Summer in the District Office

In order to save money, the District Office is closed this week. Employees who work there are either on forced vacation or unpaid time, depending on their job classification and amount of vacation accrued. Some people suggest that the office should be shut down for the entire month of July.

I had the pleasure of spending a couple hours in the District Office last week in order to meet with those who are working hard over the summer to make sure that the district is ready for the new school year that starts at the end of August. Many people do not realize how much work is done during the summer, when students, teachers, and other school employees are not in school. Here are a few examples of the crucial work being done during the summer.

• The fiscal year of a school district closes on June 30. Just like a private business, the business office must close the books and reconcile the ending balances during the month of July. In some ways, July is the most important month of the year for the business office, and it may be the most stressful.
  
• The personnel office must make sure that all vacant school jobs are filled. Teachers and staff who retire and leave must be replaced by the time the new school year begins.
  
• The special education department runs the mandated summer school programs and works on contracts for the education of special needs students.
  
• The nutrition services director is working on menus for the coming school year and making sure that contracts are in place for all the ingredients that are purchased during the year.
  
• The facilities department is managing all kinds of site improvement projects, from capital work on roofs, HVAC, and fields, to restriping of parking lots, playground maintenance, and basic repairs at all the school sites.
  
• The IT department is working to make sure that all the site computers have the latest software and will work with the new internet backbone and client-server setup.
  
• Education Services staff are processing enrollment forms for new students entering the district and making sure that all students have necessary vaccination records in place.

As you can see, a proper functioning district requires lots of hard working and dedicated employees. Important work is done during the summer so that schools are ready for the next school year and the transition from summer to fall is a seamless one for students and their families.