Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, March 1, 2024
RELATES TO: KRS 158.780, 158.785
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 158.780 and 158.785
require the Kentucky Board of Education to establish a program for management
improvement services for school districts which demonstrate such a critical
lack of efficiency or effectiveness in governance or administration that state
mandated corrective action or state control of the district is required. This
administrative regulation outlines the operational procedures for the
management improvement program.
Section
1.
(1) The Kentucky Department of
Education shall collect data from local school districts pursuant to KRS 158.785(2). The data shall include instructional and operational data routinely
submitted by the districts, and other information as requested by the Kentucky
Department of Education.
(2) If a
review of the data regarding a school district indicates significant
deficiencies, the Department of Education staff shall conduct an on-site
review.
(3) The on-site review
shall include the examination of local school records and interviews with
school district officials, staff, and community leaders. The on-site review may
include an examination of school district operations in:
(a) Governance policy and
procedures;
(b) Instructional
programming and organization;
(c)
Fiscal management and accountability procedures;
(d) The maintenance and condition of the
physical plant;
(e) Facility
construction;
(f) Student
transportation; and
(g) Community
perception and support.
Section 2.
(1) If the data review and school district
investigation outlined in Section 1 of this administrative regulation reveal
significant deficiencies, the commissioner of education shall determine whether
the significant deficiencies indicate the presence of critically ineffective or
inefficient management. If it does, the commissioner shall order a management
audit consistent with KRS 158.785 and this administrative regulation.
(2) The comprehensive audit shall include an
investigation of the district's compliance with state and federal statutes and
administrative regulations and local board policies. The audit shall include an
on-site review, investigation, and analysis of the governance and
administration of the school district to determine if a significant lack of a
pattern of efficiency and effectiveness exists in the following areas:
(a) Planning - failure to develop, adopt and
implement planning processes that allow for public review and timely action by
the board and administration regarding management of the administrative and
business activities of the school district and of the management of the
instructional program;
(b)
Operational support - failure to provide the operational support services
required to operate an efficient and effective school system including:
1. Maintenance and operation of the physical
plants - failure of the district to maintain school building cleanliness and
safety including:
a. Failure to develop and
maintain an accurate record of the maintenance needs and
expenditures.
b. Failure to budget
and expend funds necessary to maintain the physical plant.
c. Failure to employ maintenance and
operation staff who provide clean and safe school buildings.
d. Failure to make efficient use of personnel
as indicated by excessive staffing when compared to school districts of similar
size and funding.
e. Failure to
make repairs that prevent costly and unnecessary maintenance
expenditures.
f. Failure to ensure
that existing facilities are adequately insured;
2. Facility construction - failure to manage
a school facility construction program that is in compliance with 702 KAR
Chapter 4 and is planned, executed, and completed to ensure that public funds
are expended in a responsible manner including a failure to:
a. Develop and implement a planning process
for identifying the need for new or improved facilities.
b. Maintain an up-to-date facility survey or
ensure that regulatory approvals are secured.
c. Develop and implement plans to receive the
allowable benefit from School Facilities Construction Commission.
d. Follow proper bidding requirements and
develop and maintain accurate records of expenditures and authorization of
expenditures on school construction projects.
e. Institute an administrative oversight
process to ensure that facility construction activities are efficient and
accountable for both local and state funds.
3. Maintenance and operation of the
transportation system to provide and maintain an efficient transportation
system including a failure to:
a. Provide
training for personnel responsible for the safe transportation of children in
accordance with Kentucky Board of Education administrative
regulations.
b. Develop and
implement policies and procedures regarding the use of district-owned
vehicles.
c. Purchase and maintain
equipment to safely and efficiently transport children to school.
d. Establish transportation routes that
minimize public expenditure and time children spend en route to
school.
e. Follow bidding
requirements for the purchase of equipment and materials necessary to conduct
the school's transportation program.
4. School food services - failure to develop
an efficient system of school food services including a failure to:
a. Develop and maintain an accurate record of
school food service expenditures.
b. Utilize federal and local resources to
operate a nutritious program in a cost effective manner.
c. Employ school food service staff who
provide meals in accordance with federal and state guidelines.
d. Make efficient use of personnel as
indicated by excessive staffing when compared to school districts of similar
size and funding;
(c) Fiscal management - failure to perform
the appropriate planning, budgeting, fund management, and accounting
responsibilities required for the fiscal management of the school district
including a failure to:
1. Assess the need for
expenditures.
2. Recommend use of
available funds according to an established set of priorities.
3. Maintain accurate records of expenditures
and authorization of expenditures as required for auditing purposes.
4. Comply with purchasing requirements
applicable to school districts.
5.
Implement investment policies to ensure that all public funds are invested
safely and productively.
(d) Personnel administration - failure to
ensure school district staff are prepared to perform the required professional
and staff responsibilities in an effective and efficient manner, including a
failure to:
1. Develop and implement
employment practices and procedures that ensure the selection and placement of
the most qualified personnel.
2.
Train and evaluate the professional staff of the district as required by
applicable laws.
(e)
Instructional management - failure to develop and maintain district-level
instructional policy including a failure to:
1. Maintain a curriculum consistent with 703 KAR 4:060 and applicable laws.
2.
Provide the resources necessary to support the instructional
program.
(3)
Deficiencies identified and established in some or all of the factors listed in
this section may constitute a pattern of a significant lack of effectiveness
and efficiency in the governance and administration of the school
district.
Section 3.
(1) Following the comprehensive audit, the
department staff shall prepare a report of the comprehensive audit and the
commissioner shall determine if there exists a pattern of a significant lack of
effectiveness and efficiency in the governance or administration of the school
district.
(2) If the commissioner
determines that the comprehensive audit does establish an existing pattern of a
significant lack of effectiveness and efficiency and state assistance or state
management is necessary to correct the inefficiencies and ineffectiveness, he
shall place a recommendation to declare the district "state-assisted" or
"state-managed" before the state board as specified in Section 4 of this
administrative regulation.
(3) If
the commissioner does not place a recommendation before the state board, the
department shall convey the comprehensive report to the school district for its
information and use.
(4) If the
local district agrees with the commissioner's recommendation to declare the
district "state-assisted" or "state-managed" and the district waives the right
to participate in the hearing before the state board, the commissioner shall
place this recommendation before the Kentucky Board of Education for its
approval without a hearing.
Section
4. The procedure for submitting a recommendation to the state
board regarding the declaration of a school district as a "state-assisted" or
"state-managed" district shall include the following:
(1) The commissioner shall file with the
state board his written recommendation along with supporting information, and
he shall arrange the scheduling of a hearing on the matter before the state
board; and
(2) The hearing
procedures established in KRS Chapter 13B shall be applicable.
Section 5.
(1) If a school district is declared a
state-assisted or state-managed district, the district shall develop and
implement an improvement plan that identifies the deficiencies and the
corrective actions necessary to improve school district governance and
administration. The improvement plan shall be subject to approval by the state
board.
(2) The improvement plan
shall include:
(a) Specific objectives and
strategies to correct deficiencies in defined time frames; and
(b) The identification of local board and
individual administrative staff responsibilities and activities that shall be
required to improve school district governance and administration.
(3) A school district declared
state-assisted shall remain a state-assisted district until:
(a) The commissioner recommends to the state
board and it determines that sufficient progress has been made in implementing
the improvement plan; or
(b) The
state board makes a determination that the district shall be
state-managed.
Section
6. The local school district declared a state-assisted or
state-managed district shall provide to the commissioner monthly reports
indicating the status of improvement activities in the
district.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 156.070, 156.160, 158.780,
158.785