Want to reach all school purchasers and decision-makers in Maryland’s and DC’s schools? Advertise in ASBO Matters News Journal! ASBO’s official biannual magazine, the ASBO News Journal, will start accepting ad space reservations on Nov. 11. Rates start at just $290 for print and $200 for digital. This is the essential news source for all financial decision-makers in the DC school system and in Maryland’s 24 school districts, who collectively spend $13 billion annually. The ASBO News Journal will be mailed to more than 1,000 ASBO members. A complementary digital edition containing the same content in a portable, shareable digital format, accompanies every issue, extending the reach of your ad and allowing digital readers to click directly from your print-turned-digital ad to the web page of your choice. Special outsert ads for print and digital are also available. Don’t miss your chance to reach the people in charge of school finances in Maryland and DC. Call Brian Donohoe at 352-333-2748 or bdonohoe@naylor.com to reserve your ad

An opportunity in St Mary's County for a Deputy Assistant Superintendent of Fiscal Services and Human Resources is available.

For the last three years ASBO has been proud to sponsor a table at the Maryland State Teacher of the Year Awards Gala. Members of the ASBO Board of Directors were there when Sean McComb from Baltimore County, was selected as the 2014 Maryland State Teacher of the Year. Sean was a guest speaker at our Fall Conference on November 7th. Sean delivered a very powerful and energizing message about educating disadvantaged students for success.

Kathy Carmello, Harford County Public Schools, reports on the State Board of Education meeting on October 30, 2013

November 15, 2013 - FOUNDATIONS OF MARYLAND SCHOOL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT Elements of School Finance Date: November 15, 2013 Time: 09:00 AM - 12:00 PM Location: Anne Arundel County Public Schools

Sustainability: Total Solution Best Practice Date: December 13, 2013 Time: 9:00 - 12:00 Location: Howard County Public Schools Look for registration information coming out soon!

Steve Starmer, Purchasing Manager for Frederick County Public Schools received $2,000 to attend a national conference through the Bridges to the Future program. Stephen Starmer is one of 20 recipients to receive the award sponsored by the Association of School Business Officials International and MetLife Resources. Bridges to the Future's scholarship program supports aspiring and new school business officials who want to expand their professional network, the release states.

As of August 1, 2013, Mr. Dwayne Abt, previously Human Resources Administrator for Dorchester County Public Schools, has been appointed Assistant Superintendent for Administration of Dorchester County Public Schools.

Charles Pridee BCPS Old Court Middle School Special Education para-educator was awarded the NAACP Excellence in Education Award. Priddee is in his second year at Old Court Middle School; he also taught at Catonsville High School, where he initiated the Rising Scholars program for college-bound minority juniors and seniors. As coordinator of the Males in Action program at Old Court, Priddee helps to mentor young men, build character and relationships, and increase social skills on a positive level as well as academic achievement. A BCPS employee for 13 years, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas and a Master of Science degree from the New York Institute of Finance. As a former Olympian in track and field for the island of Barbados, he also coaches track and field for both city and county students.

Marisol A. Johnson, a member of the Board of Education of Baltimore County was honored by the Baltimore County Branch of the NAACP at the group's annual Freedom Fund Banquet Oct. 13. Johnson received the NAACP Trailblazer Award. Ms. Johnson was appointed in July to a five-year term on the Board of Education of Baltimore County. A graduate of Baltimore County Public Schools and a parent of BCPS students, she is the owner and CEO of her own business and an active member in the Parent Teacher Association at Summit Park Elementary School. She's also an advisory board member for the Youth Dreamers of Baltimore, a member of the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce, Security Woodlawn Business Association and Woodlawn/Westview Rotary. Johnson is a graduate of Towson University.

Brenda Allen was promoted from Purchasing Supervisor to Director of Purchasing and Supply Services for The Board of Education of Prince George's County

Promotions in the Budget Office included Barbara Pindell who was promoted to Budget Manager and Nicole Lewis who was promoted to Budget Analyst.

(Annapolis, MD) ─ September 13, 2013: American Institute of Architects (AIA Maryland) Maryland Celebrates Design Excellence at Annual Awards Celebration

The ASBO MD & DC Brice & Shirley Phillips Best Practice Awards recognize outstanding practices and new ideas that result in significant contributions to school entities or the profession of school business management and can be replicated by other school business officials. The Brice and Shirley Best Practice Award, sponsored by Johnson Controls, Inc., is given each year to a school system that has developed and implemented an innovative, effective policy or program that may be replicated by other school systems. This year, the completion was particularly keen, with seven great submissions from three school systems: Dorchester, Harford, and Prince George’s Counties Public Schools. This year’s winner, Blended Operations, was presented by W. Wesley Watts, Jr., Chief Information Officer, Prince George’s County Public Schools. Congratulations to Wes and Prince George’s County, and to all those who submitted exciting programs that we will be sharing with all of our members.

Each year ASBO international presents its Meritorious Budget Award to school districts that meet the highest standards in presenting school budgets in an understandable and clear manner. This year, three Maryland School systems earned this prestigious recognition: Baltimore County Public Schools, The Board of Education of Wicomico County, and Cecil County Public Schools. Job well done!!

ASBO International also recognizes superior accounting practices and reporting procedures in compiling the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). The Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting has not been awarded for 2013 as yet, but we congratulate the awardees for 2012: Baltimore City Public Schools and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Cecil, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery and Wicomico Counties Public Schools

Heather Clabaugh, MBA, joined Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) as an accountant in July 2013. She is a new member of ASBO MD&DC. Heather administers the FCPS school construction fund. Prior to joining FCPS, she was a senior accountant for a general contractor in Frederick, Maryland.

Mary Trapane is the Senior Manager of Talent Competency and Leadership Development at Frederick County Public Schools. She is a 16 year employee of FCPS and was formerly a department supervisor in Technology Services. The FCPS Human Resources Department went through a reorganization over the summer. As part of this reorganization, the department of Talent Competency and Leadership Development was formed. The focus of this new department is to further develop the employee base at FCPS, succession planning, leadership development and other employee growth and development activities.

Enterprise risk management is the new paradigm for managing risk in school districts. By Dorothy Gjerdrum, ARM, CIRM, October 2013 School Business Affairs magazine

In Alberta, schools conduct annual audits to ensure safety programs are current and effective. By Linden Lonsberry and Tom Strasburger - October 2013 School Business Affairs magazine

High-performance building technologies can help districts tap into energy reserves trapped in underperforming schools. By Randy Newton and Matt Gates - September 2013 School Business Affairs magazine

How do education leaders, including school business officials, ensure that their staff members are always learning? By Paul A. S. O’Malley, Ed.D - September 2013 School Business Affairs magazine

September 25th - School Business Daily Newsletter - At least 115 media outlets across the country are covering Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s announcement of the 286 winners of the 2013 Blue Ribbon Schools award. Coverage is mostly local in scale--with some state-level reports--and is overwhelmingly positive in tone.

Pact Governing City School Facilities Plan Finalized Erica L. Green – The Baltimore Sun – October 16, 2013 - BALTIMORE, MD - The pact that will facilitate the $1 billion, decade-long effort to upgrade Baltimore city school facilities was finalized today, with a unanimous vote of the Maryland Board of Public Works to approve a Memorandum of Understanding that will serve as a blueprint for revitalizing the city's dilapidated school infrastructure.

Achieve the highest work ethic from your team. It doesn't matter what you build, invent or sell; your organization can't move forward without people. CEOs, company founders and managers the world over know that keeping the teams beneath them moving forward together in harmony means the difference betwee. winning and dying. Karsten Strauss, Forbes Staff

What skills should you be looking for from your team members? In today's workplace, employees need to do more than fulfill their job description and develop intangible soft skills. Since it's easy for companies to find people with the right hard skills, they are hiring more for cultural fit than work performance. By Dan Schawbel, September 04, 2013 Bloomberg Business Week

How many of these 5 things do you do? Managers in the workplace have a unique role to play with multiple and continuously evolving responsibilities. They must instill a high-performance mindset while creating a culture whose foundation promotes teamwork and competitiveness for the betterment of a healthier whole. By Glenn Llopis, Contributor - Forbes Magazine

School districts are facing vexing financial and operational questions about how they will comply with the Affordable Care Act, which some administrators say is forcing them to choose between absorbing the hefty costs of health coverage for currently uninsured employees or cutting back on those workers' hours.

In a blog posted in the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBOI), David Janak a School Business Manager for Rapid City Area Schools in Rapid City, SD., brought up the subject of how to manage day to day priorities.... "A school business official can get knocked off of a daily task list very easily. Moving from crisis to crisis can and sometimes does dominate our normal day. How do you manage to keep the important things the important things so that the important things get done? Is it as simple as a list on a sheet of paper, a daytimer, a computer program? Do you spend time each day, week or month updating the status of various projects or just know intuitively that it is on time or behind? What advice do you give to new business managers about managing their day and how to stay above the water line?"

Baltimore Sun - September 24, 2013:Eleven Maryland schools have earned a prestigious 2013 National Blue Ribbon designation, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced Tuesday. Erica L. Green - Baltimore Sun

Safety is a concern everywhere. The Spring High School stabbing death in Texas has heightened the awareness. In the last few months, I have spoken to school board officials, school administrators, safety and security departments, SRO's, DARE officers, school nurses, school counselors, school social workers, teachers, alternative ed teachers, parents and students in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois and Ohio about school safety and learning. There are many concerns, but there is much we can do to make schools safer where students can learn more and live better. I wrote an article last spring called, School Safety Lessons Learned: From Cleveland to Newtown — Whole Child Education. Some of you may have seen it before, but in the last week, several organizations and school systems have requested to share it with their members, staff, and community, as well as, put it in their newsletters and publications. Stephen R. Sroka, Ph.D., President, Health Education Consultants Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Medicine Case Western Reserve University

Find out how Randy Sotomayor, Director of Budget in Charles County, uses a simple seasonal formula to estimate future trends.

Here's an idea from Jeff LaPorta from Harford County

Jeff LaPorta, Harford County Public Schools, has a "Can Do" concept!