Study of the Mount Diablo Unified School District - Mt. Diablo Unified ...

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District Operations and Associated Financial Effectivenessfunding, the amounts transferred by MDUSD are excessive. Based on data provided by theDepartment of Finance and review of documents, MGT consultants did not find any specificpolicy or procedure related to fund balance other than state requirements establishingminimal levels. Without such a policy or procedure, it is difficult to regulate internal budgettransfers.Fund balance reserves are like savings accounts, and school districts and other organizationsestablish reserves for payroll and other expenditures in the event that regular revenues arenot available. In a school environment any delays in receiving federal or state funding, orany unforeseen expenditures, necessitate having reserves to ensure that the district can payfor regular operating expenditures.Without a fund balance policy, the district may be inclined to over‐spend or commitresources that do not exist.Considerations for Issue 2‐1:• Adopt and adhere to a fund balance policy to ensure that adequate reserves aremaintained.• Hold administrative staff to the proposed fund balance policy and include suchaccountability in the administrative evaluation process. Administrators must notonly effectively manage federally mandated services to students, but also maintain afiscal responsibility to the district.• Develop strategies to reduce the amount of general funding that is provided tospecial education. The current practice will continue to deplete the district’s fundbalance reserves, as well as to diminish resources available for general educationpurposes.Cost Implications for Issue 2‐1:The cost implications of this issue cannot be estimated at this time.Issue 2‐2: Special Education Transportation Budget.MDUSD overspent its special education transportation budget and nonpublic schooltransportation budget for FY 2008‐09 as shown in Exhibit 2‐4. A total of $2.7 million(revised budget) was approved for the period, but actual expenditures exceeded the budgetby $880,471, or almost 33 percent.District staff explained that due to payroll coding errors that were not caught in a timelymanner, these figures are overstated. Although some incorrectly charged expenditureswere identified and corrected, there remains a portion of general fund transportationexpenditures under Special Education transportation that could not be identified.MGT of America, Inc. Page 2‐5
District Operations and Associated Financial EffectivenessEXHIBIT 2‐4MT. DIABLO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICTCOMPARISON OF BUDGET TO ACTUAL TRANSPORTATION SPENDINGFY 2008‐09AMOUNTUNDER/(OVER)BUDGETPERCENTUNDER/(OVER)BUDGETCATETORYADOPTEDBUDGETREVISEDBUDGETACTUALEXPENDITURESpecial EducationTransportation$3,717,039 $2,417,338 $3,207,611 ($790,273) (32.69%)Nonpublic SchoolsTransportation$263,865 $263,865 $354,063 ($90,198) (34.18%)Total TransportationSpending$3,980,904 $2,681,203 $3,561,674 ($880,471) (32.84%)Source: Mt. Diablo Unified School District, Department of Finance, 2009.Interviews with special education staff indicate that by forming a committee made up offinancial and program staff to review transportation routes and renegotiate transportationterms with vendors, the district will be able to save $50,000 in FY 2009‐10. However, routescontinue to be highly customized and there is opportunity for further savings.Transportation for students with disabilities is considered a related service. Based on thegoals and objectives of the Individual Educational Program (IEP), students with disabilitiesmay be entitled to special education transportation. In many cases and with careful reviewof individual student needs, students with disabilities may be able to utilize generaleducation transportation and would not require transportation as a related service underthe IDEA. The student’s IEP drives transportation as a related service. With the number ofspecialized programs for students with disabilities in MDUSD, special education costs haveexceeded the budgeted allocations. Districtwide programs such as the autistic specificclasses, mental health collaborative, counseling enriched class, and assistive augmentativecommunication classes provide intensive services as prescribed on IEPs, but lendthemselves to high cost transportation for students with disabilities throughout the districtwho are assigned to those programs.Refer to Chapter 3 for additional discussion of transportation costs.Consideration for Issue 2‐2:• Provide savings in the expenditure category by aggressively pursuing alternatives tocurrent transportation services, seeking a broader base of vendors willing to providetransportation services, and by implementing routing changes. A transportationservices Request for Proposals (RFP) is planned for the 2010‐11 school year to seek amore cost‐effective provider. Special Education closely reviews studenttransportation requirements to ensure that the placement is cost‐efficient andeffective while staying within the transportation requirements of the educationcode. (Based on input from district administration, it should be noted that theMGT of America, Inc. Page 2‐6
Page 1 and 2: A Study of theMount Diablo Unified
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTSPAGEEXECUTIVE SUMM
Page 6 and 7: Executive SummaryExecutive SummaryF
Page 8 and 9: Executive SummaryExecutive SummaryI
Page 10 and 11: Executive SummaryExecutive SummaryF
Page 12 and 13: CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND PEER DI
Page 14 and 15: Introduction and Peer District Comp
Page 32 and 33: CHAPTER 2: DISTRICT OPERATIONS AND
Page 34 and 35: District Operations and Associated
Page 56 and 57: CHAPTER 3: SERVICE DELIVERY OPTIONS
Page 58 and 59: Service Delivery Options and Contin
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Service Delivery Options and Contin
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Service Delivery Options and Contin
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CHAPTER 4: POLICIES, PROCEDURES, AN
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Policies, Procedures, and Complianc
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CHAPTER 5: PERSONNEL SERVICES AND P
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Personnel Services and Professional
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CHAPTER 6: SPIELER V. MT. DIABLO UN
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Spieler v. Mt. Diablo Unified Schoo
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Spieler v. Mt. Diablo Unified Schoo
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APPENDIX A: SURVEYRESULTS
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PART A: ADMINISTRATION7. Special ed
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EXHIBIT A-3 (Continued)COMPARISON O
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PART E: CURRICULUM ANDINSTRUCTIONE.
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EXHIBIT A-7COMPARISON OF SURVEY RES
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PART G: DISCIPLINEEXHIBIT A-9COMPAR
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EXHIBIT A-11COMPARISON OF SURVEY RE
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PART K: SPECIALEDUCATION PROGRAMFUN
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Appendix A: Survey ResultsEXHIBIT A
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APPENDIX BBIBLIOGRAPHYBooksAspy, Ru
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