School BUSRide spoke with David Lewis, executive director, and Siobhan McMahon, chief operations officer, of the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) International. ASBO International is a global network of school business professionals, promoting standards of school business management, professional growth, and effective use of educational resources.
Please tell us about your professional backgrounds, and how you came to your positions at ASBO International.
David Lewis: I started as executive director for ASBO International last year in April. Prior to, I was executive director for the Arizona affiliate of ASBO. I served in Arizona for about eight years. Prior to Arizona ASBO, I was more in association management for chambers of commerce and a few other business ventures in Arizona.
The very beginning of my career was as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. for 15 years, so returning to the area with ASBO was a great fit for me. I had worked a lot with Siobhan and ASBO International over those years in Arizona, including hosting numerous annual conferences in Phoenix,
which we worked together on.
Just before the pandemic hit, our team was traveling around to all the different ASBO state affiliates, going to all the annual conferences, and spreading the word about ASBO membership and advocacy. Now we are just keeping the association strong during the pandemic, evolving with the times, and moving forward to keep ASBO a strong organization.
Siobhan McMahon: I am the chief operations officer for ASBO International. My background is in hospitality. My family owns a hotel in Yorkshire, UK. 20 years ago I moved to Virginia. And for 19 of those 20 years, I have been fortunate to work for ASBO. I have found association management to require the same skills as hospitality. My members are my guests.
I started at ASBO in September 2001I recall interviewing and wondering what a school business official does – and I’m still learning that today, 19 years later. I joined the membership department originally and worked through membership, marketing, communication, legislative, and affiliate relations.
David and I had the opportunity to work with each other for many years before he came onboard fully to ASBO International, and now I am the chief operations officer and work with all the ASBO teams.
Please explain the role of a school business official. Where does it fit on an organizational chart?
McMahon: The school business official, or school business professional, reports directly to the superintendent. Their title is typically assistant superintendent within the school district, and they oversee the business side of the education wheel.
The job includes overseeing transportation, to technology, to facilities management, legal aspects, purchasing and supply management, risk management, finance, school food and nutrition – the list goes on and on. And because the NAPT membership also works in that field of education they can appreciate that “school” is much more than a classroom. School business officials are very involved with all that entails.
Lewis: A school has a “business” side of the house and a “curriculum” side of the house. Superintendents typically come from the curriculum side. The business side is handled by business officials. That means finance, construction, along with all the roles Siobhan mentioned.
If it has anything to do with the school’s money, it goes through the school business professional. The job is a little bit of everything.
Please describe the school business official’s view of school finance. What are the “moving parts” and how do they fit together?
Lewis: At the state level, 90 percent of budget is coming from the state office or from the state department of education. And then about 10 percent is coming from the federal level in grants. Child nutrition, IDEA special needs funding, and other items are examples of what comes from the federal level.
Because most of the financing comes from state budgets, school finance goes the way of the economy. As things are going well and the state has increased dollars in their general fund, that pot of money goes up during growth times. And during down times, when the economy is down and the state budgets are being cut from previous years, so does education funding.
And it is up to the school business professionals to figure out how to be forecasting and anticipating that. There are 13,000 districts in the country, and they all handle finance differently. But they are all trying to learn from each other and trying to adhere to best practices when dealing with these ups and downs of finances.
Siobhan McMahon: I have seen a shift in the last 10 to 15 years in who becomes school business professionals. Two decades ago, most school business professionals went from teaching positions, to principals, to business offices. Today, I would guess only a tenth of our members come through the education route. They are very business savvy now, with CPAs and experience in working in business and finance. They understand the importance of transparency when it comes to school finance more than anyone.
What impact is COVID-19 generally having on school finance? What kind of shape were we in nationally before the pandemic?
McMahon: In all my years at ASBO, I have yet to meet a member that is content with their current funding. Our members were facing shortfalls before COVID, and reopening means many more expenses incurred to make the school a safe environment.
The biggest cost now includes providing technology and equity in education. How do you provide online learning when you live in an area that has no Wi-Fi access? There has always been inequity in education, but COVID has brought a spotlight on that.
School is not just a place to go learn Sadly, a significant amount of our children is safer in a school with a pandemic than they are at home. In the wake of COVID-19, we have seen decreases in reports on child abuse because there is no school nurse, teacher, or bus driver to notice warning signs.
So where is the money for all that the school system is required to provide. That is what is keeping ASBO members up at night.
What can a school transportation director do to help a school business official right now? Is that any different from “normal” because of the pandemic?
McMahon:We are a team and I think that is something that we need to take away as a positive from this pandemic.
Our members are not out driving the bus. They are not the directors of transportation, like the NAPT membership. Our message to you is to feel confident in the knowledge that you have, and to share your expertise. The school business official is overseeing so many different departments and can only have so much knowledge in each area.
So my message to NAPT members is to know that your work is recognized by the school business officials, and that your work is essential. Please do not be shy about approaching the school business professional with your knowledge and expertise, because we need it.
Lewis: The first person a kid sees each day, usually, is their bus driver. That has never been more obvious than now when this disaster has struck.
I will never forget talking to a transportation director during a teachers’ strike, years ago. They told me they were going to be picking kids up for school during the strike. When I asked why, since there would not be any teachers, they replied: “It doesn’t matter. If we do not drive kids for school, many of them will go hungry for lack of food at home.” It is a very sad situation, but it is reality.
That is why transportation is such a valuable part of what the school district is. The school is part of the community, and pupil transportation is a community service
Because of all the additional costs of COVID, schools have seen about a 10 to 15 percent increase in budget costs. In the next budget cycle, we may be looking at potentially a 15 to 20 percent cut in available funds because of economic slowdown. We have even heard of cuts as high as 25 percent. So, ASBO members and NAPT members know we are dealing with major funding gaps. Developing relationships and partnerships between our departments will help us keep operations moving despite the significant cuts.
How can NAPT help ASBO?
Lewis: I think working together on advocacy would be one of my major focuses. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain from our memberships talking to each other.
McMahon: Absolutely – we need to maintain a team mentality. We must continue sharing information back and forth. Our members recently found it very valuable to hear from Mike Martin on transportation issues and content affecting your members every day.
Our question to NAPT members is: How can we support you also? Please let us and our members know.