Creating Profit: the Real Business of School Boards

By C. Caldarelli and L. Baskin

Confidence and support for public education is waning precariously. The Common School System, the bedrock of our democracy and the American dream is in peril. Baskin and Caldarelli present a powerful and practical solution for reviving public education. They merge sound educational leadership practices with time tested business principles to create valued profit in a "not for profit" enterprise.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 18, 2007
• ISBN: 9781462819218

C. Caldarelli

Lawrence M. Baskin, Ed.D. Cesare Caldarelli, Jr. Ed.D. Dr. Lawrence Baskin has been at the forefront of educational leadership and continuous improvement efforts for more than three decades. Beyond serving in the capacity of Superintendent for the Libertyville and Glen Ellyn, Illinois school districts, additionally, Larry was Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs for The Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. He is known as an entrepreneurial leader having successfully worked with school and corporate board members to create productive systems leading to the attainment of desired results. Dr. Baskin has worked closely with legislative, municipal and corporate leaders on behalf of schools and community organizations. Larry earned his doctorate in educational administration and supervision from Loyola University of Chicago. His dissertation surrounded the employment, supervision and remuneration of administrative personnel in Illinois. He has vast experience in the successful design and implementation of systems leading to measurable gains in instruction, customer satisfaction and resource utilization. He was selected by school board members and colleagues to lead several organizations as well as the Governor of Illinois to help reorganize of the State Board of Education. Larry has been invited to present across the country and received numerous awards and citations in the capacity of Superintendent and Dean. Dr. Baskin is co-founder of the Functional Leadership Institute with a mission to help improve public education by assisting boards of education and administrative groups to attain sustained growth in student instruction, customer satisfaction and resource utilization. Dr. Cesare Caldarelli has been immersed in school and school district leadership spanning four decades from pre-school through high school and adult education. He served in the classroom and as a coach, asst. principal, principal, asst. superintendent, and for nineteen years as superintendent of schools in Iowa, California and Illinois. Cesare is credited for working with board members to focus on their hopes and aspirations for all of the children in their districts and to work effectively with administrators, staff and all other constituents to achieve desired results. He has successful experience involving local and state government leaders and local and state agencies as well as public and private enterprise to support schools and student learning activities. Cesare earned his doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from the Peabody College of Vanderbilt University focusing his dissertation on collective bargaining. He is a trained and experienced negotiator, mediator and facilitator with a focus on organizational culture and performance as related to student learning. Cesare has been recognized by local and state agencies, and numerous community and professional organizations for contributions relating to individual and organizational development, learners and learning, instructional and management technology, and community and governmental relations. Dr. Caldarelli is co-founder of the Functional Leadership Institute and dedicated to helping public and private organizations develop their culture to support and sustain higher levels of achievement, constituent satisfaction and stewardship of resources.

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Copyright © 2007 by L. Baskin and C. Caldarelli.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

The Functional Leadership Institute

Preface

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Moving Forward

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to those who have strived over the years to improve and preserve the bedrock of the American dream: the Common School System.

Additionally, this book is dedicated to the many school board members that we have had the privilege to know and the countless others who have served and continue to serve students, our most precious resource.

And finally, we dedicate this book to our family members who permitted us to lead school districts for a combined four decades.

The Functional Leadership Institute

Lawrence Baskin and Cesare Caldarelli are two retired superintendents with over forty years of combined experience in working with school boards. In 2003, they joined forces to create the Functional Leadership Institute with a mission to use time tested business principles to assist Boards of Education to realize profit by becoming more effective and efficient in key board operations that lead to higher levels of learning, customer satisfaction and stewardship of resources.

In 2004 the Functional Leadership Institute created a unique survey administered conveniently online to all district board members as well as randomly selected administrators, teachers and parents. Survey results provide the board with focused ways to effectively position itself to assist the district’s management, staff and students attain heightened levels of performance.

The Functional Leadership Institute has expanded to include instruction, mentoring, coaching and networking services for school boards and the professional staff to understand and realize greater profit for the districts they serve.

Creating Profit: The Real Business of School Boards is a primer for those interested in transforming their schools to greater profitability and increasing support from constituent groups. If you think that your school district is as good as it gets, this book will provide interesting insights into effective school district leadership. However, if you believe that your school district is not as good as it gets, this book will provide a firm grounding to achieve and sustain desired results year after year.

Preface

This book is intended to provide a pathway toward positive, sustainable change for school board members and the constituents they serve. It is safe to say that all school board members hope to make a positive contribution to the educational organizations they serve, but frequently they do not know how to do so. While many books and articles have been written about the roles and responsibilities of school boards, very few offer a detailed discussion of the operational concepts and processes that lead to highly profitable results.

Faced with a perplexing array of personal and operational expectations and agendas, board members can become disillusioned, and boards can become fragmented and divided. This state of organizational disarray can result in sub-optimal performances throughout the school district. Unfortunately, this situation is becoming all too common, and the deleterious effects can be seen across our nation’s school systems. This book provides a way out of the abyss, by describing an approach that can help school boards focus the agenda of their members and their constituents on unified results.

Creating Profit: The Real Business of School Boards was written for all those who hope to make a meaningful and lasting contribution to the education of American youth. This