 353-0055
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