Goodrich – Less pay for administrators, more money for the classroom.
That’s the message from the board of education after a 7-0 vote June 23 approving a shared services agreement for a new business services administrator and special education director with the Genesee Intermediate School District.
The cost savings to the district is approximately $70,000 per year, say school officials.
Business Services Manager Linda DeCamp will now be regional manager for shared business services at the GISD. She said that although she will not be spending any time at the district offices, she will continue to work with the new shared services business manager once Tom Svitkovich, GISD superintendent, makes that selection.
The new administrator is expected to be at the Goodrich district offices three days a week, DeCamp said.
‘Everything will get done, maybe differently, but it will get done,? she added. ‘The benefits to this move go way beyond a costs savings. It allows the GISD to hire people who can provide expertise that has not been previously available to the district.?
Larry Allen, the district’s interim superintendent, said he has met with the finalist for the shared services director of special education position and said the district expects to seek board approval for that person at the next board meeting on July 14.
The contract for district Special Education Director Brian Walton was not renewed for the 2008-09 school year.
Svitkovich said the new special education director will be located at Oaktree Elementary School.
‘We have been invited across the country to talk about the shared services program. Right now we are bringing our team together with nine other districts and are expecting to expand this program to three more districts countywide.?
The best way to explain the shared services program, Svitkovich said, is to compare it to a cell phone commercial.
‘It’s like a huge network behind an individual,? he said. ‘That is pretty much how our shared services operate. We all have common software and have the ability to do things from a distance. We take a whole lot of tasks and job descriptions and apportion them to several people who have particular expertise in those areas.
We will get those things done more effectively and efficiently in those areas. It’s not about changing the physical location of folks, it’s using their resources online.?