OSC News, Notes & Notices: Winter 2023

Carve your path for unexplored membership benefits, support and savings…

Schedule a 1-on-1 OSC Membership Review Meeting!

New this year, OSC is pleased to offer 1-on-1 Membership Review Meetings with current and prospective members. To date, OSC has conducted more than 50 Membership Review sessions, carving a path for underutilized membership benefits, support and savings.

The meetings, which run about ½ hour on zoom or in-person, provide the opportunity for us to understand ways we can better serve our members and strengthen our partnership.

If you are interested in scheduling a session, email Dennis Honkala at dhonkala@osconline.org, Chad Welker at cwelker@osconline.org, or scan the code below.

• Electricity Market Update & Ways to Save

• OSC Programs designed to add money to your budget

• New OSC Program Alert: Auction Services

• OSC Successfully Challenges COH

• GCSSA offers Superintendents access to expert speakers, forward-thinking content

• Join us at the Shoreby on April 25

• Network with us!

• Reduce your Insurance Risk Profile with Todd Associates on Feb. 23

In light of major cuts to school financing as well as rising costs associated with energy, school districts are constantly looking for ways to maximize their savings. The good news? OSC is here to help!

On a recent Coffee Chat webinar with the Ohio School Boards Association, Power4Schools expert energy consultant Mark Frye discussed Electric Market Conditions & Trends. The conversation touched on the future of the energy market as well as strategies for school districts to save money.

Download Presentation.

With higher renewal rates on the horizon, Frye suggested re-evaluating energy conservation investments, planning for rising inflation and analyzing current supply agreements as well as pricing for your next agreement.

OSC Programs designed to add money to your budget…

When combined with proactive consumption planning and energy efficiency programs, OSC and P4S’s fixed-rate utility programs can give much-needed breathing room and create a promising place to look for ways to save money. (more on next page)

Power4Schools is working diligently to negotiate pricing and terms for its next supply agreement, while OSC has a variety of programs in place to help ease potential rise in prices including the Applied Intelligence Program through GARDINER, the Demand Response program through CPower and OSC’s popular Electricity Audit program.

By using Gardiner’s Applied Intelligence services, Painesville Local Schools has been able to save over $175,000 annually. Early problem detection and cost cutting were both accomplished through the use of robust data collection and regulated consumption. View Case Study.

On the Demand Response side, OSC Preferred Partner, CPower has helped a number of schools take advantage of tens of thousands in rebate incentives, including more than $50,000 at Twinsburg City Schools and $19,000 at Geneva Area City Schools.

If that’s not enough, don’t forget about the OSC’s Electricity Audit program. Since its launch in the Fall of 2018, the popular program has provided over $500,000 in rebates to OSC member districts.

Get started on saving now… Schedule a 1:1 Membership review meeting for a quick discussion, and walk away with a plan to add more dollars back into your budget! Just email Dennis Honkala at dhonkala@osconline.org, Chad Welker at cwelker@osconline.org, or scan the code below.

Let us handle the heavy lifting ...

S C H E D U L E A N

A U C T I O N M E E T I N G

T O D A Y !

S e r v i c e s I n c l u d e :

R e v i e w R e p a i r & M a i n t e n a n c e r e c o r d s

I n s p e c t , P h o t o g r a p h & C r e a t e I t e m D e s c r i p t i o n s

H a n d l e T a x e s , P a y m e n t s & P a p e r w o r k

S c h e d u l e P i c k - U p T i m e s & L o c a t i o n

S a l e s a n d M a r k e t i n g

W e b P o s t i n g

S e a m l e s s P a y m e n t t o D i s t r i c t

O U R T E A M :

PRICING & PAYMENT:

F e e s : $ 6 0 / h r ( c o n s u l t a n t w o r k )

P a y m e n t t o d i s t r i c t :

< $ 1 K : 7 0 % o f N e t S a l e s

$ 1 K - 5 K : 8 0 % o f N e t S a l e s

> $ 5 K : 8 5 % o f N e t S a l e s

C h a d W e l k e r , O S C D i r e c t o r o f B u s i n e s s S e r v i c e s

c w e l k e r @ o s c o n l i n e . o r g ; ( 2 1 6 ) 4 4 7 - 3 1 0 0 , x 6 1 2 5

W e l k e r b r i n g s a l m o s t t w o d e c a d e s o f e x p e r i e n c e w o r k i n g i n s c h o o l s i n c l u d i n g e x t e n s i v e e x p e r i e n c e w i t h d a t a m a n a g e m e n t , t e c h n o l o g y a n d b u d g e t p l a n n i n g & m a n a g e m e n t . D u r i n g h i s t i m e a s B u s i n e s s

M a n a g e r a t T w i n s b u r g C i t y S c h o o l s , W e l k e r

d e v e l o p e d a n d l a u n c h e d a c o m p r e h e n s i v e a n d s u c c e s s f u l d i s t r i c t a u c t i o n p r o g r a m

E r i c B r u n t o n , A u c t i o n S e r v i c e s C o n s u l t a n t

e b r u n t o n @ o s c o n l i n e . o r g ; ( 2 1 6 ) 4 0 3 - 5 5 6 9

B r u n t o n h a s o v e r 4 2 y e a r s o f e x p e r i e n c e w o r k i n g

w i t h s c h o o l s a s a t e a c h e r , a d m i n i s t r a t o r a n d

t r a n s p o r t a t i o n s u p e r v i s o r . B r u n t o n c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e

d e v e l o p m e n t o f a s u c c e s s f u l i n - h o u s e a u c t i o n s e r v i c e

a s T r a n s p o r t a t i o n S u p e r v i s o r a n d C o n s u l t a n t f o r

T w i n s b u r g C i t y S c h o ol s , a n d h e b r i n g s t h i s d i v e r s e

k n o w l e d g e t o t h e O S C .

OSC SUCCESSFULLY CHALLENGES COLUMBIA GAS OF OHIO, BEFORE THE OHIO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION, RESULTING IN LOWER RATE HIKES AND MORE SAVINGS FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Together with other organizations representing residential, commercial, and industrial users, the Ohio Schools Council (OSC) contested Columbia Gas of Ohio’s (COH) request to the Public Utility Commission of Ohio (PUCO) for a $212 million increase in customer prices. The OSC and the other organizations were successful in obtaining a 67% decrease in COH’s intended massive rate hike. To challenge COH’s efforts, the OSC, which represents school districts in northern Ohio, devoted specialized legal services and expert witness testimony.

The clearest win for schools was an increase in the School Ratepayer Discount from 5% to 7.5%. In addition to the increase in the monthly School Ratepayer Discount, the OSC was also able to negotiate a 12% savings in the monthly General Service fixed cost.

OSC would like to thank Bellevue City Schools, Clearview Local Schools, North Royalton City Schools and Sylvania City Schools for the usage data which was utilized by the OSC Expert Witness during the case.

Dr. William Zelei, the Executive Director of the OSC, stated that the OSC’s $50,000 investment in expert witness testimony and attorney legal service expenses was necessary to defend the financial interests of school districts throughout northern Ohio. “We are ecstatic with the accomplishment and grateful for the opportunity to continue assisting our member school districts.”

Funding of this appeal is a great example of the value added services gained by choosing OSC as a utility supplier.

Questions? Contact OSC Utilities Manager, Barb DelRoso via bdelroso@osconline.org and she will be happy to assist.

Last fall, the Greater Cleveland School Superintendents’ Association, in partnership with Cleveland State’s Center for Educational Leadership, was proud to host an enlightening event with Richard Rothstein who is a Distinguished Fellow of the Economic Policy Institute and Senior Fellow at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

The program, titled “A History of Segregation…Considering Fixes,” featured dialog from Rothstein’s

recent book: “THE COLOR OF LAW: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America.”

Data presented by Rothstein during the well-attended program demonstrated that the government did more than turn a blind eye to discriminatory housing laws; it actively encouraged them. Rothstein explained that African Americans have been feeling the impacts for a long time now, ever since they were denied the right to live anywhere they wanted and raise their kids in the places where they would have had the best chance of succeeding economically.

Attendees walked away with renewed insights and knowledge on how they can better serve their districts and communities as a whole.

GCSSA Exclusive Event: Richard Rothstein presents “A History of Segregation… Considering Fixes”

Last month, GCSSA held a wellattended hybrid event hosting educational scholars Pedro Noguera and Rick Hess, providing members with a convenient lively discussion on inequity in education, among other informative and engaging topics.

Noguera, the dean of the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, and Hess, a resident scholar and the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute

co-authored the book “A Search for Common Ground: Conversations About the Toughest Questions in K–12 Education,” which provides a unique, thought-provoking perspective on some of the toughest questions in education.

As part of their GCSSA presentation, the pair shared their thoughts on the public’s relationship with school boards, the value of superintendents, and the apparent uptick in recent discussion on these topics.

The hybrid event was streamed live at the GCSSA offices in Independence, where members enjoyed lunch and the opportunity to network.

GCSSA Hybrid Event: Pedro Noguera and Rick Hess discuss inequity in education....

APR.

GCSSA 2022-23

CALENDAR of EVENTS: MARCH-JUNE

MARCH-JUNE

GCSSA In-Service Session:

“Legal Update with Ennis Britton Co., LPA”

Tuesday, March 7, 2023; 9:30 am

Registration/Light Breakfast @ 9 am

Location: ESC of Northeast Ohio

Cost: FREE (CLICK TO REGISTER)

Annual Spring Social

Tuesday, April 25, 2023; 6 pm

Location: Shoreby Club (40 Shoreby Drive, Bratenahl)

Sponsors: RBC Capital Markets and PSI

Cost: $35/person (CLICK TO REGISTER)

GCSSA In-Service Session:

“Supporting Our Children” In Partnership with the Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio

Tuesday, May 2, 2023; 9:30 am

Registration/Light Breakfast @ 9 am

Presented by Kelly Perales, LCSW, Co-Director, Midwest PBIS

Location: ESC of Northeast Ohio

Cost: FREE (CLICK TO REGISTER)

OSC ASSEMBLY MEETING

11:15 am

Please be sure to attend or submit your proxy!

JUNE

GCSSA In-Service Session: “Year-End Luncheon and Legislative Update”

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Presented by Dr. David Axner, Executive Director of BASA and Dr. Kevin Miller, Director of Governmental Relations at BASA

Registration/Social: 11-11:30 am

Program/Luncheon: Noon-1:30 pm

Location: Holiday Inn, Rockside Road (6001 Rockside Rd, Independence)

Sponsor: Grady Benefits

Cost: $35/person (current) $20/person (retired) (CLICK TO REGISTER)

Registration required for all events at gcssaohio.org.

Attendance at meetings will count toward Professional Development Credit Hours. Certificates will be issued.

JOIN US

NETWORK WITH US!

Over the past several years, the Ohio Schools Council has hosted valuable monthly Business Manager networking meetings in an effort to provide an opportunity to discuss issues and share ideas in an informal setting. Members can use the newly-launched forum, survey tools, shared file, and contact list to collaborate. These collaborative meetings were the seed that grew into the Transportation, Food Service, and Maintenance Supervisor Network Groups, who also meet every two months and collaborate using their own share drive, contact list, survey functionality, and discussion board. Each group has also developed other various goals based on their discussions with one another. The meetings provide another opportunity for districts to network with one another and share best practices. These engaging network meetings are hosted both in-person at the ESC of NEO as well as virtually via ZOOM. As an added benefit, all group members are welcome to bring fellow district colleagues to each meeting.

To register for any of the meetings, please send an email RSVP to Tami Perkins at tperkins@osconline.org.

N.E. and D7 Business Manager Meetings 2022-23

• Friday, February 24, 2023; 12:30 - 3 pm

• Friday, March 24, 2023; 12:30 - 3 pm

• Thursday, April 27, 2023; 12:30 - 3 pm

• Friday, May 19, 2023; 12:30 - 3 pm

• TENTATIVE Friday, June 16, 2023; 12:30 – 3 pm

Maintenance Supervisors meetings 2022-23

• Thursday, March 16, 2023; 11 am - 1 pm

• Thursday, May 11, 2023; 11 am - 1 pm

Transportation Supervisors meetings 2022-23

• Wednesday, April 5, 2023; 10:30 am – 12:30 pm

• June 2023, Date and Time to be Scheduled at February 7th Meeting

Food Service Supervisors meetings 2022-23

• Friday, April 28, 2023; 8:30 am - 10:15 am

To register for any of the meetings, please send an email RSVP to Tami Perkins at tperkins@osconline.org.

Thursday, February 23, 2023

Thursday, February 23, 2023

1 -2:30 pm

1 -2:30 pm

Join us for the latest trends and topics that will help your district navigate ways to manage your insurance risk profile and save

Join us for the latest trends and topics that will help your district navigate ways to manage your insurance risk profile and save!

TOPICS INCLUDE:

TOPICS INCLUDE:

What you need to know: Complet Cyber Liability Checklist

Threat Assessment Teams and th Insurance Process

Things to Consider when Evaluat Insurance Proposals

What you need to know: Complete Cyber Liability Checklist Threat Assessment Teams and the Insurance Process Things to Consider when Evaluating Insurance Proposals

LIVE Q & A to address your specific issues!

LIVE Q & A to address your specif issues!