charter€¦ · a space that was not originally designed done as inexpensively as possible, and ......

Issue 8 / June 2012 Charter Focus 1

CHAR

TER Issue 8 / June 2012

AnnounCements

Chipping for Charters Golf Tournament

September 13, 2012 Golf: 1:00pm | Dinner: 6:00pm location: HeritaGe eaGle benD Golf courSe, aurora

Information: www.coloradoleague.org/golf

Proceeds will benefit the Colorado League of Charter schools’ advocacy fund, which helps provide Colorado charter school students access to programs, facilities, and resources needed for high-quality education.

2013 Colorado Charter Schools Conference

february 21-22, 2013 location: omni interlocken reSort, broomfielD

Information: www.coloradoleague.org/charterconference

Mark your calendar for the 2013 Colorado Charter schools Conference, celebrating 20 years of charter schools in our state. The Conference is a great opportunity to connect with, and learn from, colleagues, peers and experts from Colorado and from around the country.

For a full community calendar of events and professional development opportunities, visit www.coloradoleague.org

In thIs IssueFacilities Issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Key Steps to Maintaining Your Facility . . . . . . 1

Creating a Disaster Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Colorado Students Rally for Charter Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Group Purchasing Program “Cost Savings through Collaboration” . . . . . . 5

Facilities Best Practices During Challenging Economic Times . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Green Cleaning and Sustainability in School Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Colorado League of Charter Schools Vendor Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Managing Your Charter Facility - a Life-Cycle Cost Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Welcome to the June 2012 edition of

Charter Focus, a quarterly journal for charter

school business managers published by

the Colorado League of Charter schools.

This quarter, we feature articles about best

practices in protecting and maintaining

your school’s facility. These articles were

contributed by those who know this topic

best – your peers and colleagues, as well

as experts in the field.

We think you will find the tips in these

articles extremely valuable and hope you

will keep this newsletter and refer back to

it throughout the school year.

If you have any comments about Charter

Focus, or if you’d like to submit an

article for a future edition, please contact

Tiffany Kallevik at 303-989-5356, ext.

116 or [email protected].

Your feedback and submissions will

help make Charter Focus an even more

valuable resource and avenue to share

best practices with other charter school

business managers.

october 2012 Issue:

Financial transparency and Audits

facilities issue

Maintaining a school building can feel like

an overwhelming task at times. When I

first took on the role of overseeing facilities

at my current school building I often said

I spent my day “putting out fires.” Our

school building was originally a church

property that was converted into a school.

It included sections that were built in the

1960’s, 1980’s and 1990’s. every morning

brought a new surprise. One day it was a

flood in the basement. The next day it was

a leaky roof.

Most charter schools share a similar

experience. They have often moved into

a space that was not originally designed

as a school. Repairs have probably been

done as inexpensively as possible, and

sometimes this has resulted in poor

workmanship. Cleaning may have been

done the same way. When I first started at

Cherry Creek Academy, the service used to

clean our building was hired because it was

the cheapest. They were doing a job that

matched the price we were paying them.

You could never be sure what the building

was going to look like in the morning.

If you have accepted a role in facility

management at a charter school and this

is your experience, this job can seem

daunting. However, it is not impossible.

There are several key steps that can be

taken to help you on your way to a safe and

clean facility.

hIre A mAIntenAnCe/ BuIldIng mAnAger

Whether you call it Maintenance engineer

or Building Manager what you really want

to hire is a jack-of-all-trades. unlike district

schools that have access to a number of

specialists, charter schools usually have

to depend on one person to perform a

majority of the maintenance and repairs

at a school. Be selective when you hire a

person to do this job. You need someone

By DaviD LoomiS

key Steps to maintaining your facility

continued on page 3

2 Charter Focus Issue 8 / June 2012

When disaster hits, you want your school

campus back to normal as quickly as

possible. Creating a disaster plan and

taking preventative measures can mitigate

the destructive effects in the event of a

catastrophe. Given the inevitability of fire

& water disasters (or other emergencies),

prevention goes a long way toward

protecting lives and saving buildings and

their contents. Two things are common to

all disasters. 1) no one thought it would

actually happen to them, but 2) Those

that planned for it anyway were repaid

countless times over by saving lives and

property.

The first step in creating a disaster plan is

to designate a person or committee that

will be responsible for creating, updating,

and, in the case of an emergency,

following through with the plan for your

school. This person or committee will also

be responsible for training other staff and

faculty to respond correctly to a disaster.

In the case of a committee, membership

should include input from all departments

that will be affected by the plan and could

also include other interested parties

such as your insurance agent/adjuster or

property owner.

The first priority of the newly formed

disaster planning committee will be to

review your school’s insurance policy and

collect the basic information that will be

needed in an emergency. This will include

things like the location of the emergency

water and power shut-offs, fire suppressant

systems, tornado shelter areas, etc. as

well as all pertinent contact information -

insurance agent, fire department, police,

planning committee chairman, executive

contact, department heads, water & fire

damage mitigation company, etc. Compile

this information into one place and

make it easily accessible, and from that

information create “notification Protocols”

that can be quickly followed in the event

of an emergency. These Protocols will

generally start with local emergency

agencies (police or fire) and, after the

threat is over, continue communicating

with your insurance agency and the

damage mitigation company as you repair

and recover from the disaster.

Two important pre-disaster activities that

will decrease recovery time are a Capital

Asset Inventory and Vital Records Back-

up. Ideally, your school will already have a

detailed list of each piece of equipment and

machinery on campus, but in most cases

this inventory will have to be updated or

created from scratch. This document is

very important for any insurance claim that

follows a disaster, so keep it up to date

as best you can! Your inventory, along

with all other vital records (staff/faculty

records, student information, etc.), need

to be backed up off-site. Again, ideally,

all vital records and documents would be

duplicated and stored safely off-site every

day (whether physically or electronically

- which is generally much easier), but in

reality a duplication and back-up process

may need to be implemented. A water or

fire disaster can easily destroy some of

these records; therefore having duplicates

safely stored off-site is an absolute

necessity.

After these initial preparations, the

planning committee should take time

to go over a wide range of possible

emergencies (depending on the location

of the school, certain emergencies will

be more likely than others - concentrate

on those) and develop emergency

plans for each department of the school

and ensure that each is aware of their

roles and responsibilities and receives

regular training for disaster situations. By

envisioning these mock scenarios, you

can make the claim settlement process

easier, minimize school interruptions, and

help keep your school in business after a

disaster.

As you can see, developing a disaster

plan can be very complicated, especially

for larger schools. It is, however, entirely

worth the time and effort. I am only able

to touch on some of the basics in this

article, but I would be more than happy

to discuss this process in more detail with

anyone who is interested. Please feel free

to contact me for more information about

disaster planning.

Kevin Hilgers is the General Manager at ServiceMaster 24 Hour, a Vendor Marketplace participant of the Colorado League of Charter Schools, www.24hourfireandwaterdamage.com.

By Kevin H iLGerS

creating a Disaster plan

The first priority of the newly formed disaster planning

committee will be to review your school’s insurance

policy and collect the basic information that will be

needed in an emergency.


Colorado LeagueColorado League

http://clcs.ssww.com

List Prices!No Minimum.25%-65% Off

Art Supplies • Classroom Supplies • Sports & P.E. • FurnitureFREE SHIPPING!FREE SHIPPING!Plus

Chris Mada“Here to make Back to School Easy for you!” [email protected]

2012 Contract Pricing2012 Contract Pricing

A Better Way

ABETTER

WAY

CLCA S2012

Administer a full range of assessments using ATI’s next generation comprehensive assessment system, including benchmark, formative, screening and placement tests, plus interim and final course examinations, pretests and posttests, early literacy benchmarks, computerized adaptive tests, and instruments documenting instructional effectiveness.Import, schedule, deliver, administer (online or offline), automatically score and report on assessments created outside of Galileo K-12 Online using ASK Technology.Increase measurement precision using Computerized AdaptiveTesting (CAT), providing high levels of efficiency in several types of assessment situations.

Galileo K-12Online

®

Fully Integrated InstructionalImprovement System:Supporting Data-Driven Instruction to Promote Student Learning

1.877.442.5453 ati-online.com townhallblog.ati-online.com [email protected] ati-online.com to register for an online overview

who has done a variety of repair and

maintenance work. This person needs to

have some experience in electrical repair,

HVAC repair, plumbing, carpentry, painting,

and groundskeeping. This person also

needs to be self-motivated and able to

work with limited supervision. They also

need to have strong people skills since they

will be working around staff, students and

parents.

develop A lIst oF trusted vendors

Obviously no one has all the skills needed

to repair everything that comes up in

the maintenance of a building. In those

situations you need to develop a list of

trusted companies that have expertise

in specific fields. Having a good HVAC

person and a good plumber that you can

go to when things get complicated can

be a real money saver. Developing a

relationship between these companies and

your maintenance engineer is important.

sometimes a problem can be fixed with just

a phone call and some advice. Companies

are willing to do this if you have established

that relationship.

hIre An eFFeCtIve JAnItorIAl servICe

Part of keeping a building well maintained

is keeping it clean. We have tried

everything from having our own building

janitor, to contracting a mom and pop

janitorial service, to using a company

with national accounts. We found that

spending a little more money to hire one

of the big companies was well worth it. A

larger service with more manpower and

resources to take care of your building is

more effective in the long run. not worrying

about whether you’ll have a clean building

in the morning is a relief. Maintaining a high

level of cleanliness extends a building’s

life and also impacts building safety in a

positive way. One other suggestion: bid

this process out every year. It’s a very

competitive business and bidding it out

yearly can lead to significant savings as

companies compete for your contract.

hAve A long term mAIntenAnCe plAn

Once you have your people in place you need

to plan for the future. This requires doing an

audit of your building and determining what

needs to be fixed, the level of urgency, and

the timing of each project to stay within the

financial constraints of your budget.

With an older building you may start to feel

like it is all urgent. While you are dealing

with the immediate needs, you also need

to plan for the future. “Is that roof going to

need replacement in the next three years?“

“The parking lot is ok for now but one or

two more Colorado winters are going to

wear it out.” These types of large repairs

require planning and budgeting. Being able

to go to your governing board with a plan

for the future, including estimated costs,

will make it more likely these jobs get done

in a timely and cost-effective manner.

perForm preventIve mAIntenAnCe

This is your end goal. You want to get to

the point that most of your maintenance

is preventative. You are maintaining your

building and getting to issues before they

become emergency repairs. This means

you’re on top of the condition of your

building, you’ve hired the right people and

you have a plan for the future. You have

less “fires to put out.” While all buildings

differ, keeping these general guidelines in

mind can lower your cost, and better yet,

your stress level.

Dave Loomis is the Assistant Director of Cherry Creek Academy, a K-8 charter school in Englewood, www.cherrycreekacademy.org.

By DaviD LoomiS

key Steps to maintaining your facility (continueD)


“Charter schools Rock” was chanted by

hundreds of charter school students on

the west steps of the state Capitol on April

19. The annual Colorado Charter schools

Rally drew students, teachers and charter

supporters from as far away as steamboat

springs. The audience gathered to let

the world know why their charter schools

“rock” and to celebrate 19 years since the

first charters opened in our state.

The event was made possible with support

of sponsors, s&s Worldwide (a group

purchasing partner of the Colorado League

of Charter schools), and serviceMaster

Clean (a vendor marketplace participant).

The Rally kicked off with music from the

Monument Academy choir. And then the

audience heard moving speeches from

students, teachers and administrators

from charters across the state including:

Highline Academy (Denver), Boulder

Preparatory High school (Boulder), Provost

Academy (Online), Crown Pointe Academy

(Westminster), Denver school of science

and Technology (Denver) and Ridge View

Academy (Watkins).

Many elected officials also took time out

of their busy schedules to address the

audience.

But the highlight of the day was the

awards ceremony where the winners of the

Colorado Charter schools essay contest

were honored by senator Mike Johnston.

The following students read their heartfelt

essays to the crowd. These winners were

selected from over 900 essay submissions

to receive college scholarships donated by

s&s Worldwide, Inc.

• McKenzieGarcia,CheyenneMountainCharter Academy, 2nd Grade

• DaytonFisher,ExcelAcademy,3rdGrade

• EliasamSosa,JamesIrwinCharterschool, 7th Grade

• KristaStonedahl,PeaktoPeakCharterschool, 12th Grade

In addition, the following runners up were

also recognized.

• TylerWard,FrontierAcademy,2ndGrade

• MonetGibson,PuebloSchoolforArtsand sciences, 4th Grade

• DannyGregory,BenFranklinAcademy,6th Grade

• JonathanTerhune,JamesIrwinCharterschool, 7th Grade

• AlexisMadden,PeaktoPeakCharterschool, 12th Grade

The League congratulates the essay

contest winners and thanks everyone who

came out to show support for Colorado’s

charter schools. It was a great day for

everyone who participated.

A special thank you to our sponsors s&s

Worldwide, Inc. and serviceMaster Clean

for showing their support for Colorado

charter schools.

colorado Students rally for charter Schools

“At my charter school there are differentiated classes

which allows me to be in a fifth grade math class and learn the

importance of hard work.”-Dayton Fisher, Grade 3

Excel Academy Essay Contest Winner

“The charter school experience gave me the confidence to take risks that pushed me to become

the person standing in this room. The ability to be closely

involved in my high school inspired me to step out of my

comfort zone and make myself known among the school and

community.”-Krista Stonedahl, Grade 12 Peak to Peak Charter School

Essay Contest Winner


Big news!Learn more about the

League’s Group Purchasing Program.

short video interviews are now available

online at www.coloradoleague.org/gppvideos.

copier products and Services

Complete Business systems of Colorado (CBs) offers League members pricing below government and state contract rates on copier products and services.

CBs has local service, supply and distribution with technicians who understand the charter school market.

employee benefit plans & commercial insurance

HuB offers League members customized solutions for employee benefit plans and commercial insurance.

HuB can assist you in reviewing, creating or updating your employee handbook, developing job descriptions, fine tuning your hiring practices, and designing a risk management program for your school.

technology products and Services

CounterTrade offers League members over 700,000 IT products with side-by-side product comparisons.

CounterTrade services and solutions include GReen initiativessuchasrecycling,BuyItandFaronicsPowerSaveproducts.

audio/Visual equipment

CCs offers League members exclusive pricing on AV equipment such as sMART boards, LCD projectors, document cameras, classroom voting systems and more.

Ben BLaCKwooD CompLeTe BuSineSS SySTemS oF CoLoraDo (CBS)(303) 467-9080Bblackwood@cbsofcolorado.comwww.completebusinesssystems.com

Gary CLarK/DereK Karr HuB inTernaTionaL inSuranCe ServiCeS(303) [email protected]

office/classroom Supplies and furniture

staples Business Advantage offers League members flexible “core lists” with an average 81% savings.

Discounts from 20%–85% with an average savings of 55% on many products. Contact your representative for additional information and details.

KriSTen oSKvareK STapLeS BuSineSS aDvanTaGe(719) [email protected]/clcs

Tanya TyLer CounTerTraDe (303) [email protected]://clcs.countertrade.com

JameS oKaDa CCS preSenTaTion SySTemS(303) 694-3323 [email protected]

payroll Services

Qqest Payroll services dedicated Account specialist offers all League members streamlined PeRA reporting and an employee self-service portal that is included with every League package.

JaSon BruneTT QQeST payroLL ServiCeS(303) [email protected]

School Supplies and furnishings

s&s Worldwide is dedicated to the charter school market and has provided classroom supplies, furniture, sports & P.e. equipment, as well as arts and crafts supplies to educators and learning institutions for over 100 years nationwide.

CHriS maDa S&S worLDwiDe(800) 243-9232, ext. 2212 [email protected] http://clcs.ssww.com

®

Worldwide

group purChAsIng progrAm “Cost sAvIngs through CollABorAtIon”

counter trade products, inc.


Facilities best practices are extremely

beneficial in helping an organization cut

operational costs. Initiatives include energy

reduction, water conservation, outsourcing

strategies, efficient organizational

structures, sustainable building solutions,

and process improvements - just to name

a few. However, best practices can come

with a substantial upfront investment in

many cases.

This upfront cost may be well warranted

based on the return on your investment.

These types of decisions are relatively

easy when there are plenty of resources to

manage these projects, and well-funded

budgets to implement these cost saving

measures. But, where do you begin to

select the most efficient facilities tools and

practices to work with when your budgets

are slashed and resources are scarce?

One can easily get discouraged with

what is required to maintain your school,

versus available facilities funds; but there

are some basic techniques available to

generate revenue and cut facilities costs

with minimal or no investment.

Challenge Your Facilities department’s effectiveness

Challenge your facilities department’s

effectiveness by surveying the organization.

Are there things that you don’t provide

that the organization would like? Are you

spending time and money on services that

no one really cares about? Are there ways

to cross-train staff to reduce or eliminate

resources? Can you reorganize your

department to be more productive?

Another good way to answer some of

these questions is to conduct a facilities

sWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses,

opportunities, threats). This type of rigorous

exercise uncovering your true strengths

and weaknesses frequently generates new

and innovative ideas on how to be more

effective as a department. The streamlining

of processes and implementing

improvements often translates to cost

saving opportunities.

Implement a plan to strategically defer Building maintenance and Capital projects

It is becoming the norm for many schools,

charter and district, to defer some scheduled

preventative maintenance items until a later

time. If you opt for this strategy, this should

not be a haphazard selection process, but

rather a very methodical and well-evaluated

plan. While this assists in cutting expenses,

be prudent to conduct a cost/benefit

analysis to ensure you are not creating

a situation where you are jeopardizing a

full replacement of an item, simply by not

promptly maintaining it at that particular

juncture. For example, if you have aging

air handling units for your heating system,

and changing belts, lubricating mechanical

components, etc. are critical to extending

immediate operation, don’t omit this type

of small preventative maintenance cost.

In addition, you need to evaluate how the

omitted maintenance or repairs may affect

your school’s daily operation. Will a failed

air handling unit shut down classrooms due

to lack of heat? Is this really a business risk

worth taking?

Other situations may be strictly cosmetic,

and may be determined as very low risk to

the organization, and more of an eye sore.

These maintenance items may be excellent

candidates for consideration to cut current

facilities costs and defer expenditures until

next year’s budget. Depending upon your

in-house facilities resources and expertise,

don’t be shy about consulting with your

engineers and architects prior to making

any risky or high-dollar budget decisions.

Capital improvements for infrastructure

replacement or school renovations also fall

into this strategically deferred category.

school construction to upgrade interior

finishes, enlarge classrooms, or update

a computer lab with new technology, for

example, all require careful scrutiny to

determine if they are good candidates for

postponement.

Initiate Bids with outsourced service providers

One advantage of a depressed economy is

the extremely competitive pricing you will

receive from service providers. Depending

upon how you have structured any existing

outsourced contract durations, now could

be an excellent time to rebid services.

If you are just starting the process of

benchmarking cost comparisons from

your in-house to outsourced providers,

you may be surprised at the savings you

can achieve. This includes outsourced

janitorial, food service, mechanical/

electrical services, general contractors,

security services, pest control, and

landscaping services. Obviously, you will

not find savings in all cases, but where you

do find savings, you will find the overall

due diligence exercise worth your while.

rethink outsourcing

If you have not considered outsourced

facilities service providers, or you are

reluctant to pursue this potential cost

cutting strategy, now is the time to consider

this approach. First, review the October

2011 issue of Charter Focus to get up to

date on the pros and cons of outsourcing.

second, be open-minded, and ready to

explore the benefits for your particular

charter school. There are some big upsides

to potentially cut facilities operations costs,

and allow others to perform and manage a

non-core business function.

A good example of this process was a win-

win situation here at the Colorado springs

Charter Academy (CsCA). We completed a

cost/benefit analysis last year to move from

in-house janitorial services to an outsourced

provider. Our analysis demonstrated that

we could save approximately $15,000 per

year between labor costs, reduced janitorial

supply costs, and process improvements.

In addition to savings, we insisted that

the provider’s cleanliness and quality of

service must exceed our previous levels.

In conjunction with the provider, we also

made process improvements to what we

cleaned, and the frequencies cleaned to

streamline our program. Instead of insisting,

“…but we have always done it this way”,

we challenged old assumptions and invited

new perspectives. Although CsCA was

cautious at first about moving into this new

relationship, it quickly became apparent

that the provider was doing a better job

By Dave ranaLS

facilities best practices During challenging economic times


at providing a service that simply was not

our core strength. By remaining open to

new ways of doing business we are now

enjoying substantial cost savings, excellent

service and quality, and it has freed up

facilities staff to focus on managing other

pressing projects.

Advertise Your Charter school’s venue rental opportunities

In addition to analyzing cost cutting

measures, generating revenue from renting

school venues can be a great way to boost

availablefunds.Forexample,atCSCAwe

advertise to outside organizations the use

of our 525-person auditorium, gymnasium,

cafeteria dining area, as well as other

multi-purpose meeting spaces. This year

we are generating significant reoccurring

monthly income by finding creative ways

to attract after school events and weekend

tenants. However, be aware of insurance

needs and any potential restrictions on the

amount of income you can generate as a

public entity.

take Advantage of Facilities grants, local utility rebates, and state supported energy savings programs

There are several facilities-specific grants

available to charter schools that should

be considered for submission. One well-

known facilities grant from the Colorado

Department of education is the BesT

Grant program (Building excellent schools

Today). These types of grant opportunities

are becoming more competitive in this

economy, but your time to submit is

definitely worth the effort. This is open to

charter schools as well as districts. During

these challenging times to make necessary

repairs, replace equipment, and keep our

schools well maintained, being awarded a

grant can be just what the doctor ordered.

As you make upgrades and basic

renovations to your school, always check

with your local utility provider to see what

rebates they can offer your school by

installing energy-efficient measures.

seek out state supported energy efficiency

programs, like the Governor’s energy

Office -Performance Contracting (GeO),

that promotes energy efficiency projects.

GeO is state funded and will work with

you, free of charge, to assist in analyzing

and recommending the most cost saving

energy improvements for your particular

buildings. In addition, financing sources

and payback scenarios supplemented with

your energy bill savings are proposed and

evaluated.

get Involved, Innovate, stay engaged

Don’t reinvent the wheel during stretched

resources and limited budgets. By sharing

best practices, models, and facilities

tools with other school organizations,

you can leverage the hours of thought

and strategy expended. One such

organization is the Colorado springs

Fire & Life Safety Consortium. Although

the overall mission is to, “…increase

the safety of our communities through

education, awareness, prevention, risk

reduction, and collaboration,” many key

facility management issues are discussed.

These school district and charter school

professionals are a wealth of knowledge.

Other collaborative examples include

joining a local chapter of your International

Facilities Management Association to

share best practices, and benchmark what

other schools and businesses are doing to

cut costs. Another measure is leveraging

the purchasing power available through

organizations such as the Colorado

League of Charter schools. This too may

present additional savings for your school

when contracting for supplies and vendor

services.

Dave Ranals is the Director of Operations at Colorado Springs Charter Academy, a K-8 charter school in Colorado Springs, www.cscharter.org.

Are you Paying Too Muchfor Furnishings?

INTRODUCING BUSINESS INTERIORS BY STAPLES.

This summer, be sure to bid your furnishing purchases with Business Interiors by Staples. The League has

negotiated huge pricing discounts with Staples via a national contract with 20+ state charter school

organizations. YOU have access to National Buying Power!

Contact Sara Carvis today.303-373-8482 or [email protected]

Save big by getting your furnishings factory-direct from over 250 leading manufacturers.

continued from page 6


Cleaning has evolved over the last 30

years; from using aggressive, toxic

chemicals for routine and restorative tasks

alike, to an understanding that we don’t

need to use such harsh chemicals for

our daily, routine cleaning tasks. “Green

Cleaning” products are formulated using

green chemistry to handle the “daily dirt”

that is found in the routine cleaning of

facilities. Dyes and fragrances have been

minimized (or eliminated) to reduce their

impact on indoor air quality and those

persons sensitive to inhalation irritants. To

compensate for difficult soils or textured

surfaces instead of using aggressive,

corrosive chemicals, we can “adjust the

cleaning tool”. use scrub pads, brushes

or microfiber cloth to help clean really

tough soils or “buildups”. Moving to

green cleaning chemicals and methods

can allow facilities to dramatically reduce

the environmental impact of up over 90%

of their consumable chemicals.

each school day, some 56 million students

and six million staff attend our nation’s

schools, representing some 20 percent of

the American population. Yet according

to the u.s. environmental Protection

Agency (ePA), half of this population

may be exposed to polluted indoor

air, lead, asbestos, chemical fumes,

pesticides, molds and other toxins, along

with overcrowding and poor sanitation.

numerous states have passed state laws

to make sure schools address this issue,

and more states are likely to follow suit.

A well-designed green cleaning program

can help reduce these harmful exposures

and yield many other positive benefits for

students, custodial staff, administrators

and the environment.

Research shows a clear link between

poor indoor air quality, sick students

and teachers, and poor academic and

occupational performance. Furthermore,

according to the ePA, children miss more

than 14 million school days each year due

to asthma exacerbated by poor indoor air

quality, which disproportionately affects

low-income and minority students. Green

cleaning can help reduce the environmental

hazards that negatively affect children’s

growing, developing bodies. Also members

of the custodial staff, especially women

of child-bearing age, are particularly

susceptible to health problems caused by

their frequent and close interaction with

cleaning chemicals and equipment. In fact,

six out of every 100 custodians are injured

on the job each year. Choosing safer

products and training staff in proper usage

can help reduce the number of injuries

caused by caustic chemicals, respiratory

irritation and inappropriate or dangerous

equipment. This can also decrease

workers’ compensation claims and lower

insurance costs.

Implementing a Green Cleaning program

is not a simple “flip of the switch” to a

couple of non-toxic chemicals and a

different vacuum...

It is a journey that begins with an

assessment of what the current state of the

facility’s cleaning and sanitation program is,

a “working definition” of what management

desires the end state of the facility’s

program to be, and then establish the road

map or (implementation plan) of how we

plan to achieve the goals and objectives of

management. Green Cleaning is as much

or more an evaluation and improvement

in process as it is in the chemicals and

tools involved in that cleaning. The Green

Cleaning journey starts with the basic

issues that are achievable in a manageable

time frame, and then continues with Green

improvements and enhancements as the

program develops. Proper green cleaning

is an ongoing process and needs to be

done daily to prevent buildups of dust and

soils and odors. A well cleaned facility has

fewer places for germs, mold, mildew, etc.

to hide and grow.

You can develop your program with just

five simple steps:

1. develop Your green Cleaning

program:

Whether you’re just getting started or have

been making green changes for years,

you can take steps to make your school’s

cleaning program more green. Developing

your program also includes bringing

together stakeholders and creating or

revising your green cleaning plan.

2. use green Cleaning products:

Purchase certified green cleaning

products. The marketplace is full of green

products that work well and are cost-

comparable to traditional products. This

stage also includes training or re-training

cleaning personnel regarding proper

product application, mixing, dilution and

disposal.

3. Introduce green equipment &

supplies:

equipment selection is a huge part of a

green cleaning program. Today’s tools

can reduce chemical use and increase

productivity. Improvements in ergonomics

can help custodians avoid injuries from

repetitive strains. Green equipment and

supplies can also reduce exposure to dust

and chemicals while cutting energy and

water use.

4. Adopt green Cleaning procedures:

Change the frequency, technique or time

whencleaningisperformed.Forinstance,

spray product on a cleaning cloth rather

than on the surface being cleaned, or

adopt integrated pest management to cut

down on pesticide exposure.

5. share the responsibility:

educate custodial staff, administrators,

teachers, students, vendors and visitors

about what they can do to promote a

healthy school environment, such as

recycling paper and plastic, conserving

water, maintaining uncluttered classrooms

and work spaces and handling food and

potential contaminants properly.

Staples Facility Solutions is a preferred vendor of the Colorado League of Charter Schools, www.staplesadvantage.com/solutions/k-12.html.

By STapLeS FaCiL iTy SoLuTionS

Green cleaning and Sustainability in School environments

Implementing a Green Cleaning program is not a

simple “flip of the switch” to a couple of non-toxic chemicals

and a different vacuum...


ACCountIng / mAnAgement ConsultIng

Boos Financial servicesrick@boosfs .com303-722-5634www .boosfs .com

Charter school management Corporation, Inc. (CsmC) dhering@csmci .com(719) 429-7665www .csmci .com

g&g Consultingjguerrero@gangconsult .com303-360-7334www .gandgconsult .com

the hr departmentcinda .daggett@comcast .net (303) 981-2341

Assessment / ComplIAnCe / sIs

Wireless generationsjgansmann@wgen .net(303) 870-7078www .wirelessgeneration .com

College tours & eduCAtIonAl trAvel

All Aboard tours and travelwweinzoff@allaboardtours .com(800) 896-0046www .allaboardtours .com

eF educational toursJustin .kryszan@ef .com(303) 214-8250www .ef .com

CurrICulum / textBooks / supplementAls

Bossreaderschris@bossreaders .com(720) 295-7323www .bossreaders .com

CharacterFirstkfahrenbruck@characterfirst .com(877) 357-0001www .characterfirst .com

kdt Consultingcbarry@kdtconsulting .org719-339-1367 www .kdtconsulting .org

learning Allysjonsen@learningally .org(303) 906-6061www .learningally .org

mastertech andy@mastertechsolutionsinc .com 800-592-3163 x305www .mastertechsolutionsinc .com

math in Focus: singapore mathjill .weber@hmhpub .com(303) 946-8465www .hmheducation .com/mi/sdg-singapore-marth .php

scholastic: read 180dfrezza@scholastic .com 646-438-3522www .scholasti .com

sportxcelcgreif@sportxcel .com (720)437-0316sportxcel .org

equIpment And FurnIshIngs

tandus Flooring (formerly Collins and Aikman) jkimble@tandus .com(303) 741-0051www .tandus .com

experIentIAl eduCAtIon

genesse experiential outdoor Center – denver parks and recreationgenessee .ropes@denvergov .org720-865-0680www .denvergov .org

keystone science schooldmiller@keystone .org970-455-4229www .keystonescienceschool .org

FACIlItIes

Consilium partners, llCjbills@consiliumpartnersllc .com(720) 201-6373www .consiliumpartnersllc .com

design Conceptsshanen@dcla .net(303) 664-5301dcla .net

eagle Creek modular solutionseaglecreekmod@gmail .com(303) 987-0700www .eaglecreekmodular .com

haselden Construction, llCdalefurnell@haselden .com(720) 810-6805www .haselden .com

haynes mechanical systemssclough@haynesmechsys .com(303)779-0781www .haynesmechsys .com

hutton Architecture studio p.C.phutton@huttonarch .com(303) 861-1600www .huttonarch .com

powers productssharat@powersproducts .com303-718-0054www .powersproducts .com

raza development Fundasanchez@razafund .org602-417-1410 www .razafund .org

roche Constructors, Inc.crust@rocheconstructors .com(970) 356-3611www .rocheconstructors .com

satellite sheltersjamiec@satelliteco .com(303) 288-7111www .satelliteco .com

servicemaster Cleanjoes@cleanmyfacility .com(303) 761-0122www .cleanmyfacility .com

siemens Industrytravis .fletcher@siemens .com(303) 568-7305www .buildingtechnologies .siemens .com

slAterpAull Architectsawillson@slaterpaull .com(303)607-0977www .slaterpaull .com

Zieglermomeara@ziegler .com(303) 794-6045www .ziegler .com

FACIlItIes For sAle or leAse

education Facility solutionsdjones@efsk12 .com(720) 897-6607www .efsk12 .com

education site selectionmarshall .savage@na .ugllimited .com(720) 971-9000www .ugl-equis .com

FInAnCIAl mAnAgement & Investment

Colotrustbruce .ely@mbia .com(303) 864-7474www .colotrust .com

CsAFebob@csafe .org(303) 296-6340www .csafe .org

Food & nutrItIon servICes

CharterChoICelfriedman@coloradoleague .org(303) 953-4170

FundrAIsIng And grAnt ConsultIng

right responserana .squires@gmail .com(512) 368-3848www .rightresponse .com

InsurAnCe

huB International InsuranceGary .clark@hubinternational .com(303) 893-0300www .hubinternational .com

mArketIng & desIgn servICes

Fiest designkirk@fiestdesign .com(303) 250-6336www .fiestdesign .com

Clay pot Creativekurt@claypotcreative .com(970) 495-6855www .claypotcreative .com

proFessIonAl development

Colorado Christian university: Alternative licensure programbbwhite@ccu .edu(303) 963-3120www .ccu .edu

educators for social responsibilitydwolk@esrnational .org(617) 492-1764www .esrnational .org

professional Association of Colorado educators (pACe)mleatham@coloradoteachers .org(720) 895-1980www .coloradoteachers .org

teacher Institute at la Academiarebekah@teachandlead .org(303) 455-1444www .teachandlead .org

thinking mapsjherm@actmindful .com(303) 881-2018www .actmindful .com

speCIAl ed servICes

therapy source, Inc.davidr@txsource .net(866)783-5301www .txsource .net

teChnologY

the Funded Consulting groupJohn .egan@getfunded .net(480) 473-5785www .getfunded .net

ihigh.combrandon .tosti@ihigh .com 303-596-2775www .ihigh .com

logical Choice technologiesmike .hare@logicalchoice .com(720)261-3330www .logicalchoice .com

mobile Citizencustomerservice@mobilecitizen .org(303) 477-6278www .mobilecitizen .org

skybeam Coloradodraburn@corp .skybeam .com 970-402-1075www .skybeam .com

sprintmichelle .wright@sprint .com(303) 520-0086www .sprint .com

synergy telecommunications, Inc.kimb@synergytelecom .net(303)339-8536www .synergytelecom .net/

system Communicationssteve@systemcommunications .com(303) 688-6191www .systemcommunications .com

tutorIng/mAth Improvement

After school universitymzrust@afterschooluniversity .com(719) 648-6673www .afterschooluniversity .com

ColorAdo leAgue oF ChArter sChools vendor mArketplACe

This directory is not an endorsement by the Colorado League of Charter schools of any particular vendor, but rather an easily accessible

source of vendors who support Colorado charter schools and want to help them succeed. We encourage you to support all of our

participating vendors as you search for products and services. In choosing any vendor, the League recommends that schools refer to

applicable policies on competitive bidding, check references, and contact the League if additional information is needed. View the Vendor

Marketplace online at www.coloradoleague.org.


To accomplish your educational goals,

it is important for your Charter to have a

long term facility solution to address both

immediate and long term educational

needs(KauffmanFoundation,2005).

Operation and management of a Charter

facility can represent a significant annual

expense (20% to 30%) of a typical

operating budget. Historically, many

facilities were designed and constructed

with the primary focus being on initial

costs to construct or renovate facilities.

With initial construction costs for facilities

averaging only 11% of total life-cycle

costs, it is important for owners and

managers to analyze long-term costs and

impacts of facilities and their systems

(u.s. Department of education, 2003).

needless to say but imperative to

understand, savings associated with

operations and capital renewal of facilities,

and associated assets, can have a direct

impact allowing Charters to allocate

additional monies toward their primary

focus, student education. It is equally

important to understand the tradeoffs

associated with budget reductions and the

risks associated with deferred maintenance.

Often deferred maintenance leads to large,

unbalanced capital expenditures down the

road which requires surge funding. Given

today’s economic climate such funding is

often not available.

does your Charter have up-to-date

facility and asset information on

hand to accurately predict future

costs and return-on-investment for

key stakeholders?

Life-Cycle Cost (LCC) Analysis offers

stakeholders an economic tool to analyze a

total cost of ownership for assets including

acquisition, operations, maintenance,

renewal and eventual decommissioning

(state of Alaska, 1999). LCC can range

from simple ‘back-of-napkin’ sketches

to complex spreadsheets or computer

programs, and can include analyses of

single assets or entire facilities. By utilizing

facts driven by accurate data, Charters

can establish accurate LCC scenarios

and implement planned maintenance and

renewal programs.

A LCC approach for facilities management

often proves more cost effective over

the life of a facility compared to the

‘breakdown maintenance’ cycle as

referenced in a wide variety of publications

including a U.S. Department of Education

(2003) publication:

under the guise of “saving money,” many

‘organizations’ practice what is known as

“breakdown maintenance” - a maintenance

program in which nothing is done to a

piece of equipment until it breaks down.

And then, after the equipment breaks, the

least expensive repair option is used to

return the equipment to service. While this

may sound like a cost-saving approach to

maintenance, precisely the opposite is true.

The first step in implementing a LCC

approach for your Charter is to collect

current data for your facility, including

initial investment costs, ongoing

operations costs, and maintenance costs.

Paramount to establishing accurate LCC

requires facts driven by accurate data.

A facilities audit is often a great way for

existing facilities to collect critical data.

Fornewer facilities, a scheduleof values

obtained from record drawings is a great

resource of information.

A variety of means and methods exist to

tabulate and track data after collection.

Current facility data is essential in creating

conservative, supportable estimates that

are obtained through objective analysis. If

an effective tracking system is incorporated

into the ongoing workflow activities, and

updated on a regular basis, Charters can

reduce the costs and time associated

with more traditional audits which are

recommended every 2 to 3 years (u.s.

Department of education, 2003). As an

added benefit, a record of institutional

knowledge is captured, easing the turnover

transition for key management and board

members.

Operation and management of a Charter

facility can represent a significant annual expense (20% to 30%) of a typical

operating budget.

By maTT SmaLL

managing your charter facility: a life-cycle cost approach


After facilities data has been obtained

and organized, replacement or renewal

costs can be accurately calculated. Many

resources are available to help organization

managers determine replacement or

renewal costs. To help define these costs,

an asset needs to be evaluated based

on current condition and remaining life

expectancy. Preventative maintenance

costs should be factored in, as this adds

cost but often maintains or extends life

expectancy.

With LCC, various economic models can

be examined, often for a 20 year period

or longer, once renewal and replacement

costs have been determined. LCC

scenarios allow Charters to look at future

obligations, show return on investment

and help determine when assets should be

replaced instead of repaired. A LCC model

also promotes analysis of historical trends,

such as maintenance repair costs, which

provide indicators that an asset is reaching

its effective life.

Matt Small represents Genus Zero, a web-based software management system that enables effective planning, tracking and more accurate predictions of life-cycle costs. www.genuszero.com.

The League’s only Endorsed Employee Bene�t brokerage �rm

Need to Reduce Costs?

(303) 808-2942

Gary Clark, Vice President www.HubInternational.com [email protected]

Since 2008, HUB has found lower cost insurance solutions, without reducing coverage, for 93% of the Colorado Charter Schools that hire us.

HUB’s Legislative and Human Resource review platform enhances your Charter School’s compliance with Federal and State employer laws.• Employee Bene�ts• Property/Casualty• Worker’s Compensation • Errors & Omissions • Educators’ Professional Liability

continued from page 10

12

3

45

6

7

8

Planning

DesignDecommissioning/Disposal

ConstructionCapitalRenewal

Start-up Commissioning

Repair

Operations

53%Operations &Maintenance

36%Capital Renewal

11%Design &

Construction

life-Cycle process estimated % of Building Costs

725 south Broadway, suite 7 Denver, CO 80209

ColorAdo leAgue oF ChArter sChools

725 S. broaDway, Suite 7 DenVer co 80209

pHone 303-989-5356 fax 303-984-9345 email [email protected]

www.coloraDoleaGue.orG

marco rafanelli, Director of member business Services

tiffany kallevik, assistant Director of member business Services

Charter Focus advisory CommitteeThank you to the following individuals for donating their time and expertise.

•DianeBorre,TheVanguardSchool

•DanSherrill,CaprockAcademy

•DinaWalton,RockyMountain Academy of evergreen

advertise in Charter FocusPut your business in front of decision makers at Colorado charter schools by advertising in Charter Focus! Contact Tiffany Kallevik at [email protected] for rates and deadlines.

Charter Focus archiveVisit www.coloradoleague.org/newsletters to access archived issues of Charter Focus.

CHAR

TER Issue 8 / June 2012

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

DRAFT02 - 2012-05(May)-16 Charter Focus Magazine (CO) Ad - text as outlines.pdf 1 5/21/2012 11:42:53 AM

charter€¦ · a space that was not originally designed done as inexpensively as possible, and ......

Documents