Inside the Cabinet Meeting

Please consider forwarding this newsletter to your colleagues and others who may benefit from this information. New readers can subscribe here:

Since I retired, I have spent a lot of time writing and doing what I can to support public education and leaders. I am happy to announce that my new book will be coming out sometime this summer. The manuscript is with the publisher now and we will be finalizing all the details in the coming months.

The book will be about common sense leadership and a blueprint for up-and-coming leaders to transition into the superintendency. You can follow me on Facebook (@largentconsultingllc) and Twitter (@DrJimLargent) to get more information as we near our launch date.

Also, if you enjoy reading or listening to memoirs, I released my childhood memoir, Boys Beneath the Pines, last summer. It paints a picture of life in rural East Texas from the 1960s through the early 80s.

It seems that every day when reading or watching the news, I see or hear another story about how a politician is going to “stop CRT” in our schools or “demand personal freedoms” and other nonsense that have become our new normal with social politics. I see people come to school board meetings screaming and yelling about issues they read about on some radical social media page (with no truth to their claims) and I see school leaders who are eligible to retire throw up their hands and say, “ENOUGH!”

This focus on social gaslighting is sickening, and unfortunately, many political leaders (some who have supported public education in the past) are falling into this trap of seeing how far radical they can go to keep the support of “their base” and keep winning elections. They don’t even believe the nonsense they are spewing! It is purely political.

All of these things can be solved by doing ONE thing. If educators and retired educators would all VOTE for pro-public education candidates, and let all politicians know that if you go down crazy train avenue, you will not be elected, or re-elected. Until we do this, we are going to continue to elect people who are trying to completely destroy public education. If you think what we have now is crazy, wait until some of these potential laws regarding vouchers, parental bill of rights, and other suggestions we have heard from politicians recently, come to fruition. If they do, public education will no longer exist as we know it. We must stop the madness!

I recommend to all superintendents to make sure your departments are evaluating their contracted services periodically. Tens of thousands of dollars can easily be saved by making sure you are getting the most bang for your taxpayer's buck.

Workers comp is an area that sometimes goes overlooked but it is one that you should really evaluate. With most plans starting in September, NOW is the time to look at alternatives for the coming school year.

SchoolComp is a company I worked with as a superintendent and now work with them in retirement. They do things right! They are transparent in how they do business, focus on taking care of your employees while at the same time protecting the district. The pool approach works and has saved districts many thousands of dollars in a very short period of time.

As you look at your systems and programs this Spring, contact me and ask that we give you a proposal for your worker's comp business. You might be surprised at what you find!

Some of you may have federal or local funds that you haven’t decided on how to spend. One area to consider is air quality and lighting retrofits.

Some of these projects may be paid for with federal dollars. Most HVAC and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) projects are allowable with federal dollars. With the monthly utility savings you are almost certainly to get from these upgrades, combined with improved air quality, the long-term financial benefits are certainly something to consider as you look at how to use these funds.

Contact me at jim@largentconsulting.org if you are interested in having E3 come out and perform a no-cost, comprehensive review of your facilities’ HVAC systems to analyze indoor air quality and/or lighting options and offer appropriate recommendations and corrective measures.

Now is the time to begin planning for summer projects that address classroom lighting and air quality.

Email: jim@largentconsulting.org
Website: largentconsulting.org
Location: 1619 Malibu Bay Court, Granbury, TX, USA
Phone: 903-721-4660
Twitter: @DrJimLargent