The business of education

School board race TAX LEVY ISSUE The business of education Total district operating revenues District spending and enrollment History of tax levy increases About the new tax levy Paying those employees Measuring student achievement How Columbia compares	The business of education By AUDREY SPALDING news@columbiamissourian.com If you ignore the children it serves and the taxpayers who fund it, the Columbia Public School District looks like a business: — It worries about competing for employees. For example, the district’s first consideration when raising teacher salaries is how much its competitor-districts are offering. — It evaluates its financial stability using the same benchmarks that private businesses do. For example, the district keeps the level of its reserve money high to maintain a Moody’s Aa2 bond rating, which means that its bonds are a less risky investment. — It deals with an annual budget of more than $160 million, like that of a small to mid-sized company. “We are a business,” said Mary Laffey, who oversees human resources. “The Columbia school district is the third largest employer in the community,” said Jim Ritter, the district’s former superintendent. “The superintendent is really the CEO of that business in many ways. She is responsible for more than 2,700 employees whose product happens to be not widgets but human beings. Their success is dependent on her staff and how well they do their jobs.” The district straddles the line between business and public service, Ritter said. Others disagree. They say a business model isn’t possible when you’re talking about children getting an education. “You have to realize that school districts have to accept all students who come into their doors,” said Jack Jensen, who oversees secondary education. “Businesses don’t have to do that. You can’t always look at the education of children based just on an efficiency model.” In this package, we examine the district as one might a business. We look at what the district spends and what it achieves with that money. We address your coming financial decision — whether to give the district more money — when you vote on April 8. And we put this question to 11 people with a stake in the answer: Is it fair to compare our school district to a business? You can find their answers throughout this package. Though the district has a business-like hierarchy and structure, it is serving children, about 16,650 of them. And there are no cash dividends, no profit and no money-motivated investors. Rather, every property owner in the district is one of its financiers. The end product is education, but the district uses much more than a chalkboard and desks to deliver it.

School board race

TAX LEVY ISSUE

The business of education

By AUDREY SPALDING
news@columbiamissourian.com

If you ignore the children it serves and the taxpayers who fund it, the Columbia Public School District looks like a business:

— It worries about competing for employees. For example, the district’s first consideration when raising teacher salaries is how much its competitor-districts are offering.

— It evaluates its financial stability using the same benchmarks that private businesses do. For example, the district keeps the level of its reserve money high to maintain a Moody’s Aa2 bond rating, which means that its bonds are a less risky investment.

— It deals with an annual budget of more than $160 million, like that of a small to mid-sized company.

“We are a business,” said Mary Laffey, who oversees human resources.

“The Columbia school district is the third largest employer in the community,” said Jim Ritter, the district’s former superintendent. “The superintendent is really the CEO of that business in many ways. She is responsible for more than 2,700 employees whose product happens to be not widgets but human beings. Their success is dependent on her staff and how well they do their jobs.”

The district straddles the line between business and public service, Ritter said.
Others disagree. They say a business model isn’t possible when you’re talking about children getting an education.

“You have to realize that school districts have to accept all students who come into their doors,” said Jack Jensen, who oversees secondary education.

“Businesses don’t have to do that. You can’t always look at the education of children based just on an efficiency model.”

In this package, we examine the district as one might a business. We look at what the district spends and what it achieves with that money. We address your coming financial decision — whether to give the district more money — when you vote on April 8.

And we put this question to 11 people with a stake in the answer: Is it fair to compare our school district to a business? You can find their answers throughout this package.

Though the district has a business-like hierarchy and structure, it is serving children, about 16,650 of them. And there are no cash dividends, no profit and no money-motivated investors. Rather, every property owner in the district is one of its financiers.

The end product is education, but the district uses much more than a chalkboard and desks to deliver it.