Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFRs) are submitted by school systems applying for the Association of School Business Officials' Certificate of Excellence. Reviewers of the CAFRs listed specific concerns under headings of presentation and persistent technical deficiencies. Advises school business officials of their responsibilities to…

Colleges and universities are saving their recyclables for collection, but paying less attention to developing markets for recycled materials. Institutions can help by purchasing recycled paper. Costs can be reduced through contract and consortium buying and user conservation measures. (MSE)

In addressing the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Board, the National Association of College and University Business Officers' president urged the accounting standards boards to work together to establish a multiyear accounting research agenda for higher education. (Author/MSE)

Highlights of an interview between Don I. Tharpe, executive director of the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO), and Richard W. Riley, United States Secretary of Education. Tharpe briefed Riley on the role of school business officials in administering school districts; the services ASBO provides its members; and the role ASBO plays in…

A comprehensive school bus safety program designed and implemented in Euclid (Ohio) involves participation by students, drivers, parents, and the community. This article was originally submitted in application for, and the author received, a 1993 Pinnacle of Achievement Award from the Association of School Business Officials. (MLF)

In many states, electrical energy is moving from being a highly regulated commodity to a competitively priced product with optional associated services. Increased competition should result in lower prices. Schools can stay ahead of the game by initiating an energy-contract review, examining delivery contracts, negotiating rates, examining monthly…

One of the most important responsibilities of school business officials is protecting their school districts, employees, and students from harm and liability. Risk managers must identify any possible risks involved in facilities operation, eliminate or reduce risk, transfer risks when legally feasible, and assume nontransferable risks through a…

In higher education institutions, decisions about spending patterns are established in the budget and executed by a diverse, decentralized group of institutional managers. To make the budget a vibrant management tool, each institutional constituency must view it as a document that helps advance institutional mission as well as a way to measure…

Institutional communication channels need to be clear so that administrators have the information necessary to make informed decisions whenever and wherever required. The secret is to treat the arrival of information--the good, the bad, and the neutral--in essentially the same way, and always thank the person who brings the news, regardless of its…

Like many businesses, public schools are not ready to move into the electronic data storage and transaction mode. Technological improvements such as keyboard alternatives (voice recognition software, electric pens, and optical scanners) will speed this paradigm shift. Increased speed, pocket-sized desktop computers, distance learning, and the…

The ultimate cost of workers compensation is made up of loss costs (the amounts paid to injured employees to compensate for lost wages and medical bills) and administrative costs. This article concentrates on potential savings in loss costs, highlighting indemnity and medical cost drivers, the need for effective policy communication to employees,…

Because a crisis might be imminent, a written crisis-response plan is needed that clearly describes its purpose, offers guidance to individuals faced with safety issues and dangerous situations, and minimizes loss. The school-business official can serve as a central information control officer, freeing other administrators to concentrate on…

Outlines job responsibilities, activities, and priorities appropriate for beginning school business administrators. Beginners are advised to gather and record perceptions of staff members, discern key district and central-office issues, review district finances, establish a work routine, and manage time wisely. (Contains 12 references.) (MLH)

Advocates that school districts establish partnerships with colleges and the Association of School Business Officials International, including its state affiliates, to train, recruit, and retain school business administrators. Describes function and benefits of partnership approach to easing administrator shortage. (PKP)

To counteract the declining numbers of school business administrators and to fill a void in current programs of educational administration across the state and the nation, the State University of New York at Brockport Department of Educational Administration is implementing a new school business administration program (SBA Program) in September…