Loudoun County Public Schools Proposed Reorganization Plan May 8, 2015

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1 Loudoun County Public Schools Proposed Reorganization Plan May 8, 2015 In order to sustain and build on the excellence of LCPS schools, the Superintendent has developed a cost-neutral reorganization plan. The reorganization plan includes three components: Reorganizing the offices within the Department of Instruction to better support teaching & learning, the effective operations of schools, and responsiveness to parents and other stakeholders; Implementing a market- and performance-based compensation plan for the positions of assistant superintendent, chief of staff, and division counsel; and Creating a Superintendent s Cabinet and periodically convening a newly created Senior Staff consisting of directors, 3 representative principals, and the Cabinet to improve communication and collaboration across the Division. Cost-Neutral Reorganization of the Offices within the Department of Instruction The plan maintains six offices and corresponding directors within the Department of Instruction. Two new offices (the Office of Teaching & Learning and the Office of School Administration) would replace two current offices (the Office of Career, Technical & Adult Education and the Office of Research, School Improvement, & Accountability.) Functions of the replaced offices would be distributed within the new organizational structure in areas already performing similar functions with the goal of increasing effectiveness and efficiency. The Office of Instructional would be reconstituted as the Office of Instructional Programs with more focused responsibilities. This office, along with the Office of Teaching & Learning, would fulfill most of the current responsibilities of three current offices (Instructional ; Career, Technical & Adult Education; and Research, School Improvement & Accountability). Testing would move from the Office of Research, School Improvement & Accountability within the Department of Instruction to the Office of Diagnostic and Prevention within the Department of Pupil. This aspect of the reorganization allows greater focus by directors on content areas and instructional programs. Stakeholder services would be a primary focus of the newly created Office of School Administration. The director of school administration would facilitate the efforts of principals in working with parents and other stakeholders to support the success of our students. The Office of School Administration would also be responsible for discipline matters and athletics. This aspect of the reorganization improves stakeholder services and allows the directors of high school education, middle school education, and elementary education to focus more on working with principals on instructional leadership and operational matters, and less on stakeholder services. Attachment A lists the key areas of responsibility for the Offices of Teaching & Learning, Instructional Programs, and School Administration and provides an organizational chart for illustration. Recognizing that the plan assigns most of the responsibilities of two former offices (the Office of Career, Technical & Adult Education and the Office of Research, School Improvement, & Accountability) to the Office of Instructional Programs, the plan adjusts the responsibilities of the two directors of these offices and changes the positions to supervisor positions. To increase the Division s competitiveness in hiring and retaining the best staff and to better align supervisory and/or workflow relationships, several salary and level adjustments have been made.

2 Several director positions would be adjusted to align more logically with the staff they supervise. The directors of high school education and middle school education currently are on the same salary schedules as the principals they supervise. The reorganization plan would place the directors of high school education and middle school education one level above the principals they supervise. Another reason for the change in the level of the directors of high school education and middle school education is that LCPS administrators who supervise principals make significantly less than their counterparts in Fairfax County and Prince William County. (See Attachment B.) The adjustments would reduce this disparity. As part of the enhanced effort to attract and retain a high quality staff, the three new director positions (two new offices and one renamed/reconstituted office) would be placed on a level higher than the three eliminated director positions. The adjustments would be imminently relevant to several of these positions. For instance, the director of middle school education position will become vacant on July 1 following the retirement of the current director, and the two new director positions (Teaching & Learning, School Administration) will need to be filled. The plan includes two actions allowing the reorganization of offices within the Department of Instruction to be costneutral. First, it freezes a vacant supervisor position and a vacant instructional materials tech position. Secondly, it transfers two classified employees within the Department of Instruction to other positions on the same salary schedule. No staff members would lose employment or face a reduction in salary as a result of these changes. Cost-Neutral Market- & Performance-based Compensation Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) hired Evergreen Solutions in the fall of 2012 to analyze the market competitiveness of its FY13 pay scales for all employee groups. Following the conclusion of the Evergreen Study, LCPS made significant changes to its teacher salary schedule in order to make the schedule more competitive. The division has not yet addressed other areas of need identified by the Evergreen report. The authors of the Evergreen report observed that administrators in higher pay grades tended to fall within the third and fourth quartiles in comparison with primary competitors. They also stated, The assistant superintendents fall well below the market across the entire estimated range. Our assistant superintendent positions earn significantly less than assistant superintendent positions in Fairfax County and associate superintendent positions in Prince William County. FY16 Loudoun Salary Schedule: $111,843 to $168,539 FY16 Fairfax Salary Schedule: $141,063 to $217,795 FY16 Prince William Associate Superintendent Salary Schedule: $168,196 to $201,015 Note that this does not compare our assistant superintendent positons to the level of positions immediately below the superintendent in Fairfax and Prince William Counties. The salary schedule for the chief officers in Fairfax ranges from $146,495 to $226,184. The salary schedule for the deputy superintendent position in Prince William ranges from $185,014 to $214,678. It is not uncommon for senior positions to become open. For example, within the last year, the following vacancies have been posted: Deputy Superintendent, Fairfax County;, Human Resources, Prince William;, Finance; Prince William;, Student Support, Prince William; and, Teaching & Learning, Prince William. This helps illustrate the importance of having a competitive compensation plan for assistant superintendent positions in Loudoun County.

3 This restructuring implements a cost-neutral market- and performance-based compensation plan for the assistant superintendents, chief of staff, and division counsel positions as a strategy for attracting and retaining highly-effective individuals. The Superintendent would determine the FY16 salaries of these individuals based on market and performance variables within parameters approved by the School Board. The Superintendent would determine salary changes for future fiscal years based on performance and market conditions. Note that the County Government maintains a pay-for-performance plan for its employees. The parameters for the county plan are as follows: 0% salary increase if an employee does not meet expectations; 2.5% salary increase if an employee meets expectations; 3% salary increase if an employee exceeds expectations; or 3% plus a $2,000 bonus if they are outstanding. This is provided as an example of a local pay-for-performance plan, not to suggest that these parameters would guide future pay-for-performance adjustments for assistant superintendents, the chief of staff, and the division counsel. The maximum cost of FY16 market- and performance-adjustments is projected at $48,871. The average budgeted FY16 salary of assistant superintendents without the reorganization plan is $165,995. The average proposed FY16 salary of assistant superintendents is $171,741. The costs associated with the implementation of the market- and performance-based compensation plan would be funded through adjustments to the operating and lease-purchase budgets. The projected cost of technology replacement and upgrade for transportation has decreased. The funds allocated for this purpose in the lease-purchase budget would be reduced. The same amount of technology expenditures in the operating budget would be shifted to the lease-purchase budget, freeing up operating dollars to cover the total costs of the market- and performance-based compensation plan. This restructuring does not address all compensation needs within the division. The compensation for some positions remains below market. Superintendent s Cabinet and Senior Staff The plan creates a Superintendent s Cabinet comprised of the superintendent, the six assistant superintendents, and the chief of staff. The plan also involves convening the Superintendent s Cabinet, directors from every department, three representative principals and the public information officer for monthly or semi-monthly meetings. Starting in FY16, the term senior staff would apply to this group. (See Attachment C.) The LCPS reorganization plan would heighten the effectiveness and efficiency of Division operations by better aligning workflow and skillsets and enhancing both horizontal and vertical communication. In this way, it is a significant step toward preparing to successfully implement the Division s emerging strategic plan.

4 Attachment A Org Chart for Six Offices in the Department of Instruction Instruction Director of Middle School Education Director of Elementary Education Director of High School Education Director of Instructional Programs Director of Teaching & Learning Director of School Administration Primary Responsibilities of the Three New/Reconstituted DOI Director Positions Director of Teaching & Learning (new) English Language Arts Reading Pathways to Literacy & Writing Science Social Science & Global Studies Math World Languages Art Health, PE, & Driver Ed Music Director of Instructional Programs (reconstituted) Education Technology & Curricular Innovation (including Virtual Loudoun) School Improvement & Federal Programs Staff Development Adult Education Research Academies of Loudoun Charter Schools ELL Gifted Career & Tech Ed, Monroe Technical Center Outreach Director of School Administration (new) Stakeholder, including coordination of stakeholder services work of 88 principals Discipline Athletics Douglass School Collaborate with Supervisor of Safety & Security to promote safety and security on all campuses Collaborate with of Pupil on campus climate and discipline initiatives

5 Attachment B Difference between Compensation of Administrators that Supervise Principals in LCPS and Comparable Divisions Position First Step Highest Step # Schools Total # Similar Positions Division Loudoun Director, H.S. * $103,540 $156, Fairfax Area Supt. $139,666 $215, Prince William Associate Supt. $166,531 $199, *Provided as an example. Note that this is the highest paid of the three LCPS positions that directly supervise principals.

6 Attachment C Proposed Superintendent s Cabinet Superintendent Chief of Staff for Support for Personnel for Business & Financial for Pupil for Technology for Instruction Proposed Senior Staff Superintendent Chief of Staff Principal ES Representative Principal HS Representative Principal MS Representative Public Information Officer for Support Personnel for Business & Financial Pupil Technology Instruction Director, Facilities Director, Personnel --Secondary Director, Procurement /Risk Management Director, Diagnostic & Prevention Director, Technology Systems & Applications Director of Elementary Schools Director, Construction Director, Personnel --Elementary & Support Director, Budget Director, Special Education Director, Technology Operations & Support Director of Middle Schools Director, Transportation Director, Financial Director, Student High Schools Executive Director for Planning & Legislative RED = Superintendent s Cabinet Instructional Programs School Administration Teaching & Learning