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Advancing the discipline of risk management in public education.
In This Issue
ASBO Speakers Shine
Salute to Collaboration
Fast Answer Network
Institute Board Meeting
Training Table Update
Webinar Series Coming
Risk Central Launch Date
Continuous Improvement
Safety: Priority and Value
Quick Links
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Founding 
 School Risk Groups
 
Florida School Boards Insurance Trust
 
Minnesota School Boards Insurance Trust
 
New York Schools Insurance Reciprocal
 
Schools of Ohio Risk Sharing Authority
 
Pennsylvania School Boards Association Insurance Trust
 
Founding
 School Districts

City of Atlanta, GA
 
City of Chicago, IL
  
Clark County, NV

City of Cleveland, OH 

Dekalb County, GA
 
Fairfax County, VA

 Francis Howell, MO
 
Fulton County, GA
 
Miami-Dade, FL
 
Rockdale County,GA
 
San Francisco USD, CA

Wake County, NC 



Other districts that are direct or associate members now number more than 1,300 .

To find out how to join, click here!


SchoolRisk.org

School leaders who are members can search the directory and find districts with similar risk management interests

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Fall  2009                                                       Issue 10                      

Risk management is... a vital business process.
 ASBO Risk Managment Speakers Shine in Chicago

"Enterprise Risk Management: Applying the Concepts within the School Environment" was the subject of a special 4-hour pre-conference session at the ASBO International Conference, on October 30, in Chicago.  This is believed to be the longest and most in-depth treatment of the topic ever offered to school districts.  The panel of presenters included Kay Watson, CFO, Fremont County SD24, Shoshoni, WY.  Gregg Anderson and Bert Nuehring, accounting professionals with Crowe Horwath, LLP, Oak Brook IL and Ryan Isaacs, Area VP, Public Entity & Scholastic, A.J. Gallagher Risk Management, Grand Rapids MI. Throughout the presentation, enterprise risk management was explored as a "process designed to identify potential events that may affect the entity, and manage risk to be within its risk appetite, to provide reasonable assurance regarding achievement of entity objectives."  A practical approach in five steps was introduced.  

Other ASBO presenters who addressed  risk management included:

Anita Kiehne,Kevin Supple, and Julian Brewer teamed for an hard-hitting presentation titled,  Preventing Sexual Abuse in Our Schools.  Kiene handles claims for the Missouri United Schools Insurance Council, Supple is CFO for Francis Howell SD, St. Charles, MO and Brewer is Director of Nonprofit Practice at the AGOS Group, Tulsa, OK.  The presenters encouraged school business officials to learn the warning signs and take positive steps to reduce the incidence of employee misconduct against students. 

light bulb

 Bob Bambino, presented, "Got Risk?: A Closer Look at Effective Risk Transfer and Risk Sharing." Bambino stressed the importance of reducing loss severity through appropriate indemnification and insurance agreements, introduced solutions for common insurance issues and provided  attendees with valuable tips on  drafting contract specifications and construction agreements.

Jodi Tras, presented "Through the Eyes of Safety - Conducting School Site Safety Survey."  She explored  a six step accident analysis process and provided insights for controlling losses  in about 21 common areas of employee and student injury exposure. Jodi is a Sr. Risk Mgt Consultant, Community Insurance Corp, Appleton, WI.  

Jim Westrum, presented "OBEP Case Study: Creative Funding and Other Solutions."  Employee incentives were described for encouraging employees to help reduce health care costs, along with the use of  special  VEBA contributions.Westrum is the Exec Director, Finance and Business, Wayzata PS, MN.

Brian Moore, led the "goldmine" session discussion on Federal Grants programs for Readiness and Emergency Management.  He also explained the  "Secure Our Schools Inititative" which is funded through the Dept of Justice. More than $850 million has been invested in US schools through programs of the Office of Community Oriented Policing. (COPS)  Moore is the Supervisor for Security & Public Safety, Red Clay CSD, Willmington, DE.

For more information about any of these presentations or the topics, please contact Lee Gaby, Executive Director.

Please send us news about presentations and publications by school risk management leaders.  

Districts Employ Creative Power of Collaboration
A sudden rise in work-related injuries at the start of this school year along with a spike in unemployment claims;  unexpected flooding  in several metro Atlanta school districts; two California homecoming events  marred by disturbing violence; students  severely injured in several other high profile cases and H1N1  spreading.   There's already been plenty of "news" about school risks in the new school year. 

District risk managers and school risk group executives are still as busy as ever and school superintendents, business officers, HR directors and administrators at all levels are dealing with new challenges every day.       

It takes a smart team to address the variety of loss exposures facing your school district.  Just as it took more than the efforts of Thomas Edison to create a light bulb, it also takes a group of committed leaders to control the total cost of risk.

For some excellent information about "friction free" project management click this link to go to Reforming Project Management.com  

You will also find ten suggestions for collaboration and information about Kaizen.  

We salute school administrators and their risk management service partners for using the creative power of collaboration to maintain confidence and stability under difficult conditions.  

Fast Answer Network Ready for Use


Wouldn't  you like to know how  leading school risk managers have responded to a problem you're facing?  Try the Fast Answer Network!

The Institute has "rapid responders" who can provide qualified opinions about many issues. One risk manager from a very large district recently commented about the report he received saying, "This morning I got a chance to take a look at the document and found the shared opinions excellent and a good start to the new institute!! This is exactly what I envisioned from my first discussion with you on the forming of the institute."

To try this service, you can  enter your request right from the Institute website or  contact Executive Director.

Board of Directors Meeting

The Institute's eleven member board will convene in St. Louis November 16-17 to review policies and evaluate programs and service plans.    This is the second annual meeting of the board and the first face-to-face meeting with the two newest members, Jill Eaton, Genesis Underwriting Management, and Wayne Smith, Pennsylvania School Boards Association Insurance Trust.   Agenda information is available from the Executive Director.  Ideas and suggestions for topics to include are always welcomed. 
Training Table Update

The Institute is continuing to explore ways to help its members and produce reliable information needed for evaluation and implementation of effective training programs for risk control and safety.     Below are some notes on new courses, events, and vendors of interest: 
  • Community Matters provided the Institute with an opportunity to observe training held in Barrow County Schools, GA.   Young leaders from  two elementary schools spent two days learning how to be Safe School Ambassadors using a curriculum that the Santa Rosa, CA based nonprofit has developed  over the past ten years.  To learn more about what this program can offer, click here.   or call 707 823-6159.
  • Ethics Ed continued to make the case for a focused approach to keeping students safe from sexual abuse by school employees.   Their online course titled "Preventing Educator Sexual Misconduct and Abuse in Schools" is available for preview and is an effective, low cost intervention tool.     Chuck Origer is the primary contact in Austin, TX for the course. Click here   or call 512 794-8440. 
  • School Bus Safety Company was on the road for the Annual Conference of the National Association for Pupil Transportation in Louisville, KY, Oct 31 - Nov 4.    Jeff Cassell has produced a short video to help introduce the Driver Training Course, the first  recommended product of the  NAPT.  About 200 districts are now using this course, Cassell reports.    Grant Reppert, Transportation Director for the 1,800 bus fleet in Gwinnett County Schools, GA filmed a testimonial that can be found on the SBSC website.   Click here or call  800 728-2827. 
We welcome new safety related training program announcements and will publish bulletins similar to these above as space permits. 
Webinar Series Starts December 2   

Practical Communication Techniques for Risk Management Success is the title for the first presentation in a three part webinar series for business officers and school administrators.  The featured presenters are Ron Allen, risk manager, Durham Public Schools, NC and Dorothy Gjerdrum, A.J.Galllagher.  

Online registration will open November 12 at Risk Central.  There is no cost to participate. Additional information is available on the Institute's home page.                  

Please feel free to call the Executive Director for further details. 
Risk Central:  Ready, Set for Launch November 12

The newest feature of the Institute is RISK CENTRAL, a free online community platform designed to support faster exchange and greater interactivity.  This resource includes featured contributions by thought leaders across a wide spectrum of perspectives and interests, news stories, videos, webinar services and other educational materials.  Each user can customize news feeds and upload documents and videos for access by the entire user community.

Risk Central can be accessed directly from the Institute home page.
 Continuous Improvement Model for School Risk Management 

The Institute is working on  the development process and funding plan to create a continuous improvement model for school risk management. The model will include guidelines ["best practices"] based on consensus of experienced professionals.   It will provide a roadmap for everyone in a district to see and follow.   In simple terms, the model is a pattern for building a system and guiding the actions of school district leaders.  The model provides guidance to reduce development costs, save time and raise the level of critical thinking about risk priorities and responses.  It will make process benchmarking possible. 


The current version of the model includes fourteen primary categories and more than 100 sub-elements.    The design includes a simple scoring system that can be used by the district to track progress over time. The scoring system can also be used for comparison with a peer or peer group.   The system uses color-coding to help illustrate four levels of achievement and labels to suggest position along a continuum. Careful interpretation of scores is needed since comparisons between categories in the model can be misleading.    This scoring system is likely to change as users gain experience and introduce additional concepts, categories, techniques, best practices and metrics.   For anyone trying to be effective in managing the complex risks of a school district, the continuous improvement model will show how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. 


For more information, including a copy of the current version of the model and supporting documentation, please contact the Executive Director.  

EPA Snapshot of Six Effective IAQ Programs
 The Environmental Protection Agency recognizes six districts in its Envisioning  Excellence:  Lessons from Effective School IAQ Programs.  The districts profiled are Blue Valley SD, KS, Broward County Schools, FL, Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools, NC, Hartford Public Schools, CT, Katy ISD, TX and West Carrollton SD, OH.  Among the significant results cited by EPA was a 50% reduction in IAQ complaints over a two year period in one district.   Reduced operating costs, improved student performance and decreases in asthma visits to health rooms in other district were also documented.Article Subheading

The in-depth reports on the six districts can be found by clicking here.
Safety is Our #1 Priority and An Enduring Valu
There are countless efforts being made across the country to make school safety both a top priority and an enduring value.   The Public School Risk Institute salutes everyone who is engaged in school safety, health and wellness.    
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. We hope you find the Institute's newly updated website useful.  Please visit regularly and let us know how we can support your efforts to advance risk management.  Your input and feedback is greatly desired and appreciated.

Sincerely,
 
Lee Gaby, Executive Director 
Public School Risk Institute  
[email protected]
NEW Phone  (706) 715-3381 Ext. 701