2014 • The ADVOCATE • 1

The

NewsletterTHE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE ONTARIO ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL BUSINESS OFFICIALS

JUNE 2014

ADVOCATEISSUE NO. 208

IN THIS ISSUE… 1 Barriers Our Members Face

—And How OASBO Can Help

3 McCordic Award Winner

5 Service Recognition Award Recipients 2014

6 Going Paperless: Six Ways to Benefit Your District

10 Index of Advertisers

Barriers Our Members Face—And How OASBO Can Help

continued on page 4

that these forms of networking are being rated against will become more stringent,” Kendall says.

“Improve information management”

The new website is amazing and has really improved communication among members. That said, Manuel suggests that every committee page should have a link to a Knowledge Space for easier access to the important information shared—including presentations, memos from the Ministry, as well as Q&As between members and min-istry employees. “Currently, these critical documents often get lost in the discussions, which are pushed further and further down the web pages as new discussions are added,” Manuel says. “Documents lose their value when they can’t be found.”

“Address the rank and file”Taha would like the association to

implement a grassroots campaign that would engage young and new members and employees to contribute to OASBO’s organizational mission. “In short,” Taha says, “OASBO needs to communicate more aggressively with Senior School Board offi-cials and Directors of Education on the sig-nificance of having funding available to the rank-and-file to enroll in OASBO.”

“Overcome geographical barriers”Ontario is huge. While OASBO

meetings take place mostly in Southern Ontario—where a large population is

In an ideal world, what would OASBO wish for? Like any association, ours would like to attract more new members and

have more of its existing members partici-pate and benefit from association meetings, discussions, information sharing and events.

To find out how OASBO can do an even better job at serving members’ needs, we went straight to the source and asked our committee Chairs. Those who weighed in were Sari Taha (Payroll and Benefits), Carol Manuel (Admissions & Enrolment), John Gardiner (Risk Management), and Lyndsey Kendall (Human Resources). Here’s what they had to say:

“Members are busy”Members value OASBO, but their involve-

ment with the association—not to mention

their day jobs—takes time that they cannot always spare. A shortage of time means not all members can benefit from the news, insights and networking opportunities OASBO has to offer. They sometimes miss out on import-ant and timely issues, initiatives, or discus-sions with the Ministry. Manuel suggests, “It would be nice if the OASBO office sent a monthly ‘Hello’ to members to let us know what’s new, who they’re talking to at the Ministry, what are the trends in education both from the public and private sectors.”

“More value, please”In some areas, OASBO has compe-

tition. Members have opportunities to attend comparable, non-OASBO indus-try events, which is why our associa-tion must continuously find ways to add value so that members perceive mem-bership and involvement as a highly valuable “must-have” as opposed to a “nice-to-have-if-we-can-afford-it.”

While some see OASBO as great value for what it costs in membership dues, travel expenses and time away from the office, “as the purse strings get tighter, the criteria

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2014 • The ADVOCATE • 3

The ADVOCATEIssue number 208 June 2014

The Advocate is the official publication of the Ontario Association of School Business Officials (OASBO). It is distributed free to members of the association.

The Ontario Association of School Business Officials 144 Main Street North, Suite 207 Markham, ON L3P 5T3 Tel.: 905-209-9704 Fax: 905-209-9705 E-mail: office@oasbo.org Website: www.oasbo.org

OASBO BOArd OF dIreCtOrS 2014/2015 executive President: Nancy tallevi, Dufferin Peel Catholic DSB Vice President: Paul McMahon, Halton Catholic DSB Past President: russ Coles, York Region DSB

directors

Mark Cabone, Waterloo Region DSB

Mark Connors, Simcoe County DSB

Wendy dobson, Wellington Dufferin Student Transportation

Steve Fujimura, Durham Catholic DSB

Steve Shaw, Toronto DSB

Nathalie St. Pierre, Conseil Scolaire Viamonde

elaine Warling, Hamilton Wentworth DSB

Executive Director: Bill Blackie

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the association or its Board of Directors.

PUBLISHED IN JUNE 2014/OSB-A0014/9941

The McCordic Award, the highest award offered by the Association, is presented annually at the banquet

of the Annual Conference of the Ontario Association of School Business Officials. It recognizes an individual’s outstanding con-tribution to the service of school business. This contribution will probably have taken place over a number of years and may have been through the Association, through service with a board, the Ministry of Education, a col-lege or university or through an organization devoted to education in Ontario.

The Award was established in 1980 to honour a former executive secretary of the Association, W.J. McCordic, who made excep-tional contributions in the field of school business administration. As an outstanding educational leader in the Province of Ontario, Bill’s aim was to “keep the child front and cen-tre.” Bill’s exemplary leadership has touched countless individuals in public education. The award is bestowed upon an individual who best exemplifies the attributes of Bill McCordic.

The Ontario Association of School Business Officials is pleased to add to the list of worthy recipients the name of Christine Thompson (posthumously).

After graduating from York University, Christine began her career at the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board working as a Planning Clerk, Financial Analyst, Planning Officer and Acting Manager of Planning. She left Simcoe Muskoka to work with Watson and Associates before returning to the education sector as the Supervisor of Planning for the District School Board of Niagara. She was an active member of the OASBO Planning Committee and used her time to ensure that the committee benefitted from informative professional development sessions, encouraging group discussions, and team building activities. Chris regularly shared her experience and expertise with other mem-bers of the Planning Committee.

Chris was committed to life-long learning. Her professional designations included being an Associate member in the Association of Corporate Treasurers, the Canadian Institute of Management, a member of the Ontario and Canadian Professional Planner Institutes and a Professional Land Economist. In addition, she

Christine will be missed but her

accomplishments, spirit, enthusiasm, camaraderie and infectious laugh will live on in our memories.

the 2014 McCordic Award Honours the Memory of Christine thompson

was in the process of completing her Business Supervisory Officer certification.

Christine believed that developing good relationships and building rapport with col-leagues was essential. This belief was evident in her strong work ethic and her use of concise language when explaining ideas. Christine was able to demonstrate her caring and support for students and student achievement by her attendance at Board-wide events. Christine will be missed but her accomplishments, spirit, enthusiasm, camaraderie and infectious laugh will live on in our memories.

We are pleased to present this posthumous award to Christine Thompson’s family.

Presented at OASBO’s 71st Annual Conference, May 8, 2014 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. ■

4 • The ADVOCATE • 2014

concentrated—unpredictable weather, tight budgets and other travel constraints make it difficult to rally together professionals from all over the province.

“The greatest issue facing OASBO is enlisting those members outside the GTA in its committees,” Gardiner says. “Owing to the geographic expanse, it is very difficult for outlying boards to commit members to attend meetings due to distance.” 

The technology exists to bring people closer together. So, OASBO, let’s make better use of it. Despite the obvious value of meeting collectively in a room with peers, too few can take advan-tage of this opportunity.

According to our respondents, it’s up to OASBO to offer alterna-tives. Manuel would like to see better teleconferencing tools, such as Adobe Connect, which would allow members to follow PowerPoint presentations and follow meetings more closely.

“Our committee meets from London to Brantford, to Toronto, Durham and Barrie and that’s about it,” Manuel says. “Our regular members from Northern and Eastern Ontario would probably find great value in better teleconferencing ability.”

Virtual meetings would also address time constraints. Kendall makes the point that because attending a meeting can be such a big commitment in terms of expenses and travel, those meetings “are generally designed to last a full day so that it’s worth the travel and costs it takes to get there.” The HR committee, for example, has more than 140 people yet only 20 to 30 make it to committee meetings. While this may be a result of a multitude of factors, the issue of time commitment must be considered. A teleconference can take an hour or two instead of an entire day.

The newly created social networking tool NING is a great start, and has the potential to be useful for some networking purposes. OASBO can provide greater accessibility by adding a meaningful, reliable tool that brings people together for virtual meetings.

OASBO would likely see higher engagement and participa-tion from the Ontario school boards. And its members would no longer face the obstacles of geographical barriers, travel costs, and all-day meetings. Then, as issues arise that impact school boards across the province, it would be easier to coordinate

impromptu meetings for more immediate support. As it stands now, people must plan far in advance to book rooms and make other travel arrangements.

“Give us virtual meetings, we’ll give you a great Conference”

What virtual meetings lack in face-to-face contact, they can make up for at the big event. OASBO’s Annual Conference held in May would likely have better attendance if school boards spent less throughout the year to send their members to meetings. We will always need human interaction, which is what makes the conference an annual highlight. Freeing up resources for the event could make it even more worthwhile and memorable.

“Meanwhile…keep up the good work!”While our busy committee chairs have a clear perspective on how

OASBO can do more to help members (and make the Chair’s job eas-ier!), they also expressed gratitude for the myriad ways that OASBO already enriches their profession. Here are a few words of praise:

“The OASBO board is a terrific vehicle for front running issues in education with the Ministry.”

“OASBO committees offer a wonderful forum for obtaining consensus on issues and developing best practices for many administrative activities. Equally important, the association provides an opportunity to meet and socialize with peers.”

 “The twice yearly meeting of Chairs with Directors is informative and relevant. The office staff is always gracious and helpful and able to answer any questions we may have.”

“As a new HR professional, involvement with OASBO has been a rewarding one in terms of networking with peers from other Boards and either receiving validation (of sorts) that as a province, we’re of the same understanding with respect to key issues within the education sector.”

“The people who particpate in OASBO are wonderful, intelligent professionals and it has been great getting to connect with them.”

“OASBO has created a common meeting space that allows all to overcome the many administrative challenges we consistently face as school board official, especially in the past two years. More specifically, the association allows for an efficient exchange of ideas and information between practitioners.” ■

continued from page 1

2014 • The ADVOCATE • 5

OASBO SerVICe reCOGNItION AWArd reCIPIeNtS 2014

Sandy Anderson, Manager of Financial Services Lambton Kent DSBRon Andruchow, Superintendent of Business Lambton Kent DSBChris Broadbent, Manager, Occupational Health & Safety Toronto DSBHeather Brown, Supervisor of Accounting Algonquin & Lakeshore Catholic DSBKevin Burge, Senior Manager of Financial Services Trillium Lakelands DSBDennis Cuomo, Manager of Planning Waterloo Region DSBPaul Hearse, Supervisor of Financial Reporting & Accountability Thames Valley DSBDaniel Jolette, General Manager Nipissing-Parry Sound Student Transportation ServicesSteve Mills, Manager of Purchasing Services York Catholic DSBWilliam Okanik, Supervisor of Property Services DSB of NiagaraErica Pennell, Manager of Financial Services Algonquin & Lakeshore Catholic DSBRobert roy, Manager of Accounting Services Hastings & Prince Edward DSBLucy Veerman, Superintendent of Business Halton DSB

25 Years Service

Doug Campbell, Controller of Plant & Planning Services Algonquin & lakeshore Catholic DSBRenate Kaskow, Occupational Health & Safety Manager York Region DSBDick Kearns, Supervisor of Purchasing Trillium Lakelands DSBRenée Lucas, Manager of Internal Audit Peel DSBPatrick Mohammed, Occupational Health & Safety Officer Toronto DSBWanda Muirhead, Superintendent of Business & Finance Services York Region DSBDomenico renzella, Manager of Planning Halton DSBGerry thuss, Superintendent of Business & Finance Huron-Perth Catholic DSBMichael Weinert, Assistant Superintendent, HR Services Waterloo Region DSB

20 Years Service

Christine Beal, Superintendent of Business, Thames Valley DSB Diane Cayen-Arnold, Superintendent of Business Rainbow DSBJulie Cherepacha, General Manager, Financial Services Dufferin Peel Catholic DSBRuss Coles, Sr. Manager, Computer Applications York Region DSBMary emery, Human Resources Officer Greater Essex County DSBDavid Few, Manager of Property & Planning Simcoe County DSBFrancine Funnell, Agente de verification interne et Soutien administrative Conseil scolaire catholique Franco-Nord

15 Years ServiceGary Gibson, Manager, Health & Safety Durham DSBCorrado Maltese, Senior Manager Toronto Catholic DSBTracy McLennan, Superintendent of Corporate Services & Associate Treasurer Wellington Catholic DSBDino Miele, Chief Information Officer DSB of NiagaraMary Lynn Schauer, Superintendent of Business Services Renfrew County Catholic DSBSusan taylor, Human Resources Officer, Teaching Staff Hastings & Prince Edward DSBToni-Anne toldo, Human Resources Officer Greater Essex County DSBWayne toms, Manager of ITS & Planning Limestone DSBRick Werezak, Comptroller of Finance DSB of NiagaraDeborah White-Hassell, Manager of Purchasing Services Kawartha Pine Ridge DSB

Scott Adams, Manager of Finance Superior North Catholic DSBEnzo Addesa, Security Risk Administrator Peel DSBRod Bessell, Manager of Property Services Lakehead DSBDavid Bilenduke, Senior Coordinator of Finance Toronto Catholic DSBStephen danielson, Manager of Information Services Rainy River DSBDebbie deboer, Manager of Human Resources Halton DSBJoe difonzo, Sr. Coordinator, Technical Services Toronto Catholic DSB

Ted dyjach, Manager of Technical Support Services Waterloo Catholic DSBTeresa estriga, Case Manager, Disability Management Program York Region DSBJeff Fair, Sr. Manager of Administration Services York Region DSBCarole Flaro, Executive Assistant to Director of Education Catholic DSB of Eastern OntarioRonald Gumbley, Sr. Manager, Compensation Services Toronto DSBStacey Hill, Human Resources Coordinator Brant Haldimand-Norfolk Catholic DSBConnie Ippolito, Compensation and Benefits Supervisor Wellington Catholic DSBSusan Justus, Manager of Operations Simcoe County DSBDarren Lambert, Maintenance Supervisor Trillium Lakelands DSBDawn Lamontagne, Supervisor of Purchasing & Supply Greater Essex County DSBSandra Macey, Manager, Financial Services Thames Valley DSB

Janice McCoy, Superintendent, Human Resources Ottawa Carleton DSBGary McKenzie, Risk Assessment Manager Windsor-Essex Catholic DSBCathy Modesto, Superintendent of Business & Finance CSD Catholique du Nouvel-OntarioDavid Morrissey, Controller of Plant Hamilton Wentworth Catholic DSBJoseph O’Hara, Executive Officer, Human Resources Services Halton Catholic DSBPat Petrella, Manager of Finance Brant Haldimand-Norfolk Catholic DSBNicole Proulx, Operations Manager Student Transportation of Eastern OntarioPierre Schipper, Manager of Facilities Services York Region DSBJackie Sweetman, Manager of Budget Halton DSBJulia Ward, Manager of Purchasing Hamilton Wentworth Catholic DSBBeverley Webb, Sr. Administrator of Human Resources Rainbow DSB

10 Years Service

6 • The ADVOCATE • 2014

T his article originally appeared in the April 2014 School Business Affairs magazine and is reprinted with per-

mission of the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO). The text herein does not necessarily represent the views or policies of ASBO International, and use of this imprint does not imply any endorsement or recognition by ASBO International and its officers or affiliates.

Think about your school district: elemen-tary schools, middle schools, at least one high school, and thousands of students, each with a file of data related to registration, transpor-tation, basic skills, information technology, special services, and more.

If you’re managing information using paper, those files are going to get very daunt-ing, very fast.

Document management in any school dis-trict is a challenge. Students generate moun-tains of paperwork by simply being enrolled, and limitations in staffing, hours, and resour-ces magnify any inefficiency in the process. Factor in budget cuts, stringent compliance standards, and increasing security needs, and it’s easy to see why streamlined workflows often seem like pipe dreams.

Fortunately, they aren’t. Implementing an effective paperless document management system can be challenging, but it’s possible. When done correctly, it can vastly improve

Going Paperless: Six Ways to Benefit Your districtPaperless filing and workflows create many benefits that improve the economics and efficiency of school districts.By Patrick Maher

2014 • The ADVOCATE • 7

Going Paperless: Six Ways to Benefit Your districtworkflow and maximize efficiencies, as well as eliminate myriad problems inherent to legacy filing practices: • Loss of documentation from fire, f lood,

mishandling, and so forth• Inability to quickly locate vital information • Rising costs of staff to process paper-

based inquiries • Difficulty moving paper between staff,

schools, and districts• Long-term storage costs.

Case in point: Not long ago, one Iowa school district’s legacy filing system had cre-ated an influx of paper—85 file cabinets and 300 boxes of student records. One school in the district used its basement to house more than 17,000 files, some dating back to the 1800s.

Then, the district decided to go paperless. By the time the conversion was finished, it had no filing cabinets, and administrators had shredded more than 16,500 student files. Positive return on investment was achieved by the reduced cost of printing expenses alone—even before factoring in physical space and staff efficiency.

The top Six Benefits of Going Paperless

The Iowa district’s success was not an isolated case. Paperless filing processes and workflows create a multitude of benefits that fundamentally improve the economics and efficiency of school district administration. Here are just six benefits, but bear in mind, the list is hardly exhaustive!

1. Auditing existing workflow practices. One of the first steps in implementing an electronic document management system is to conduct a full audit of existing workflow practices, which can benefit the district in a variety of ways.

Too often, offices attempt to overhaul all processes at once, rather than give the necessary attention to each daily task. You should choose a single process that needs to be streamlined—something granular, like documentation of absentees. Break down that single process into steps. Who is involved? What are the action items? How do you troubleshoot should an issue arise? Imagine how the process would work electronically, and be sure to note any pitfalls that may come along with it. The result will be a clear understanding of each daily process, as well as information on what needs to be changed

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2014 • The ADVOCATE • 9

in the future. Going paperless is simply the next step in streamlining the entire process.

2. Maintaining access to clear, accur-ate data. Manual data entry associated with traditional paper systems breeds inaccuracies, especially when multiple forms of data are passed from person to person throughout a student’s career. The time and money spent correcting such inaccuracies add up quickly. The solution: a quality electronic system that mitigates human error and that has the flex-ibility to collect data in pieces through defined capture elements.

In other words, retrieving data should be a simple, automated process that does not require additional staff time and resources. Any student’s information should be access-ible whenever it’s needed, with little to no downtime spent on the overall process.

3. reclaiming productive space. Traditional paper filing systems must be expanded to accommodate increasing num-bers of students and faculty. In a time when resources are often scarce, the physical space filled by filing cabinets is more valuable than ever. Older physical files may also require a special request with a records manager for retrieval—a process that can be time-con-suming at best. Even more complications arise when older files are stored off-site. Misfiled,

mislabeled, and misplaced files become the norm, along with the frustrations of staffers who are asked to locate them.

Conversely, an electronic document man-agement system can free up that extra space to benefit staff, faculty, and students.

4. Standardizing information—securely. Your district likely has policies to ensure how communications are handled, how files are used, and who can access what. But are there precise, standardized measures to ensure that files are updated frequently and accurately, and that appropriate staff and faculty have access to them?

A high-quality electronic document management system can add an additional layer of security to your administration while enforcing your school’s unique rules and policies. It should allow varying lev-els of access for personnel, along with the ability to monitor, all without physically handling the files. Additionally, a system that can proactively manage notifications of soon-to-be-expired materials, such as court orders, education plans, medical documents and more, is imperative for any diligent administration.

5. Gaining a holistic view of student rec-ords. What good is extensive record keeping if files aren’t being used to their fullest? In many

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traditional filing systems, it’s possible to access only parts of each student’s file at any given time. But when an immediate decision must be made, it’s important for administrators to be able to access all appropriate files, not just the pieces that are convenient.

With an electronic document manage-ment system, there is no waiting for files requested from other offices, no trickling in of information, and no delaying in making important decisions.

6. Aligning school administration and It goals. One myth about electronic document management systems is that their implementation and maintenance is far too time-consuming and expensive for most school districts, especially small ones with limited resources.

That simply isn’t true. A good provider of electronic document management systems will give end users the tools they need to get started quickly, offering the training and maintenance they require for their special-ized needs. However, it’s still important to make sure that your faculty and IT staff are on the same page. What are the goals of each? How can an electronic system make their jobs easier? How will communication be handled between departments? By identifying the big-gest concerns of everyone involved, you can

10 • The ADVOCATE • 2014

ensure that your school is maximizing everything an electronic system has to offer.

doing More with Less An electronic document management system can go a long way

in meeting the needs of the staff, faculty, and students in your school district. Although the path to paperless is not without its challenges, the benefits far outweigh the difficulties. • Imagine the results:• Reduced staff time • Easy retrieval of any file, on any student • Significant return on investment • Across-the-board increases in efficiency • Increased document security • Proactive document change management.

That’s all possible. And it’s not as hard to achieve as you once thought.

In a time when staffing levels, resources, and time are increasingly limited and security is of the utmost importance, it’s more essential than ever to make decisions that ultimately benefit your most important constituents: your students. Streamlined workflow in schools enables administrators to do more with less, freeing their time so they can focus on improving not just their office’s productivity, but the lives of each student it touches. ■

Patrick Maher is founder and CEO of SRC Solutions in Center Valley, Pennsylvania. Email. pmaher@src-solutions.com

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