Strategic+Ops

Team Liaison - Fran Taurasi**
 * STRATEGIC OPERATIONS

CFE notes & CEP appendix

Posting OTC positions

Prep for FY 09 Budget Release** The answers to these questions will set the stage so to speak for the “PEOPLE” side of your budget. Do you anticipate closing any lines in your school due to budget/register loss? Number and areas of anticipated excesses for your school. NOTE: (as far as we know the same rules of excess will apply as last year) ‘Excessing is based on the needs of the school (program). Approved reasons for excessing as of FY 08 were as follows: register loss,(more than 5%), grade reconfiguration, lost of a mandated position, or lost of funding (budget cut/reduction). I do not know what the 2008-2009 school year will bring but more than likely the above reasons will probably be the only valid reasons for excess in the upcoming FY 09 year. Also consider - Number and description of anticipated vacancies for your school: (e.g. 1 Math teacher, 1 Parent Coordinator, etc.).List the number of: Anticipated Retirements, Anticipated Resignations, Anticipated Terminations, Anticipated Leaves of Absences (Paid and unpaid), Anticipated Returns from Leave or sabbatical.
 * UPDATES 5/12/08

The main communication is that the economy is in bad shape, and just like our home budgets, the basic costs of lighting, energy, postage, food, transportation, leasing costs has drastically increased for the DOE, so simply ‘opening the doors ‘ every morning has gotten more expensive! The date of the Actual FY 09 budget being announced has still NOT been set.-although it is slated for “next week”. – this may or may not alter our tentative scheduled one on one meetings! The actual % or even a range % of cut could not be specified. There will be a “pro-forma” FY 09 budget produced and outlined via SAM – School Allocation Memorandum and web tools, so to show the transformation of the fy 08 to fy 09 budget. Subsequent to that there will be a SAM memo outlining ‘FY 09” budget cut – therefore ALL SCHOOLS will be able to determine how the yet to be determined cut will effect them individually. So the budget cuts will be taken off the top – we will not have any guessing to do! FY 09 in a nutshell, there will be some level of reduction, There will be additional CFE to “eligible” schools that received this last year (those that get it, will have an appendix III to the CEP to fill out) – more detail to follow as needed. The schools lucky enough to have rolled over, will receive their roll.- in two parts as has been protocol. There is NO MAGIC BULLET or bucket for excessing. Same excess rules that applied in FY 08 will apply in FY 09. Teachers will be costed at “SWA” – school wide average. Remember – we will also see contractual increases go into the new SWA. //So, hang in there, I have no doubt as a network, we will make smart decisions and strategize for FY 09. As soon as any further news is out – I will advise further.// P.S. – when in galaxy – hit 2009 in session parameters – and you will see folks that have rolled into FY 09. Let me know if you want to start creating vacancies – AND YOUR “INITIAL” ALLOCATION of NYSTL has been placed in your 2009 TO. (this is 40% of your total).
 * Notes from Monday 5/5/08 Budget Meeting**

You can now order school meals applications for the 2008-09 school year. Information from these applications determines the eligibility of your students for free or reduced-price meals and determines the eligibility of your school for certain kinds of funding. To order forms for your school, visit [|www.opt-osfns.org/osfns] and click on “2008-09 School Meals Application” on the right side of the screen. Enter your OPT/OSFNS login (the same login you use for parking permits, special events, and field trips). After you log in, you will see the school meals application order form, along with your orders from previous years. If the number of applications displayed is sufficient, click “submit.” If you need to update your order, please enter the new number of forms you need and click “submit.” On this screen, you can also enter the number of forms you need in languages other than English. Only original forms are accepted, so be sure to order enough forms for your school. When determining how many forms you need, keep in mind that parents need to complete only one form for all their children who attend your school. For additional information, contact Bart Pelucco at (718) 707-4371 or BPelucco@schools.nyc.gov or Debbie Pascullo (718) 707-4386 or DPascullo@schools.nyc.gov.
 * Order 2008-09 School Meals Applications by 6/20**

Excel Planning Document**
 * FY09 BUDGET PLANNING PREP

http://intranet.nycboe.net/DOEPortal/Principals/default.htm Open Market Transfer – opened today, Thursday April 10, 2008 It will stay open to close of business, Thursday, August 7, 2008 all UFT titles,- appointed UFT titles including teacher, guidance counselors, school secretaries, lab specialists, school psychologists, speech improvement, school social workers, attendance teachers, and UFT paraprofessionals, who are on active service (i.e. not on a leave). Supervisors who wish to revert to a non-supervisory position may also register and access the system as an applicant. This is a different system from RMS (recruitment management system) – where NEW – coming from outside the DOE candidates apply to work at DOE. YES, and how do we do that – through GALAXY TABLE of ORG for FY 09 (go into galaxy, and use the drop down for 2009) Yes, sometimes staff just want to float their resume just in case a vacancy appears. OMT has opened today 4/10/08- however – we do not expect a FY 09 budget before MID-MAY. Therefore the galaxy FY 09 TO will open and be called “FY 09 BLANK TO”. So, when creating a vacancy in your FY 09 BLANK TABLE of ORG – it will cost you $1 funded with a allocation called TL FORECASTED VACANCY. save it – but it will only turn green and at a cost of $1 - IT CANNOT TURN RED AT THIS TIME (BEFORE RECEIVING ACTUAL FY 09 BUDGET). FY09 average teacher salaries per school are now being computed – your average teacher salary will be contingent on who existed on your table of org in spring 2007, plus /minus cost of new hires and cost of departed staff throughout the 2007-2008 school year.
 * OPEN MARKET**
 * Who can apply to OMT?**
 * Does a school have to create a vacancy so that a teacher/pedagogue knows a vacancy exists?**
 * Can a candidate apply to your school, even if no vacancy exists?**
 * What's different?**
 * How much will a teacher cost?**

There is NOTHING stopping U rated teachers from applying in OMS to seek another position. This year OMT will enable a Principal to view many facets of a candidate – including his/her past 3 years ratings, probation status, seniority, salary and education. HOWEVER – the 2007-2008 rating will not be entered until June – so IT IS HIGHLY ADVISABLE if you are considering a candidate to call the current Principal for a reference. We recommend that you err on the side of caution - at least 3 reference checks! When you go into OMT – you will ONLY see candidates applying “ to “ your school – You will not see any of your staff who may be responding to vacancies that they see. However, once a candidate is accepted to another school, and signs a binding contract document – that is emitted from galaxy upon insertion of candidate name and ssn into the vacancy, OMT system AUTOMATICALLY sends a email alerting that transfer has occurred.

April 15 – Submit Teacher Tenure Recommendations **** - **** All schools ** Fall teacher tenure recommendations are due April 15. Probationary teachers must demonstrate significant professional skill and a meaningful, positive impact on student learning in order to earn tenure. To learn more about the tenure process, please visit the Tenure Toolkit at [|http://intranet.nycboe.net/DOEPortal/Principals/HiringAndStaffDev/TenureToolkit .] Here you will be able to watch a video discussing questions concerning documentation. The toolkit is also highlighted in the spotlight section of the Principals’ Portal ( [|http://intranet.nycboe.net/DOEPortal/Principals ).] The toolkit has links to an archived webinar with Dan Weisberg on teacher tenure. If you have any questions about the tenure process, the decision, or the Tenure Notification System, please contact Jonathan Skolnick at (718) 935-4283. The NYC FITNESSGRAM web application will close April 18. Parent and student reports will be delivered to schools for distribution in May. This year’s reports will feature CDC body mass index (BMI)-for-age percentile standards. For more information about these percentiles, please visit [|www.cdc.gov/bmi] . For more information about the NYC FITNESSGRAM assessment or report distribution, please visit [|http://schools.nyc.gov/fitness or contact Fitness&Health@schools.nyc.gov. This year, you will be involved in directly selecting the location of your summer school program and the schools with which you wish to collaborate. You will be able to select the location of your summer program from a list of recommended sites available to open this summer. The “Summer School Site Selection and Affiliation Parameters” ( [|www.nycboe.net/schools/principals/weekly/20080408/summer_school_2008_selection_params.pdf] ) has more information, including what to do if the site you would like to open is not on the recommended list. Please complete your site selection by next Friday, April 18 at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=nX26zpJfQYS6Zw8xessdzA_3d_3d. Please also see the following relevant documents: Summer School 2008 Recommended Sites: [|www.nycboe.net/schools/principals/weekly/20080408/summer_school_2008_recommended_sites.pdf] Summer School 2008 Site Substitution Request: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=N4dqRgGai6UyhapfhLNrzw_3d_3d; click on the “Core Curriculum” link under the “Purchasing/Payments” menu). Orders will be delivered between July 14 and August 1. An upcoming webcast will give you tips on the ordering and delivery process. The webcast will be held April 28 at 9:30 a.m. You can sign up for the session at [|www.learningtimes.net/dcpwebcasts]. For more information on the ordering process, visit [|www.nycboe.net/Instruction/Curriculum/HomePage.aspx]. If you have any questions, please contact the core curriculum response team at (718) 935-3334 or curriculum@schools.nyc.gov. ** Next week you will receive two documents that will help your school meet language access requirements. The first is a poster welcoming parents in nine languages (English, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Urdu) and directing them to a staff member for interpretation assistance. It also directs parents to the parent coordinator and district family advocate and has a space to fill in these contacts’ names and telephone numbers. Please hang the poster near the entrance to your school to notify parents of the availability of language access services as required by Chancellor’s Regulation A-663. The second item is a small card explaining how to use the Translation and Interpretation Unit’s free over-the-phone interpretation service, which is ideal for ad hoc interpretation needs. Many schools are already using this valuable resource, but the card is designed specifically for school safety agents, who are often the first people to greet incoming parents. Please have the card posted on or near the school safety agents’ desk so they can access an interpreter quickly and easily or remind any other school staff who may be assisting incoming parents about the availability of the service. For additional information, contact the Translation and Interpretation Unit at translations@schools.nyc.gov or (718) 752-7373. The Office for Family Engagement and Advocacy is responsible for ensuring that many of the city, state and federal mandates that impact parent involvement are fulfilled, thereby helping parents become more engaged in their school communities. As part of this effort, members of the OFEA team will contact you next month to request the following documents: school leadership team meeting agendas, notices, minutes, and attendance sheets for meetings held from January through June; copies of January 2008 PA/PTA interim financial accounting reports, which should be on file in your office; minutes from principal’s quarterly meetings held prior to July 1; PA/PTA election certification forms for any completed PA/PTA elections held prior to July 1. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has reported new scams this tax season that attempt to obtain personal, bank account, and credit card data. A recent scam targets tax-exempt organizations. An e-mail falsely claiming to come from the IRS instructs the recipient to click on a link to access a refund claim form that asks for sensitive information. The IRS does not send unsolicited e-mail to tax-exempt organizations like DOE or its schools. Please do not open any e-mails that appear to have been sent from the IRS, as they are not legitimate. More information about this scam is available at [|www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=178061,00.html]. High schools can nominate up to two seniors for the 2007-08 Greatest Generation scholarship program, which awards cash grants to six outstanding public high school seniors. These seniors must possess the following characteristics: academic excellence, leadership skills, community service experience, strong written and oral communication skills, financial need, and exemplary attendance in high school. Winners will receive $15,000 a year for up to four years of college and additional awards for their high school and community service programs with which they are involved. Please encourage your guidance staff to identify potential candidates for this prestigious award. You can access the application at [|www.fundforpublicschools.org]. For additional information, contact Ronnie Solow at (212) 374-7646 or rsolow@schools.nyc.gov. __Security Reminders:__ Principals are responsible for the safe guarding of Department of Education equipment in their schools (laptops, laptop carts, walkie-talkies, radios, etc.). With the spring break fast approaching, please make certain that you have a secure, locked location for this equipment. You should notify your staff members to bring their equipment to this area by the end of the school day prior to the beginning of the holiday recess to insure that these items are not left out and subject to pilferage. If you have experienced any theft of equipment, please be sure that you have included each items make, model and serial number in OORS when you made your report. This information would have also been needed for the police report that you should have made as well. As an added reminder: no cash should be left in the school building over the recess. (or over any weekend break). The 2008-09 summer, school year, and central calendars are now available at [|http://schools.nyc.gov/Calendar/default.htm along with their accompanying documents. If you have questions about the calendars, please e-mail calendars@schools.nyc.gov.
 * __ We are still in deadline mode- so here are some dates to remember __**
 * April 18 - NYC FITNESSGRAM Web Application Closes **
 * April 18 – Submit Summer School Site Selection – All schools **
 * April 30 – Third bus drill
 * Other News **
 * Delivery of New Language Access Documents - All schools / Event: Next week
 * Help OFEA Collect Information on Parent Involvement – All schools **
 * Tax Refund Scam ** – All schools
 * High Schools Can Nominate Students for Greatest Generation Scholarship - High schools **
 * And to wish you a safe and worry-free Spring break: **
 * LASTLY – FY 09 – HERE WE COME!!!!! **
 * 2008-09 Calendar Now Available **** - **** All schools **

Week of 3/24/08 Week of 3/17/08
 * ARCHIVES**

Labor Relations FAQs

Sample Middle School Schedules - School of the Future