November 2019
ALASBO News Link...
Welcome to our e-newsletter! Read on to get the latest tips and news from the Alaska Association of School Business Officials!
ALASBO Members Receive Recognition at Ribbon Cutting
It was great to see Andrew Leavitt and Jim Anderson receive special recognition from their superintendents for their extraordinary work in making the Kuslivak Career Academy a reality. This recognition was given at a packed ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of media,  dignitaries, school board members, state representatives and appreciative students.


President's Message - Carl Horn
A big thank you to Carl Horn for his year of leadership as ALASBO president for 2019!


ALASBO Members Attend Conference of Mayors and Alaska Municipal League Meetings

AML invited ALASBO members  to attend  the Alaska Conference of Mayors annual meeting and the AML Annual Local Government Conference. 

Luke Fulp and Laura Hylton were panelists at the School Construction and Maintenance Policy Workshop.  

Andy Ratliff provided information and fielded questions about education funding  at the Conference of Mayors



ALASBO is grateful to them for taking the time to attend these meetings.
Executive Director's Message
I have been very busy these past three months working as your Executive Director. I appreciate all the help I have received! As you read my article you will notice parts of it have been expanded to be separate newsletter articles. This will give more attention to what great things your ALASBO colleagues are doing. If you do read my article, please excuse some repetition!

Please take a moment to read this article and this newsletter to learn about the accomplishments of your fellow ALASBO members and other news.
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Three ALASBO Members Earn SFO Designation in 2019
The Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO) is pleased to announce that these ALASBO members have earned the Certified Administrator of School Finance and Operations ® (SFO ® ):

Andrew Ratliff,  SFO
Reena S. Voivedich, SFO
Heather Heineken, SFO

A Message from Nils Andreassen with Alaska Municipal League
The Importance of Collaboration
by Nils Andreassen, Executive Director, AML
 
The Alaska Municipal League (AML) has made an intentional effort to reach out to and build relationships with the associations reflecting the interests of schools, and in particular ACSA, ALASBO and AASB. As a membership-based organization comprised of city and borough governments in Alaska, AML is dedicated to strengthening local...

Alaska Council of School Administrators (ACSA) Launches Digital Advocacy Tool

I n preparation for the 2020 Legislative Session, ACSA is implementing an advocacy software tool, Phone2Action, which will allow members to receive action alerts on urgent legislative issues in real time. Members who sign up to receive alerts will also be able to advocate directly to their elected officials through email and Twitter. ACSA will provide a template with talking points and facts on the issue but encourages members to incorporate personal stories and information from their district into the message. Stay tuned for more information on how to activate your account and start contacting your legislators.

EQUITY ANALYSES OF THE PER PUPIL EXPENDITURES BY SCHOOL
by Elwin Blackwell, DEED

As the current school year advances much of the workflow that school business officials are involved in continues to be the same from year to year with budgets, audits, and taking care of current year revenue and expenditures. With the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), school business officials have seen some additional reporting requirements placed upon them in the form of identifying school-level and district-level expenditures.

Member Spotlight: Sandy Weaver
Our member spotlight shines on Sandy Weaver.
Sandy is a Budget Specialist II at Fairbanks North Star Borough School District.


Board Policy/Standard Operating Procedures Ad-Hoc Committee Begins Review

ALASBO released best practices Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for use by Alaska School Districts in 2018. The next step is to align SOPs with board policy; primarily Section 3000: Business and Non-Instructional Operations. These ad-hoc committee members are:

  • Co-Chair Luke Fulp with Mat-Su Borough SD 
  • Co-Chair Melody Douglas with ALASBO
  • Lon Garrison with the Alaska Association of School Business Officials
  • Peggy Cowan with Alaska Superintendents Association
  • John Conwell with Unalaska City SD
  • Sarah Jahn with Juneau SD
  • Andy Ratliff with Anchorage SD
  • Tammy White with CORE, Inc. working at Iditarod Area SD
  • Dennis Niedermeyer with Niedermeyer Services working with the North Slope Borough SD

The committee is working through board policy and related SOPs using Google Docs during weekly meetings. Recommended changes to board policy and SOP’s will be reviewed for implementation.  

There will be a discussion session on this topic at the upcoming ALASBO Annual Conference for members interested in this project. 

 
Thanks to our Power Lunch presenters!

Recent topics include:

  • Educator Quality Data (DEED)
  • 403b Compliance
  • Indirect Cost Rate

Next Power Lunch: Governor's Budget Proposal - December 17, 11 AM

See the full schedule, access materials and listen to recordings of these and other sessions HERE . Get them on your calendar!
Join a Committee!

ALASBO runs on volunteers to ensure appropriate and timely professional development opportunities are available to members and to manage the organization. Members are invited to explore a committee of interest and to volunteer to help build on the excellent foundation of previous ALASBO leaders to make ALASBO even better than it is today. ALASBO committees will meet on Tuesday, December 10, 2019 during the ALASBO Conference. ALASBO’s Committees include: 



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There is Still Time to Register for the Annual Conference!

Network!
Learn!
Have fun!

Pre-Conference Sessions: Sunday, December 8.
Regular Conference: December 9, 10, 11.
Click here to see the Annual Conference Schedule


The special ALASBO room rate at the The Hotel Captain Cook is only $105 per nigh!
Be sure to use code ALASBO19 when you book your room.

Register for the conference here: click here: http://www.cvent.com/d/f6q13q

The conference program will be posted on the ALASBO website before Thanksgiving,