Welcome to the Alaska Association of School Business Officials e-newsletter!
ALASBO Mission: To promote the highest standards in school business practices.
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ALASBO's Virtual Annual Conference is Just Around the Corner!
Not registered yet?
School Business Academy: December 1, 2
Pre-Conference Day 1: December 3
Pre-Conference Day 2: December 4
Annual Conference: December 7-16
- The conference registration fee is much less than last year, plus no travel expenses. More district staff will be able to attend this event! Please be thinking of who else in your district may want to join us and share the link with them.
- You may add your superintendent to your registration at no charge!
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The Pre-Conference $50 per day fee will include access to all three sessions for that day. Click here for Pre-Conference Schedule
- There will be no overlapping or concurrent presentations. We have spread the conference out over many days so you may attend any agenda items you choose. No more having to decide between sectionals. Sectionals and keynote presentations will be recorded for registrants to access later if they can't attend live.
- As a result of being virtual, we have some new presenters and new topics.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
***Professional Development***Networking***Fun***Prizes***
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Farewell
Message from outgoing
ALASBO President, Karen Morrison
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Greetings ALASBO colleagues,
It truly has been an honor and privilege to serve as your president this past year and I thank each of you for your commitment and positive contributions to the lives of students, their families and our communities through your service in public education. This year has been permeated with challenges that impact both our professional and personal lives but there have been several positive lessons for me that I would like to share with you today.
First, it has been a professional highlight to be able to work with other educational organizations through my involvement with ACSA as one of the ALASBO representatives. The diverse and unique perspectives that education leaders face as they collaborate and advocate tirelessly for public education and the communities they serve has been inspiring. We are very fortunate to have dedicated leadership that ensures opportunities for robust educational experience for all of our students and communities.
Second, as a personal stress management tool, I have been focusing on cultivating gratitude. ALASBO was very fortunate to have a mini workshop based on the book The Orange Frog by Shawn Achor during Summer Leadership 2019. I also attended another Orange Frog workshop at ASBO’s Executive Leadership Forum in February 2020 by presenter, Devin C. Hughes.
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ALASBO’s 2020 Annual Election
Activities normally conducted during the Annual Meeting during the December Annual Conference have been evaluated to determine the best way forward given the conference will be held virtually.
Trying to conduct the annual election of board officers and directors during a live virtual business meeting would be complicated.
The election will be conducted prior to the annual meeting. Election information will be sent to all members via email, including nomination forms and job descriptions for open board positions. The election will be conducted via Survey Monkey.
This year’s Nomination Committee is chaired by Immediate Past President Carl Horn and ALASBO Past Presidents Cassee Olin, Holly Holman and Dennis Niedermeyer serving as committee members. This committee will determine a slate of at least one name for each vacancy.
Consider serving your colleagues by completing a nomination form or submit a colleague’s name to be considered to serve on the ALASBO Board of Directors. Watch for the election information email that will be sent soon.
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Executive Director's Message- Darcy Carter
Tired?
Tired of social and political discord? Looking for a place to share time with people who have the shared values to “promote the highest standards in school business practices” and “educating stakeholders in the effective use of resources for the benefit of Alaska’s children?” I have just the event for you! It is the ALASBO 48th Annual Conference, to be held virtually this year.
While we will all miss meeting in person, the virtual conference does have some silver linings
- When live, the most roundtables someone could attend was 6; virtually you can attend 11.
- When live, you could attend 2 pre-conference sessions; virtually you can attend 3 per day for two days, for a total of 6.
- When live, the most sectionals and discussion groups you could attend was 6; virtually you can attend a whopping 32!
I know this conference has a lot of Zoom meetings and they may not all fit into your schedule. That is why we will be recording the Pre-Conference Sessions, Keynotes and Sectionals for those who are registered to view when you are able. Even though some presentations will be recorded, I hope you will attend as many as possible “live” in order to support our presenters, especially the keynote speakers.
Speaking of a lot of presentations, be sure to thank the Professional Development Committee who put the conference professional development content together: Jimmy Love, Karen Morrison, Andy Ratliff, Carl Horn, Melody Douglas and Darcy Carter.
A big shout out to our sponsors, advertisers and exhibitors who are continuing to support us during this virtual event. Please thank them for their support.
I would like to thank the ALASBO Board of Directors for their work this year. Please consider running for open positions to continue the Board’s important contributions to ALASBO.
As always, I hope you and yours are well.
Darcy
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Member Spotlight: Andy Ratliff |
Our member spotlight shines on Andy Ratliff. Andy is the Senior Director, Office of Management and Budget at the Anchorage School District.
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Jenny Martens receives SFO designation!
We are pleased to announce that Jenny Martens, longtime and honorary ALASBO member, successfully met the requirements for the Certified Administrator of School Finance and Operations® (SFO®) designation. This credential distinguishes her as a skilled professional and demonstrates her commitment to high standards in school business.
Jenny took the exam using the new Prolydian website with Examity as the proctor. She said that taking the test through Prolydian was great and the support they provided was very positive. She encourages colleagues to study and become Alaska’s next SFO.
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ALASBO COMMITEE UPDATE
Per ALASBO’s policy, committees are to meet during the Annual Conference. Due to the need to hold a virtual conference this year, committees will also need to meet virtually.
Thank you to all who are current members of a committee! Here is a list of members serving on ALASBO committees: 2020 Committee Members
ALASBO’s committees that are not meeting on a regular basis will meet the afternoon of November 23, 2020 at designated times below:
- 1:30 PM Audit Committee – conducts audit, reviews 990 form and annual financial report
- 2:00 PM Awards Committee – selects recipients of ALASBO administered grants & scholarships
- 2:30 PM Bylaws Committee – reviews and modifies bylaws when necessary
- 3:00 PM Services Committee – provides support for conferences
A Zoom meeting link will be sent via email so members wishing to do so may attend the above committee meetings.
The Professional Development Committee and the Education Funding Work Group (EFWG) have been meeting this fall and members of the Legislative Committee are also members of the EFWG. Therefore, these committees are not scheduled to meet on November 23. The Nominations Committee will meet early in December to determine a slate for the ALASBO 2020 election.
ALASBO members interested in serving on a committee are welcome to join the committee(s) of interest at the designated time. If you are not able to participate in the November 23rd meeting, you may complete this form 2020 Committee Application and send it to Darcy Carter at darcy.carter@alasbo.org.
Please consider supporting ALASBO and your colleagues by serving on an ALASBO committee!
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Thank you to our Power Lunch presenters!
September 1:
The White House Memorandum on Deferring Payroll Tax Obligations in Light of the Ongoing COVID-19 Disaster
Presenter: Katie Rutledge, Director of Payroll, Anchorage School District
October 13:
November 10:
Joint Position Statement Review- presenter: Dr. Lisa Parady, Executive Director, ACSA
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ALASBO has a New Logo!
Your ALASBO Board of Directors has updated our logo. Special thanks to Pam York, Publications Technician,
ASD/King Tech High School, for helping with the design!
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Don't Miss our Annual Conference Keynote Speaker
9:00am – 10:30am General Session – Leading Together! What can we learn from the military? Presenter: Jeffrey D. McCausland, Phd, Founder & CEO | Diamond6 Leadership & Strategy, LLC
There is little doubt that military officers have learned the art of managing high-risk, high-stake situations in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. In many ways, the required skills can almost seem contradictory. A clear mission is provided from a higher headquarters, but mission execution requires rapid adaptability. Furthermore, modern military officers must also manage complex but technically very precise systems. All of this must be done while following an admonition provided by General Colin Powell: "Never let them see you sweat." These same skills are required for leaders in today's business world if they are to be successful in a climate of enormous competition and uncertainty.
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Joint Position Statement Update
Per ALASBO’s past practice, the collaboratively created ACSA Joint Position Statements (JPS) have been approved by the ALASBO membership during the annual meeting held at the December Annual Conference. Due to the need to hold a virtual conference this year, approving JPS will be approved by the ALASBO Board of Directors after members have had an opportunity to provide input to the Board.
Cassee Olin, Business Manager for the Sitka School District, is the Chair of the ALASBO Legislative Committee. She served as this year’s Chair of the ACSA JPS Committee. Dave Jones, Assistant Superintendent for the Kenai School District, Karen Morrison, Director of Finance for Petersburg School District and Jimmy Love, Chief Accountant for Kenai School District also served on the ACS JPS Committee. Darcy Carter attended several JPS Committee meetings.
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