Welcome to our e-newsletter! Read on to get the latest tips and news from the Alaska Association of School Business Officials!
ALASBO Mission: To promote the highest standards in school business practices.
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Melody Douglas Receives
Excellence in Adjunct Instruction Award
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University of Alaska Southeast Provost Karen Carey and Faculty Senate President Heather Batchelder announced the 2020 Faculty Excellence Award winners.
Melody Douglas,
Adjunct Professor of Education, was this year's winner of the Excellence In Adjunct Instruction Award.
Congratulations, Melody!
Thank you to Jack Walsh for nominating Melody.
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Message from ALASBO President, Karen Morrison
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Greetings ALASBO colleagues and friends,
Since the February ALASBO newsletter, life as we know it has changed drastically for all of us. Each of us is having to adapt, cope and survive in a world that has been turned upside down overnight and each person’s experience and position is personal to them. My hope for each of you is that you are taking care of yourselves, your family and your friends during this time. We will get through this together.
What I mostly want to share today is gratitude. I am very proud of the valuable contribution and support that our members have provided to assist district’s in providing distance and virtual learning, continuing to provide meals to our families and keeping operations running as smoothly as possible. Thank you for your commitment to our kids and communities. I am also grateful for the resources that Darcy and Melody have been organizing and providing to help us navigate this COVID response. Here are several links below:
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Congratulations to these retirees!
Kristen Winters
Yes, I am retiring September 30. I will have been with YKSD 2 years and 3 months upon my retirement. My husband, retired since 2016, and I also have a home in Arizona and we plan on enjoying more sunshine during the long winter months. My job with the District and working for Kerry have been fabulous. I could not have asked for a better place to work or a better boss to work for.
Joyce Alto
Yes, I am retiring on May 1st, 2020. I have 32.5 years of service all with Lake and Peninsula S.D. in King Salmon.
I currently have no retirement plans. I guess you could say that I moved from the Naknek/King Salmon to retire in the "big" city. I plan on buying a house in either Wasilla or the Palmer area to be close to my daughter and grandkids.
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Executive Director's Message-
Darcy Carter
Who Knew?
Who knew our lives, both personal and work, would be so different than just a few months ago? Who knows what the next few months or the next year will hold?
This quote from Mister Rogers comes to mind:
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ ”
With all the sadness and disruption of the pandemic, school districts and their employees have been vital to holding communities together. They are the helpers. School districts have been providing food, distance education and support to students and families. School buildings have been used as command centers and back-up hospital wards. I am so proud of the contribution ALASBO members are making in this effort!
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ASBO International's Global School Business Network
Search RFP and Toolkit Libraries.
Check out discussions and post your own questions.
Connect with other school business officials around the world!
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Press Release
University of Alaska Southeast achieves full reaccreditation of teacher education programs
This week the Alaska College of Education (AKCoE) at the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) received confirmation of its accreditation by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP),
caepnet.org
.
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Summer Leadership Update
As you may have anticipated, the ALASBO July Summer Leadership Conference will be held virtually. This decision was made after careful consideration by your ALASBO board with the health and safety of members as the top priority. This virtual format includes the NBMI program.
Please watch for emails with details of dates and times for the virtual events. We look forward to seeing you online!
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Member Spotlight: Phil Huelett
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Our member spotlight shines on Phil Hulett.
Phil is the Business Manager at Dillingham City School District.
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Faith Link of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District has been named the recipient of the Lowell Thomas Freeman Grant.
The grant is named for the "founding father" of ALASBO, Anchorage School District business official Tom Freeman, who is now retired in Washington state. This grant, sponsored by CORE, Inc., provides funding for an ALASBO member to attend the ASBO International Conference. Recipients are selected by the Awards Committee.
Congratulations to Faith!
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Meet our Annual Conference Keynote Speaker!
ALASBO is pleased to introduce you to our Annual Conference keynote speaker, Dr. Jeff McCausland. Our Annual Conference is scheduled for December 7-9, 2020 at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage.
Dr. Jeff McCausland is the Founder and CEO of Diamond6 Leadership & Strategy, LLC. Since 2000, both domestic and internationally, Dr. McCausland has conducted numerous executive leadership development workshops and consulted for leaders in public education, US government institutions, non-profit organizations, and corporations.
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Thank you to our
Power Lunch
presenters!
March 10 Lunch: Kari's Law
Are you in compliance with Kari’s (Direct Dial 911) & Ray Baum’s Law?
Presenter: Heather Heineken, FNSBSD
We have had a series of COVID-19 Power Lunches.
Thank you to our guest experts:
Jo Dawson:
Child Nutrition Program Manager, DEED
Valerie Oliver:
Alaska E-Rate Coordinator, DEED
Katie Gardner:
Executive Director of Human Resources, MSBSD
Stephanie L. Allison,
CPA, Administrative Operations Manager, DEED
Courtney Preziosi
, ESEA/Title I Administrator, DEED
Heidi Teshner,
Director of Finance and Support Services, DEED
Deborah Riddle,
Division Operations Manager, DEED
Keith Graham,
Analyst, Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development
Kevin Smith
, Executive Director, AMLJIA
Brennan Hickok
, Deputy Director, AMLJIA
Katie Stachow
, CPA, Audit Manager, Altman,Rogers Co.
Jenny Myhand
, Accountant, Lake & Peninsula School District
Our next Power Lunches are currently scheduled for:
May 26 with presenter
Nils Andreassen,
ED, Alaska Municipal League (AML)
June 2 with presenter
Kevin Worley
, CFO, Alaska Division of Retirement and Benefits.
June 9 with presenter
Carleen Mitchell,
APEI – Preventing Disability Discrimination in the Workplace
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Welcome New Members!
Justin McCoy, Assistant Finance Director, SERRC
Shawn Arnold, Superintendent, Valdez City Schools
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2020 Legislative Session: Another Wild Ride!
Amy Lujan, ALASBO Legislative Liaison
Those of us who’ve followed the Alaska Legislature for years knew it was going to be a wild ride this session, but 2020 brought some new curveballs, to be sure!
School Business Officials started the session concerned about budget cuts, which had been threatened during the first year of Dunleavy’s term last session. To the surprise of many, the Governor’s budget did not include a cut to the Base Student Allocation (BSA) for FY21, though the $30 million in one-time funding from FY20 was not continued. The Dunleavy administration referred to this as “full funding for K-12 education”, though the loss of $30 million did result in a cut.
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New Business Manager Institute (NBMI) Completes Year 2 of the Pilot Project
The NBMI is a three-year program designed to deliver a comprehensive program through a series of in-person and virtual sessions, instructed by experienced school business practitioners. This program is adapted from a successful 10-year program Oregon ASBO provides its members. The target audience for this program includes:
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New school business managers, including those new to Alaska (< 3 years)
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Those aspiring to school business manager positions within 1-3 years
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Those who want to know about school business
The 2018 and 2019 Cohorts successfully completed their NBMI courses. There will be three (3) cohorts beginning in July participating in the following modules:
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ACSA Virtual Fly-In
ALASBO members participated in the annual ACSA Legilative Fly-In held March 16-20. This year the event was held virtually. Please visit the link below for recordings of presentations.
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Study Group Completes SFO Exam Preparation
ASBO International manages the
Certified Administrator of School Finance and Operations
®
(SFO
®
)
program for members who meet the exam eligibility requirements. There are fourteen (14) ALASBO members who have passed the SFO exam.
An SFO exam study group consisting of 18 ALASBO members met every two weeks beginning January 21, 2020 and ended May 12, 2020. The SFO material provided by ASBO was presented by ALASBO members who have passed the SFO exam. Here is a list of the topics covered and those who presented this year’s SFO study group.
SFO Exam Topic.
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Presented by
Management and Accounting Systems.......Kristy Andrew, Cordova City SD
Budgeting and Reporting Activities..............Heather Heineken, FNSBSD
Financial Planning and Analysis..................Kristy Andrew, Cordova City SD
Management and Account Functions..........Karen Morrison, Petersburg SD
Risk Management Activities........................Heather Heineken, FNSBSD
Management of School Facilities................Karen Morrison, Petersburg SD
Management of Information Systems.........Andy Ratliff, Anchorage SD
Management of Ancillary Services..............Laura Hylton, Lake & Peninsula SD
Management of HR Functions....................Reena Voivedich, Denali Boro. SD
Thank you! to each of you for the opportunity you provided to colleagues to be prepared to take the ASBO SFO certification exam.
ASBO is in the process of implementing remote SFO exam proctoring expected to be available June 1, 2020. This will be a convenient option for candidates that will require no travel.
ASBO offers a $150 exam discount to those who participate in an SFO exam preparation study group. ALASBO has a small budget to provide an exam reimbursement to the first few members who pass the SFO exam.
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