A teacher sent me a link to an article on The News & Observer web site. The article is titled Report finds bloat at UNC: Layers of leaders stifle efficiency. Here is a link to the article.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/higher_education/story/1616489.html
The following are some excerpts from the article.
UNC-Chapel Hill has too many supervisors, bloated administrative costs and a bureaucracy that hamstrings everything from assigning courses to classrooms to purchasing supplies, a consultant has concluded.
Bain & Company, an efficiency expert hired to examine the university's financial processes, will present a 107-page report Thursday suggesting an institution with too many layers.
The report found that the campus, with an annual operating budget of about $2 billion, spends more on administrative costs than it does on academics…
It examines administrative structures and spending practices across the university and proposes dozens of areas where money could be saved.
UNC-CH is 10 layers deep in some areas, meaning that a worker has nine people above him on the organizational ladder. And more than half of campus supervisors oversee three or fewer workers. UNC-CH should eliminate some supervisors and give more control to those who continue in those roles, the report said. Fewer management layers would lead to fewer meetings and less duplication, and could save up to $12 million annually…
The teacher who sent me the link to the article said that the situation at UNC seems very similar to the top-heavy nature of I-SS and I agree. How many excessive meetings were held by Dr. Holliday and his Baldrige cronies and just how much administrative duplication is there at the Central Office? The bloat at the Central Office has been mentioned numerous times in this blog. The citizens of Iredell County might not be able to anything about the bloat at UNC-CH but we can do something about the bloat at I-SS. We might not be able to save millions but we could save thousands of dollars.
I wonder how many days Holliday and his hires spent going to and presenting at different conferences the last seven years. I wonder if it will become easier to access the data indexes of information of the I-SS system after Holliday leaves. Mr. Klaene, can you give any insight to the above questions?
ReplyDeleteI don't know how many days they spent going to conferences. I did ask to inspect all voucher requests that were signed or submitted by Dr. Holliday hoping to find out some of that information but I was told that I-SS does not store those requests by the name of the person who signed the requests and that there are thousands of those requests stored on-site and off-site. Talk about hiding information. I-SS is supposed to be continuing to work on compiling the database indexes. But, I have been told that due to the nature of the indexes, they might not lead me to the type of information I am seeking. I expect that once Dr. Holliday is gone, I will have better access to I-SS records.
ReplyDeleteI think that I-SS has had at least four finance officers in the last seven years even though they receive a very good salary (check the public payroll data on statesville.com). I believe one is now working in the Mooresville Graded School District and one went to work in Lincoln County. I am concerned and curious if this high turnover rate would have anything to do with manipulation of money within the school system. I know of one person who worked in the finance office who was asked to make certain purchases. This person stated that the expenditure was illegal and would not become involved. This person left the system after being employed for many years and is now working in another nearby school system.
ReplyDeleteBack when there were area advisory meetings you just needed to go to a couple to see that Holiday worked a fine shell game with money. I used to sub in the schools and was shocked at the way some of the money was spent on some things and yet students didn't have books to take home because of no money.
ReplyDeleteWell, Holliday is gone and people need to speak up with details to uncover misuese of funds. The best thing to do would be to email Paul with specifics and let him find the documentation. If you think about it, Holliday has left himself wide open by getting everyone mad and then leaving. He's not here to defend himself or to run a protective smokescreen.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Paul will be allowed back in Central Office again. Also, do people requesting information still have to go through the attorney in Raleigh? Did anyone ever find out the amound of money paid to the attorney to okay the release of documents that should have been made available at a local level?
I think that there is much more to uncover. The defensiveness of Holliday leads me to believe that there was misuse of funds that could possibly result in embezzement charges. He was probably hoping he could leave and all would be forgotten.
July 26, 2009 11:25 PM... You are not the only person to give information about improper expenditures. Perhaps the person you spoke of that left from here would be willing to talk?
This entire deal is starting to sound more and more like our ex-governor and his wife. I think it is rtime to dig deep!
I would like to know why Holliday's wife is not getting ready to leave with her husband?
ReplyDeleteHas anyone called Action 9 or the Charlotte Observer? Maybe the ACLU could provide assistance. Iredell citizens have a right to know how their hard-earned tax dollars have been/are being spent.
ReplyDeleteAs to the layer on top of layer of administration, think about it...if you have enough administrators below you to do the work that you ought to be doing, then you'll have more free time to jet across the country to attend conferences at resorts. This set-up would also free up your weekends to provide time to work on your golf game. The actual work being done just keeps getting pushed further and further down the food chain. And we all know who's at the very bottom...teachers.
And we all know who does all the work for little pay and glory, don't we?
ReplyDeleteI believe that now that Dr. Holliday is gone, things will change at the central office. I firmly believe that a large number of personnel didn't agree with him they just kept their mouths shut in order to keep their jobs. Denise will probably follow him down to Kentucky as soon as she can. I e-mailed the BoE once and will do so again. Hopefully they are going to be more open to comments and questions now.
ReplyDeleteI was just wondering if anyone had ever read this website before: gallupindependent.com March 20, 2007. It's about how the Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools started openly questioning the Baldrige system. Their complaints are an exact match for ours. They booted out the super. but a visit to their website shows that they are still using Baldrige terminology. So, we have a long battle ahead of us still.
ReplyDelete"PDSA As I Say and Not As I PDSA" in Gallup-Kinley (Even though it's from 2007, interesting reading--it doesn't appear that they are rolling over there...)
ReplyDeletehttp://nm.aft.org/mcfuse/index.cfm?action=cat&categoryID=e5e4edf3-d35a-4c20-b5e0-fdbbf5224513
Take a look at "Systems Approach Belly Flops at Central Office" on this page...
Wonder who does Walk Throughs of I-SS CO and interrupts their work?
I just read further down the page mentioned above...guess who used to work for Gallup-McKinley Schools? None other than the personal supervisor of Denise Holliday David "Jed" Stus! (look under "An Exempt Reduction?")
ReplyDeleteThis is a most interesting site!
Thank you to whomever did the wonderful research to find this site (7-27 9:45). Was Jed Stus run out of this system and salvaged by Holliday? This is an incredible read for I-SS employees and BOE members. Go to the Hall of Fame section. You can read a letter from a 1st grade teacher. You would think this letter were written from an I-SS teacher as we have all been living the same experience. Stus's name is again mentioned in this section. This site is a must read. There is much that can be gleaned from this site and should be distributed to the readers of this blog and the Iredell community. It seems this disease in New Mexico spread to the eastern section of the U.S. in Iredell County NC and that we are still dealing with the virus. It is also interesting to read about the mismanagement of funds. I often wondered why my children sometimes had no texts.
ReplyDeleteWhat a terrific letter by the first grade teacher...that is exactly how teachers feel! Sure hope that sentiment gets through to the BOE and to those in that "Quality" Dept. Quantity (i.e., Assessments, PDSAs, etc.) does not equal QUALITY, (not in education anyway!)
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know why Holliday resigned from Transylvania? I would be very interested to know whether or not he was beginning to feel pressure, much like he began feeling pressure here at ISS. A politician always knows when to cut and run.
ReplyDeleteDr. Terry Holliday in "The Music Man" is Professor Harold Hill, sly salesman who cons the good folk of 1910s River City, Iowa, (2002-2009, Iredell-Statesville Schools District)into forming a youth band (Baldrige) so he can sell them instruments (Jim Shipley and Associates) and then skip town... Acadamey Award winner(Best Score - Adaptation and Treatment)
ReplyDeleteA pyramid is a pyramid. The ones on top make the money and the ones on the bottom do all the work. That is Baldridge.
ReplyDeleteTo the 11:38 p.m. Anonymous poster:
ReplyDeleteI believe Holliday left Transylvania County because of the law suit he was involved in over the abuse by an EC TA to a severely handicapped child. Both he AND Susan Allred were mentioned due to the 'covering up' they tried to do.
I have been looking for the website about Gallup-Mckinley and must be typing something wrong. What exactly is the site?
ReplyDeleteI found the Gallup McKinley but am unable to find the site mentioned by 7-27 @ 9:45 and I really want to read the letter by the first grade teacher! Help!!!!
ReplyDeleteFor the First Grade Teacher letter: go to the following site...look down the left hand column to a topic called something like "Hall of Fame"..click there and scroll until you see an open letter from that teacher...excellent letter!
ReplyDeletehttp://nm.aft.org/mcfuse/index.cfm?action=cat&categoryID=e5e4edf3-d35a-4c20-b5e0-fdbbf5224513
Wow! read this
ReplyDeleteDavid "Jed" thinks he's a god...
http://www.gallupindependent.com/2004/05may04/050104mural.html
his ego must be a real match for a few others we know...
PREDICTION FOR KENTUCKY: Dr. Holliday will first use Title I funds for training and implementing new innovations (lead teachers/instructional facilitators). The children currently being served in those Title I Programs will be the ones losing services. No one will protest. Not even the ones who touted the success of the current programs or initiated them. Next Exceptional Childrens services will begin to be cut. He will bring in an outsider(s) to make the cuts not a native to the system but one with no investment in the system. And this person will make cuts. . . and cuts. . . and while the services for Exceptional Children shrink the bureaucracy in the Kentucky public education system will soar. How do I know this? Because that's exactly what he did here except on a smaller scale. And who will he use to validate and sell all his changes, the present trusted leaders of the Kentucky education system. Think back. . .
ReplyDeleteFrom the above website, we need to find and wear these buttons!
ReplyDeleteEducators throughout Gallup-McKinley County School District (GMCS) will soon be voicing their disdain for Baldrige/Systems/Shipley (as perpetrated by Central Office) by showing their support for teaching and GMCS students with buttons that read "Just Let Us Teach."
The button idea began at Gallup High School and was featured on the front page of the Thursday, October 5, 2006 Gallup Independent.
Since the article, requests for buttons have been non-stop, and additional buttons are currently being made for distribution throughout GMCS.
"TEACH CHILDREN" was a motto coined by an ISS teacher after being removed from his teaching position. Students at SIHS wore shirts in support of this teacher and attended ISS BOE meeting along with other brave teachers. Teacher was reinstated. There is Strength and Job Security in numbers.
ReplyDeleteSo if your kids ever have a subpar teacher and you go to administration to complain, I hope they say "at our school, we JUST LET THEM TEACH" :)
ReplyDeleteIf they can put a PDSA on the wall every week and change the date, they certainly can.
ReplyDeleteIf your kids have a subpar teacher, that will never be addressed as long as said teacher (as anonymous posted above) can put up a PDSA. What the administration should do is walk around and actually observe what happens in classrooms, not what's posted in classrooms. If they had less overhead paperwork through Baldrige, more time could be used actually assessing teachers on how they teach and interact with students. That is valuable information because they could then discuss their findings with the subpar teachers. However, this is never going to happen when there isn't time enough in the day to get all of the matrix items done.
ReplyDeleteA PDSA does not distinquish between a subpar teacher or an outstanding teacher. It just shows that you can do the paperwork(PDSA)dated correctly , and nothing more. No teaching required, just BS. The students know about junk when they see it.
ReplyDelete