[00:05] Tom Greer: Welcome to season three of Tasbocast. On this episode, we have a conversation with our board president, Jennifer Land, CFO for Flugarville ISD, and our own executive director, Tracy Ginsburg, herself a former school district CFO, notably with Brown Rock ISD and Fort Bend IST. And I'm your host, Tom Greer, chief Communications Officer with Tasbo. Okay, Tracy, why don't you tell us the good news from this week?
[00:42] Tracy Ginsburg: I am so excited to report that Karen Smith, CFO Scifare ISD and a former Tesla president, was elected as an Asbo International Director. So she'll be serving on as Bo International Board beginning in January, and she'll be representing not only Texas, but school business officials across the nation. I don't want to speak for the board, Jennifer, but I think it's just so exciting.
[01:07] Jennifer Land: Yeah, I've known Karen for a while, and she is so deserving of this. She'll be a great addition to the asgo board. Since her time on the task board, she's done such a great job in her district and just kept the fire burning. So I'm really excited to see her step into this new role.
[01:27] Tracy Ginsburg: I am, too. And, you know, Texas hasn't had a representative on the ESPO board since Ron Wilson. When was he on the board?
[01:35] Jennifer Land: Towel?
[01:35] Tom Greer: That was like 20 years ago, I think.
[01:38] Tracy Ginsburg: I was a young thing. Of course, Ron was a young thing then, if you're listening. And we have two former presidents, gerald, for years'AND, dr. Ed west, who was the first executive director of TASPO. And as a side note, I've already told you, and we're going to start campaigning for vice president shortly.
[01:59] Tom Greer: Tracy, you'll be in Aspo at their conference, which is mid September. Jennifer, are you going?
[02:04] Jennifer Land: Yes, I am. I'm looking forward to celebrating with Karen.
[02:08] Tom Greer: What are some of the common concerns across the country that is the same things for Asbo as they are for people in Texas?
[02:17] Jennifer Land: The big things that I see is safety, right? We all have been shaken by recent events, and safety has come up on every front. All school districts are talking about it, no matter what state you're in, because it's really important to make sure that we are not only addressing the instructional needs of our students, but making sure that they can learn in a safe and nurturing environment as well. So I have looked at some sessions that they have outlined regarding safety. Another thing, of course, is always going to be funding. Texas is not the only state where funding is a concern. We all have those concerns. And it's really great in a sad sort of way, but to be able to go to asphalt and talk to our peers from other states to assess how their funding system compares to Texas, and that's always a very enlightening part of the asphalt conference, and I look forward to it each year. But this year it will be a slightly different light because typically in the past it's been the funding that has highlighted everything. But now I definitely think that safety is the biggest topic of interest.
[03:42] Tracy Ginsburg: And don't you think also staffing?
[03:44] Jennifer Land: Oh yes, staffing. I forgot about that.
[03:48] Tracy Ginsburg: Whether it be a bus driver or a teacher or a CFO, I mean, it's just getting harder and harder to fill our positions.
[03:58] Jennifer Land: Yes. And looking back over the years, I cannot recall a time where we've been this hard pressed to find every aspect of our team members. We've had shortages and teachers before, or shortages and bus drivers, but now it seems like in every area, just trying to hire a plumber, a mechanic, we are so hard pressed to find employees on every end. So I have seen some communication about that and I do think that's also going to be a very hot topic.
[04:38] Tracy Ginsburg: Yeah, I think we have to change the dialogue at the national state level. Education is a great thing in public schools are the backbone of the community and of our future. And we've got to change the conversation so that it becomes that respected profession. And people are there was a time when people flock to our doors to work for us, but it's getting harder and harder.
[05:01] Jennifer Land: It is, definitely. And I stop and I think about people I know who started in the classroom, right? They may have started as an aide or a teacher or they started in the clerical position and they worked their way up. And when I think about how we cannot or we're challenged to fill those type positions, I'm thinking that our pipeline is just really contracting. It's getting smaller and smaller. So it's important to make sure that we are leaning on each other and trying to find ways that we can collectively make public education attractive.
[05:39] Tracy Ginsburg: Absolutely. And I know that in pluggerville you got a fair amount of what's called Ester funding, but that's going away. And can you talk a little bit about the Ester cliff and how it's a nationwide deal? It's not just unique to Texas?
[05:56] Jennifer Land: Oh, no, it is definitely not unique to Texas. And I think Karen Smith is actually presenting a session on Esser at ASP and we're all faced with that. Right. Because Esser infused so much money into the system. Some additional, but definitely money that we have received with the purpose. A lot of us were challenged to continue to make our budgets work without that extra money because we put a lot of our positions in SR just to be able to meet the demands of COVID, to give raises, to even be able to purchase simple supplies or those things that have increased in cost. And for the districts like mine, where our enrollment has declined or we have not grown, that means that our state and local dollars are not increasing and as a matter of fact, decreasing because of our increased property values. But with the SR money, we're going to hit that cliff and what that cliff looks like and what it means for districts is that we have to start planning for what to do to subsidize the dollars that we're going to be losing. And when that money goes away, all of those positions, all of those extra services, those extra supplies and materials, we probably will not be able to support or to continue to fund. So the Esther Cliff is real, and it's going to be very difficult for a lot of us to overcome.
[07:35] Tom Greer: So at Sluggerville IST, you do have a bond package up for Vote in November, and part of that includes school safety and security upgrades. Tell us about that and about how districts around Texas and across the country, what they're doing and what they need to do to accommodate for increased security.
[07:59] Jennifer Land: Yeah, like I previously mentioned, security is definitely a hot topic. We are challenged with the fact that it's going to look a little different, and with that, it means that we are going to have to pivot and make sure that we are continuing to address the concerns that come up, because each day it feels like there are new concerns. Right. We are looking at going to check doors, just going to a door and pull on a door, and if it opens, that's something that we have to address. I don't think we've ever done anything like that before. But with the bond, we are trying to ask our voters to allow us to enhance the security, improve, for instance, our vegetables, making sure that we have a proper barrier, whether it's interior or exterior, or the proper barriers in place to protect our students and our staff. We're also looking at the bond trying to be proactive as well as creative with some of our safety measures, just something as simple as improving and updating our badge readers to make sure that we have the ability to be able to disable badges when we need to with the click of a button. And so the bond will allow us to go a little bit further than we have been able to do in the past. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the school safety allotment, I believe is $9.72. And Tracy, correct me if I'm wrong, but it's nine something.
[09:42] Tracy Ginsburg: It doesn't go very far.
[09:44] Jennifer Land: Does not go very far, especially when you have an in house police department and we have our own SROs. But the safety has a different face and it also has a different feel that we're all trying to adapt to.
[10:01] Tom Greer: So it kind of all comes together into a lot of different concerns and issues because you're talking about staffing and security, but also part of it is also wellness also, and also for students and teachers. But what's the future for getting enough counselors and making sure that they have the resources to do their job and there's enough of them?
[10:33] Jennifer Land: I'm glad you mentioned that, Tom, because a big part of safety is our student and staff mental wellness because we're looking at how we can provide additional support in those arenas, whether it's additional counselors or social workers or some other programs that we can implement to address the feelings of being unsafe and the perceived environment. Unfortunately, in a bond, we can't implement those type programs. So what we're having to do is either use our current M and O dollars or back to the SR and user dollars. But again, the cliff is going to come around. We are also trying to really tout our EAP program, which we believe can help with on the mental side and the mental wellness side because that is a big part of safety.
[11:43] Tom Greer: And I think that's a secret weapon for public education in that there's possibility of a work life balance in public education as opposed to the tech industry where they're working people around the clock. So there are benefits for working in a school district.
[12:06] Tracy Ginsburg: Totally. Plus there's that intrinsic value. I've always said our stock options are children and their success and again, they're our future. And to me that building block of future is what we're all about.
[12:22] Tom Greer: And it's a community. Everybody is interconnected. They care about what they're doing. People really like their own schools. When they have kids in it, they usually think they're doing great, actually.
[12:35] Tracy Ginsburg: Yeah, parents almost always ranked their local public schools very high and in the community of employees within the school district and the community of school finance officials across the state. That's not true to every industry, how we all work together.
[12:54] Jennifer Land: Well, I'm glad that you also mentioned that, Tracy, because one of the things that we have to think about as we're talking about these safety measures is we still want to make our schools feel inviting and welcoming. We don't want our students to feel like they are in a prison with all of the wires and fences and all of those things and then we want our families to also feel welcome. But we have to find that happy balance where we are taking the appropriate safety measures but also maintaining a feeling of community.
[13:38] Tom Greer: That'S excellent. And a lot of these issues are going to be addressed at our academies this fall. October 26, 27th is one of the academies, accounting and Finance. And then on the 27th and 28th we have the school operations conference in Frisco. And safety and security is going to be a big topic there.
[14:01] Tracy Ginsburg: Absolutely. We brought safety and security into it, we rolled transportation into it and of course, maintenance and operations. It's actually one of my favorite meetings of the year. These are great people who have great ideas and it's an opportunity for both upper level and mid level MMO type folks to come. It's also an opportunity to bring your lead plumber that you see some potential for growth in bringing to this conference. Particularly if you're in the DFW area and allow them to grow as a professional.
[14:42] Tom Greer: Well, that's going to be necessary because to promote from within is going to be so important. And it's something that I know at Tespo we put a lot into leadership development and also subject matter development. So we've combined them into different programs, including the mentoring program. So there is a facilities mentoring program, which is, we hate to say free because it is part of your membership dues, but it is a benefit of being a member, is you can be part of all these different great mentoring programs.
[15:19] Tracy Ginsburg: Absolutely.
[15:21] Jennifer Land: And I will just say that the training that Tasbo provides is top notch. There is a reason why we are the trusted resource, and every training session that I've taken part in has lived up to that. And I advise anyone who feels like they can benefit from these sessions to just try one. Just try it and see what you can learn and take away from it.
[15:53] Tom Greer: Excellent. And in talking about the new people in the profession, this last month or so, I've been putting out interviews with our Rise Award winners from the 2022 year and where we first honor them at the annual conference. But you'll be seeing the seven winners, their video profiles right now leading up to the deadline for secure nominations for next year's Rise Award winners.
[16:27] Tracy Ginsburg: I know, that's so exciting. The past president chairs the Rise Award committee and schedules a series of interviews with each of these young folks. And I say young folks, these people have been in the industry for ten years or less, and the excitement and the enthusiasm is contagious. I wish that others could hear the interviews and the great things that they're doing in their own district. And I know there is a future cohort of leaders that were growing in Tasbo that are going to I feel confident moving forward that Tesla will survive because of great people like the ones that have been nominated for the Rise Award. Nominations are still open. If you know someone, I encourage you to send their name in, you can send it in directly to me, and I'll get them on the list. And we will go through a process and find next year's people to recognize.
[17:33] Jennifer Land: And I've had the pleasure of working with two Ryan Numbers recipients. Yes. And they've done a great job. And the one thing that I've seen in both of them is their desire to do great things in school business for our kids as well as with Tasbo. Both of them are great contributors to Tasbo, and the one thing that each of them have told me is that they learned so much by giving back to Tesla.
[18:06] Tracy Ginsburg: Absolutely. That's how I learned. I can tell you all the mentors before me, and I could tell you the people that I've mentored and watched grow. One of them sitting here on the podcast with us.
[18:16] Jennifer Land: Thanks, Tracy.
[18:18] Tom Greer: There's also Commitment to Excellence for people that have achieved the highest level at Tasbo.
[18:26] Tracy Ginsburg: Correct. They've had a long history of volunteerism with Asbo and in their district and in the community around them. And so we honor one individuals every year is the Commitment to Excellence designee. And we also honor two additional individuals, kind of as finalists or recipients as well. Last year is not me. Jonathan Bay was our honorary Jonathan Bay. I don't know, Jennifer. Can you think of anybody better than isn't he great?
[19:00] Jennifer Land: My husband, really. He epitomizes the commitment to excellence and what we mean by that when we say that in regards to Tasbo, what he's done throughout his career, which is his second career. Right. School, business.
[19:14] Tracy Ginsburg: Absolutely. Career.
[19:16] Jennifer Land: Yeah. Which is so impressive. And he jumped right in. And I keep thinking that, you know what, if we had a Rising Star Award, the Rise Award, back when Jonathan started in the profession, he would have received that, too.
[19:30] Tracy Ginsburg: Oh, absolutely.
[19:32] Jennifer Land: I look forward to seeing our Rise Award nominees and winners grow to one day be a Commitment to Excellence recipient, because the award, I don't want to say wraps up, but it really pinpoints what an individual would give to Tasbo, and it's a culmination of everything that they've done with Tasbo and their district, and it's a really good accent to a career.
[20:09] Tracy Ginsburg: I know that there are people out in the audience when that's recipient of speaking that think to themselves, or I hope there are, they think to themselves. I want to be that one day.
[20:19] Jennifer Land: I know.
[20:19] Tracy Ginsburg: I was one of those who sat in the audience and thought, I'm going to do that one day.
