Administrative Structure Update

Recently, as part of the plan to redesign our central office administrative staff, we posted the new position of Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Administrative Services.  This position will replace the current position of Assistant Superintendent of Business Services and also cover the duties of the Director Human Resources position that was vacated last year due to a retirement.  Districts use different titles and formats as it relates to administration.  Many use a series of Executive Directors, Directors, Managers, Specialists, etc. to accomplish the same and similar tasks.

In speaking to staff and community members about the redesign, the question of actual “administrative costs” for Saline Area Schools was discussed. One of the methods we use to evaluate the cost effectiveness of our administrative structure is to use Bulletin 1014.  The State of Michigan publishes this annually – you can download it here – http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-6530_6605-21514–,00.html This report ranks all Michigan Public Schools and Charter Schools on a variety of information they collect through the mandatory State reporting program.

This report shows that Saline has one of the lowest administration costs per pupil in the State (755 out of 780).  We spend $816 per pupil on business & administration.  Some comparisons, Dexter spends $1,009 per pupil, Hartland $975 per pupil, Novi $899 per pupil – which are also in the lower half of the State listing.

It’s important to note that only looking at specific titles doesn’t given the full picture related to administrative overhead.  I would also like to highlight the fact that the administrators we have on staff are working very hard to provide a quality level of service while being a member of a lean administrative structure.