Safety and Security. Background

Transcription

1 Background Florida s system of School Improvement and Accountability has prioritized School Safety and Environment as one of its eight state education goals. This goal states that Communities [should] provide an environment that is drugfree and protects students health, safety, and civil rights. To determine how well schools are performing in this area, the State has established the following performance indicators: the number and percentage of incidents of violence, weapons violations, vandalism, substance abuse, and harassment on the bus, on campus, and at schoolsponsored activities. The mission of Security Services is to provide for the safety and security of the OCPS students, personnel and visitors, while ensuring the security of OCPS property. This department does not include Safety Services, which reports to the Director of Risk Management and Employee Health Benefits in the Department of Business Services. Functional Components: Uniformed Security Force: Provides security at the Educational Leadership Center, Orlando-Tech, and Tampa Avenue Annex by monitoring surveillance cameras, burglar alarm systems, fire alarm systems, and dispatching officers. Site Security Services: Installs electronic security systems and Vandal Watch sites, conducts investigations on security incidents, evaluates security needs, recommends measures to increase security protection, and responds after hours to all security-related incidents. Emergency Management: Serves as the emergency management coordinator for the district and is the liaison with local law enforcement agencies, the Orange County Office of Emergency Management, and the American Red Cross. Safety and Security - 1

2 Background Staffing and Budget: FY 1997 actual results is $638,144 and FY 1998 recommended budget is $701,483 2 Safety and Security - 2

3 Background Current Organization: Associate Superintendent Special Services Technical Assistant Sr. Manager Security Services Administrator Site Security Shift Coordinators 3 FTE System Support Clerk Uniformed Security Officers 8 FTE Uniformed Security Officers 4 FTE (2 Title I Grant FTE) (2 TAES Grant) Specialist Site Security Specialist Site Security (SAFE Schools Grant) Safety and Security - 3

4 Recommended Organization: Associate Superintendent Operations Sr Manager Security Services School Resource Officer Program Technical Assistant Contracted Services Site Security Specialist Site Security Specialist (SAFE Schools Grant) Site Security Specialist Safety and Security - 4

5 Background and Key Achievements Workload and Program Information: Responded to and completed investigative reports on 529 security-related incidents in FY , a 37 percent decrease from 844 reported incidents FY schools currently equipped with SONITROL electronic security systems. Key Achievements/Commendations: Security Services uses School Resource Officers (SROs) at secondary schools and Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) officers from local law enforcement agencies to supplement in-house staff (50 percent of the SROs salary is paid by SAFE schools grant, and 50 percent is paid by the local law enforcement agency). This represents a KPMG best practice based on the experience of KPMG s Public Education Practice because it provides additional security to school sites, and saves the District money by sharing costs with other agencies. OCPS is currently issuing ID tags for all school district employees and visitors, which is an excellent way to ensure that only authorized individuals are on school grounds. This represents a KPMG best practice based on the experience of KPMG s Public Education Practice. Security Services hotline is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, which ensures that employees have access to security personnel at all times. Safety and Security - 5

6 Benchmarks KPMG received benchmarking survey responses from four of the seven peer districts surveyed Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, and Fairfax. KPMG noted the following general observations: Peer districts appear to have a larger and more comprehensive Security Services program than OCPS. Two of the four districts surveyed are responsible for truancy, juvenile crime investigations (e.g., gangs, drugs), and hazardous materials. All of the districts surveyed, including OCPS, utilize SROs and DARE officers from local law enforcement agencies to supplement in-house staff at the elementary and secondary levels. All of the districts, except for OCPS, have the SRO function reporting to the security services director. Three of the four peer districts have the Safety and Security units reporting to the same person. Three of the four districts monitor burglar alarms in-house; OCPS and Duval utilize a private contractor for this service. All of the districts, except Fairfax, employ full-time investigators. OCPS and Hillsborough are the only districts that do not require schools to report security-related incidents to security services. OCPS is the only district which does not have electronic monitoring systems in 100 percent of its schools. OCPS is the only district that currently has a Vandal Watch program; other districts have utilized this program in the past, but have phased it out due to a lack of interest/success. Safety and Security - 6

7 Findings and Recommendations for Opportunities to Improve Findings: Organizational Structure OCPS current organization structure limits coordination and communication between Security Services (which currently reports to the Deputy Superintendent of Administrative Services) and the School Resource Officer program (which currently reports to the Senior Director of Secondary Education Services). Organizational best practices indicate that similar functions should be grouped together to enhance communication and maximize shared expertise. Recommendations: SS1: Combine Security Services and the School Resource Officer Program into one organizational unit reporting to the Deputy Superintendent of Operations. This redesigned organization structure will more closely align functional units to improve communication and coordination. Estimated fiscal impact: None Safety and Security - 7

8 Findings and Recommendations for Opportunities to Improve Findings: There are narrow spans of control throughout the Security Services department (e.g., many one-to-three and one-to-four reporting relationships), which results in an ineffective organization structure and increases costs because of a higher number of supervisory positions. KPMG s criteria for an effective organization state that narrow spans of control should be eliminated; a typical span of control is ten. Recommendations: SS2: Reclassify the Site Security Administrator position to Site Security Specialist, and reduce staffing by one System Support Clerk position. This will eliminate one layer of management in the organization, and will increase the span of control of the Senior Manager from five to six (including oversight of the SRO program and contracted uniformed security services). This estimated fiscal impact is based on a $10,000 decrease in salary for the reclassification of the Site Security Administrator position, and a savings of $15,700 salary plus 30 percent benefits for the System Support Clerk position. Estimated fiscal impact: $30,410 Annual Savings Safety and Security - 8

9 Findings and Recommendations for Opportunities to Improve Findings: Security Services is not a core function of the school district. Best practices indicate that an organization should focus on its core mission; other functions should be eliminated or outsourced if vendors for the function exist. Several security vendors exist in Orange County. The Senior Manager of Security Services has limited involvement in hiring, training, supervising, and evaluating more than 45 school-based security guards, gate guards, and security officers a function primarily performed by school principals. OCPS decentralized security program limits communication and coordination between the central office and the schools, which has resulted in a lack of standardization of security procedures and inaccurate information concerning number of security-related incidents at the schools. Recommendations: SS3: Outsource the Uniform Security Force to a building management or security services firm. KPMG estimates that the cost of outsourcing will offset the savings associated with reducing Uniform Security Force by 1. Estimated fiscal impact: None SS4: Increase the involvement of the Sr. Manager of Security Services in hiring, training, supervising, and evaluating school-based security personnel. The recommended organization structure should improve the communication, coordination and standardization of security services throughout the district. Estimated fiscal impact: None Safety and Security - 9

10 Findings and Recommendations for Opportunities to Improve Findings: Workload and Staffing Two Uniformed Security Officer positions are currently funded with Title I grant monies, which is an inappropriate use of these funds. These officers currently provide security services at administrative facilities, including the Educational Leadership Center, Orlando-Tech, and/or Tampa Avenue Annex. Title I funds are required to be used to provide direct services to needy students. Recommendations: SS5: Eliminate the Uniformed Security Officer positions as described previously and reallocate Title I grant monies to the Title I Federal Programs department, where the money should be used to provide more direct services to needy students. Estimated fiscal impact: None Safety and Security - 10

11 Findings and Recommendations for Opportunities to Improve Findings: Management Practices and Technology Only 65 percent of the District s schools are equipped with electronic monitoring systems; all of the peer districts surveyed have electronic monitoring systems in 100 percent of their schools. Electronic monitoring systems are an effective deterrent to crimes such as theft. Without complete alarm coverage, school district sites are vulnerable to vandalism and theft. According to Security Services, the district experienced approximately $281,118 in vandalism and theft loss in FY Recommendations: SS6: Establish as a priority installing electronic monitoring systems in the 46 schools that do not yet have them. While alarms cannot prevent loss from theft or burglary completely, they can serve as a significant deterrent which may result in cost avoidance savings in the future. There is no fiscal impact associated with this recommendation because these costs have already been incorporated into individual school budgets. Estimated fiscal impact: None Safety and Security - 11

12 Findings and Recommendations for Opportunities to Improve Findings: The Vandal Watch program is costly (approximately $313,200 1 per year), and there is limited performance measurement data to show the program s overall effectiveness in reducing incidents of crime and vandalism at the schools. Moreover, the program has exposed the District to potential legal risk factors; there is currently one lawsuit pending with a vandalwatcher. Best practices indicate that programs such as this should be constantly reviewed, and programs that are shown to be ineffective should be eliminated. The Vandal Watch program is currently in place at 87 schools. Recommendations: SS7: Discontinue the Vandal Watch program. The estimated savings could be used to invest in electronic monitoring systems, as described previously. Under this scenario, it would take approximately 4.5 years before all schools were equipped with electronic monitoring systems. Estimated fiscal impact: $313,000 Annual Savings 1 The Security Services department estimates that the costs associated with the Vandal Watch program are approximately $300 per month per school for utilities and water expenses. Safety and Security - 12

13 Findings and Recommendations for Opportunities to Improve Findings: Schools are not required to report security-related incidents to the central office, and therefore many go unreported. In FY , there were only 529 incidents reported significantly less than peer districts. Under the State s system of School Improvement and Accountability, schools are required to track and report on the number and percentage of incidents of violence, weapons violations, vandalism, substance abuse, and harassment on the bus, on campus, and at school-sponsored activities. Without proper policies and procedures in place, OCPS is unable to determine how well its schools are meeting the School Safety and Environment state education goal to provide an environment that is drug-free and protects students health, safety, and civil rights. Security Services performs limited prevention activities. This is due in part due to the lack of reliable incident data from the schools. Recommendations: SS8: Establish policies and procedures that require principals and/or school-based administrators to report all incidents of burglary, theft, vandalism, fire, etc. to the Security Services as soon as they are discovered. This information should be used to identify trends and specific problem areas, which is necessary to make proper resource allocation decisions and establish effective prevention activities to reduce incidents of crime in the future. Estimated fiscal impact: None Safety and Security - 13

14 Service Alternatives Findings and recommendations presented on the previous pages represent an evaluation of OCPS current operations, and recommendations to improve them. This page presents an alternative to the current approach. It covers an option for which OCPS should weigh costs and benefits. Service Alternative Options: OCPS should also consider privatizing the Site Security unit (at the central office) to a security services firm, which would be responsible for monitoring and tracking security-related incidents, conducting investigations, and assisting schools in identifying security needs. Safety and Security - 14