The Final Report - Malcolm Shabazz City High School, Madison WI

Project OverviewIn October 2001, the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) selected Virchow, Krause &Company, LLP and its subcontractor, AZ Consultants, to conduct a functional analysis of Districtfunctions. Virchow, Krause & Company, LLP is a Wisconsin-based consulting and certified publicaccounting firm specializing in services to school districts and local units of government.PURPOSE AND SCOPEDue to state imposed revenue caps and declining enrollments, MMSD faces significant fiscalconstraints. Specifically, if the District were to continue with the 2001-2002 service budget, itwould experience budget deficits of $5 - $10 million in the coming years. Recognizing thesubstantial budget reduction requirements ahead, the District sought an independent, objectivefunctional analysis. The District is to be commended for investing in this functional analysis priorto proceeding with budgetary decisions, to ensure that those difficult decisions are made withobjective, consistent information about the effects of potential decisions on the District’sstudents, staff, and community.A functional analysis is a systematic approach to analyzing all the District’s functions thatidentifies and categorizes functions according to an established set of unique screening criteria.This process, known as managed abandonment, allows the District to identify functions thatcould be abandoned (along with the programmatic impact of abandonment). In addition, theanalysis also identifies function reduction opportunities – where functions cannot be abandonedentirely but where savings can be achieved through reductions in functions.As Superintendent Rainwater has noted, there are several key assumptions behind the functionalanalysis. These assumptions are:• Every single thing the District does is good for kids. Long ago the District eliminated all thosethings that were peripheral.• All District staff members - teachers, administrators, custodians and food service workers –are good at what they do.• The District has very talented people that work very hard and that work very smart.• Site-based teachers and administrators currently have full time jobs – and they can't absorbmore work. Functions cannot move from the central office to people at the site because sitebasedstaff members are working as hard and as efficiently as possible.With these assumptions in mind, the results of the functional analysis are presented in thisreport. Where we identified an opportunity for managed abandonment or function reductionbecause the function is discretionary or support or exceeds the level of service required bystatutes, we have developed decision items. Inclusion of a function as a decision item does notmean that the function does not add value to the students or staff of the District. Again, theassumption behind the functional analysis is that everything the District does is good for kids. Adecision item is simply a case where the District is engaged in a discretionary or support activitythat could be abandoned or a core/required activity that exceeds mandate or policyrequirements.Virchow, Krause & Company, LLP Page 3March 11, 2002