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Advancing the discipline of risk management in public education.
In This Issue
Risk Management: Big Deal
New Web Portal
Continuous Improvement
Nurse Triage
Tribute to Risk Colleague
ASBO Centennial Conference
Review and Outlook
Pool Leaders Picked
Resilient and Risk Intelligent
Race to the Top
Hurricane Watch
Article Archives; FY11
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Alternative Service Concepts

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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


Six other school risk groups have joined these founders.
 
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 2,300.

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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Start of School Year  2010                                                  Issue 18                

Risk management is... a vital business process that inspires confidence and builds resiliency.
Beginning with this edition, NYSIR members will now receive this newsletter on a regular basis.   Please feel free to share this with others.   Public School Risk Institute appreciates the support of the NYSIR Board of Directors and the entire staff and service provider team.     NYSIR is a leader among the more than 100  risk groups controlled by school districts across the nation.
 
School Risk Management is a Big Deal

A new school year is getting underway for about 49 million public school students and nearly 15,000 local school districts.    Approximately 5.8 million instructional personnel are re-entering classrooms and offices, and possibly 2 million more will be driving buses, serving meals, delivering supplies and taking care of a myriad of instructional and support services.  School risk management is a big deal because there's plenty of uncertainty and risk with this many people in motion. 

As one conference speaker recently put it, risk management gets attention because its about money and what can be done to stop losses. Spending by school districts draws the attention of almost every citizen.

The latest  Public Education Finances report released in June by the US Census Bureau shows $593 billion was spent in the aggregate by public schools in the survey year, 2007.  Combined payroll ($301 billion) and capital outlay dollars ($68 billion) further define the financial dimensions of public education.  Overall spending for employee benefit programs ($103 billion) was about 20% of total operating expense.   


School risk management is also a big deal because of all the property and equipment exposed to numerous perils.   The value of all property and equipment owned by school districts likely exceeds $700 billion.  Some campuses now have more than $100 million in values.


While no aggregate figures exist for the costs of safety, insurance and claims, some conservative estimates of the "total cost of risk" range from 1-2% of  total school spending.  Viewed from a national perspective, this would suggest a range of $5.8 - $11.4 billion annual spending for staff and services to prevent, administer, finance and control losses.    A number that can never be known is the soft cost of risk - lost time, reduced productivity - that results from errors and unexpected events.   

School risk management is important to the employees working directly in risk management functions or behind the scenes in the operations of the 100 plus risk groups that school districts control.  Some districts have as many as 40 employees in their risk management office, while a few risk groups employ 70 or more on their staff.

The scale and complexity of public education is what makes school risk management a big deal.  The fact that the lives of young people hang in the balance every day makes it even more important.  Future learning and ultimately the nation's productivity depends on effective identification, assessment, control, financing and administration of risk.

Web Portal Launched for Prevention of  Educator Sexual Misconduct


Wendy Wylie is devoted to protecting children and has been using her experience and professional education to help districts stop the threat of educator sexual misconduct.  WyliE3 Training, based in Charlotte NC,  has produced a new web portal that pulls together sexual misconduct research, latest news  and prevention best practices  for convenient access at no charge.  A special icon placed on the homepage of the Public School Risk Institute links directly to the new portal.  Click here and scroll down the right hand side of the page to view this new resource.

 

Task Forces Make Progress on Continuous Improvement Documents for School Risk Management


Efforts to create a model for continuous improvement of school risk management have been underway for about 60 days.  Project manager Catherine Bennett is guiding the research, editing and writing process.  She is assisted by Ginger Wagner. The first drafts  for three sections of the new model have been prepared by task forces that  met by conference call this summer.  Two other task forces are mobilizing.  


This model addresses risk management from a comprehensive perspective. It represents the first attempt to bring together a large nationwide community of professionals to set up a framework for excellence and a means of process benchmarking.  Best practice elements in the Core Activity section of the model are currently arranged in these five categories:

  • Leadership & General Administration

  • HR Practices

  • Risk Financing

  • Incident Prevention Practice 

  • Injury Management  

Producing the complete model is on track to take 18 months and involve more than 60 volunteers in 14 task forces and a steering group.  The current vision of the model includes nine other categories, arranged into three sections - Support & Recovery, Risk Improvement, Insights & Analytics.

 

Initial funding to launch the project was provided by Munich Reinsurance.  SchoolDude.com has agreed to support the project and others companies are expected to join as sponsors.  There are four levels - Magnolia, Dogwood, Azalea  and Rose with different forms of recognition and degrees of project involvement. 


Task force information and the project introductory paper are available from the Institute. The objectives, process and timetable for the project are described in the paper . It also  includes sample pages from the prototype and other exhibits. To learn more or to volunteer for this project, please contact the Executive Director.

Nurse Triage Improves Employee Injury Treatment 

School risk groups in California were among the first to employ nurse triage strategies and demonstrate the savings of this process innovation. Treatment outcomes improved for injured school employees when trained occupational nurses were called immediately after a work-related incident.   Triage service integrates with claims management routines through special software and telephone protocols.  Several studies have shown that employees welcome triage nursing care, tend to look more favorably toward their employers and avoid costly delays or unnecessary trips to the ER.  Lag time in filing first reports of injury can be virtually eliminated. 

 

Dennis Chandler of Company Nurse will be a featured presenter for a session about nurse triage services on October 18 during the Association of Governmental Risk Pools Fall Conference.

Remembering: Randy Cook
Randy Cook was a valued colleague of the staff of the Kentucky School Boards Insurance Trust.  He succumbed in August to brain cancer.   He will be remembered for many contributions and his dedication to public school risk management.
ASBO Risk Management Committee Plans Program for Orlando
Almost four full days of networking and learning are planned during the ASBO International Centennial Conference in Orlando, September 20-24.  More than 140 sessions are scheduled in 11  tracks.  About 40 of these will deal specifically with a risk management issue or cover material that has a close connection to the risk management process for school business officials.  Several presenters will provide their perspectives and lessons about security, safe and healthy facilities, 403 (b) plan compliance, student and employment law changes, and healthcare cost containment. 
Connecting Four Corners of the Country:  A Review and Outlook  

In its second year of operation, the Public School Risk Institute (Institute) was on the road and much more visible. The vision of the founders and early proponents was shared by more districts, school risk sharing groups and service providers. The executive director covered almost 18,000 miles by land and air, attending 13 events where school district representatives were gathered.  Those events included the annual conferences of ASBO International, California ASBO, and SchoolDude University. The executive director also visited offices of 21 organizations.

 

A game plan document describing initiatives, priorities, programs, projects and services was introduced and refined over the course of the year with input from coast to coast.     The Institute began acting as a meeting host and summit organizer.  In January, 15 North Carolina districts came together and shared information in an open forum and heard presentations from their peers.  In April, five California risk groups and two large districts attended an Institute hosted meeting to share ideas and build relationships. Initial work was started on a risk communication task force and a workers' compensation interest group.  

 

Other notable achievements during the year include:

  • The national directory for school risk groups was updated throughout the year and expanded to include organizational facts and contact names for key positions.  
  • Safety training for bus drivers was boosted through recommended product designation and promotion of the Driver Training Course offered by School Bus Safety Company. 
  • Training for prevention of educator sexual prevention was boosted by recommended product designation of an online course created by Ethics Ed. 
  • Seamless web linking was advanced as result of a secure authentication program installed for the New York Schools Insurance Reciprocal.
  • Seventeen individuals were featured contributors over the first seven months of Risk Central, the Institute's new "interactive knowledge center."    
  • The number of states with recognized members increased from 12 to 17.
  • The number of risk groups increased from six to 11 and the total districts that were connected jumped from about 1,400 to over 2,300. 
  • The Corporate Partner Council increased from 17 companies to 26 during the year.     

 

YR3 Outlook

 

Reaching higher levels of student achievement under difficult economic conditions requires a positive outlook, courage and commitment to manage risk proactively. Risk groups will help their member leaders press forward together on critical injury prevention issues and rebound quickly from tests they face along the way.  Champions of risk management in local school districts will open avenues of understanding for effective control of all risk-related costs. They inspire, inform, and encourage best practices, while administering programs vital to smooth operations. Resilient organizations are risk intelligent.  The shared cause is Resilient Education. The central theme of shared work is Boundary Spanning.  

 

During the course of this year, Institute efforts will be directed toward these seven vital objectives.

 

  1. Expanding consistent outreach in at least 30 states and becoming more valuable to at least 30 risk groups and 100 of the largest school districts.  
  2. Extending broadly and vertically to assist more staff in districts and risk groups; generating creative collaboration and shepherding group genius.  
  3. Increasing interchanges and strengthening connections between and among key nonprofit stakeholders, professional associations, and corporate partners that serve public school districts.
  4. Engaging and guiding active volunteer efforts to complete projects that serve the members, and all public school stakeholders, to the extent possible.  
  5. Reaching ASBO and AASA leaders for exchange of information, goal setting and promotion of risk management, including use of their publications and committee structures.
  6. Attracting significantly more readers and subscribers; producing and distributing content that satisfies needs for high levels of risk communication competency.
  7. Building the internal capacity and service delivery capability for higher demands and expectations. 

 

Priorities, programs, projects and services will be shaped throughout the year to help achieve these objectives. Key features of current activities can be found in the Service Matrix table. 

 

The Institute will work to help public education achieve the highest state of risk resiliency possible in the year ahead.

School Risk Group Leaders Chosen for AGRIP Committees
The Association of Governmental Risk Pools (AGRIP) has tapped four individuals from school controlled risk groups to serve on committees.  Jan DeGracia, North Bay Schools Insurance Group,CA, and Steve Fast, Colorado Schools Districts Self-Insurance Pool were picked for the Professional Development and Mentoring Committee 

A ten member Acknowledgment and Awards Study Committee includes Alan Fergin, Michigan Association of School Boards SET-SEG,  Trudy Sowar, Georgia School Boards Risk Management Services and June Kissinger, Texas Association of School Boards Risk Management Fund.  This committee has been charged with reporting on the "merits and value of whether AGRIP should establish a formal on-going program to recognize outstanding achievement or service which contributes to furthering best interests and/or practices of the public entity and pooling benefits sector."
Resilient and Risk Intelligent Districts
IBM recently published a white paper that describes a new multi-layer approach to business-driven risks, IT-driven risks and events-driven risks.   Deloitte, Accenture and  many other professional service firms are touting the virtues of building resilience and becoming risk intelligent to thrive in the new economy.    What they all seem to be saying is that organizations in every industry and  size range can benefit from a broader view of risk management. The first step for school district leaders is recognizing strategic risks and understanding the emerging standards for enterprise risk management.  Adding risk related measures to balanced scorecards and using risk information dashboards can lead to higher risk intelligence. 

School risk leaders can adapt a series of 20 questions developed by an accounting professionals association to guide efforts toward optimal risk transfer, transparency in risk assumption and monitoring the district's risk culture.  By working together, CFOs, risk managers, pool leaders and risk professionals can find ways to calculate the return on new risk management related investment and communicate the value of a broader view of risk management for school districts.
Winners Announced in Race to the Top for Federal Funding  
Nine states were selected in second round of the US Dept of Education  Race to the Top grant competition.   Massachusetts led in scoring, while New York and Florida will each receive the highest amount, $700 million.  Results of the grant program, copies of the applications and more can be found at US Dept of Education website or by clicking here.  

Katrina Anniversary and Another Active Hurricane Season Alert

Hurricane Katrina,  which caused more than $41 billion in insured losses when it occurred, affected the Gulf states from Aug. 25-29, 2005. 

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the peak of the hurricane season is considered to be late August through October.   Each of the 15 costliest hurricanes in U.S. history has occurred during this time frame with the exception of Hurricane Charley, which struck Florida on Aug. 13-14, 2004.

Early in August, NOAA said conditions were ripe for an active season and predicted 14 to 20 named storms, eight to 12 hurricanes, and four to six major hurricanes with at least Category 3 status. (sustained winds of 111 mph.)   As August was coming to a close,  Earl, the fifth named storm of the season, remained in the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean.  At the same time, the National Hurricane Center was keeping an eye on what it called "a vigorous tropical wave" off the coast of Africa. If that system reaches tropical storm status, it will be named Fiona.

 Finding  Newsletters and Other Links
To look back and check past issues of this newsletter, go to the homepage of the Public School Risk Institute, open Resources, then Helpful Links and scroll down to School Risk News, or simply click here http://www.schoolrisk.org/helpful-links.
 
Using Helpful Links at www.schoolrisk org is an easy way to find excellent resources about a wide range of subjects.   If you need assistance, please call or  use the Contact Us feature to send a request.
Public School Risk Institute
   
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