Focus on Future

By Tom Brennan, EDmarket Chair

I am excited about our development as an industry and want to take this opportunity to update you on EDmarket’s strategic plans. Recently, sixteen of your industry colleagues graciously volunteered their time and expertise to meet in Memphis, Tennessee for a two-day strategic planning session to help determine best pathways to a successful future. I’m also sharing this in more detail in the winter edition of Essentials Magazine, in emailboxes last week.

You may recall that last year we revised the mission of EDmarket to “represent, connect, and serve people who want to succeed in the education market by providing events, opportunities, resources and leadership to those serving education.” Within this new mission and the early successes afforded by change, we have discovered the seeds of future growth.

With two very successful tradeshows for years, change in the marketplace has presented numerous challenges, with one venue decreasing in participation, and relevance while the other — EDspaces — experienced a resurgence because of the strategic decision to align the event with industry partners who could help broaden the scope of attendees to professionals representing all facets of educational facility planning. This elevated the conversation and the expertise, to the benefit of all.

In the face of these challenges and change, the question for the Board was how to continue to develop our value and relevance, and in these initiatives, we have a great “proof of concept” that shows the path we should be taking. In our meeting we committed to the development of a 5-year plan that would specifically address six fundamental areas that we feel need development for us to continue our transition:
• Strengthening our value proposition
• Developing strategic information
• Broadening our membership composition
• Restoring financial viability
• Creating strong networking opportunities 
• Creating pathways to membership engagement

All of these are important within the 5-year plan. But following the “Rule of 1 or 2”, it was broadly agreed that membership composition and strategic information are the most imminent and critical areas to address.

Our opportunity is two-fold: the shifting needs of our education customer and the disruptive changes in distribution. In the past, we were a simple, show-driven organization for manufacturers and distributors. 

Two new initiatives are currently gaining steam and follow an updated model. In September we launched the first EDchannels conference, and just recently we launched EDmarketplace, an online 365-day virtual platform for buyers and sellers. Both provide unique opportunities to meet changing needs in the marketplace.

If we work together to develop better strategic information and involve all people in the market, we can focus more on working to increase member engagement and find new ways to improve value. In the course of this, we can define and rebuild the foundation of the association.

Your Board team has been working to build a 5-year plan to guide us in a successful direction and is anticipating sharing that with you within the next six months. Like all 5-year plans, the important thing is not that it is 100% right, but to provide future Boards and chairs update and make adjustments annually based on interaction and feedback from members and analysis of the results of our initiatives.

As I stated in my piece featured in Essentials Magazine, EDmarket has a bright future because of you. Reinvesting your time, experience, and expertise has developed an industry community to be proud of. If you can, please consider getting on the bus with us and adding your time and talents to the conversation. The old proverb, “two heads are better than one” is never more true, as, for our industry, many heads can lead to success in ways we haven’t dreamed of, because there is strength in numbers.

Membership Has Its Privileges

By Kevin Casey 

For many years, American Express used the slogan and byline: "membership has its privileges". Being a Platinum Card holder for decades, you might be surprised I still think about my "privileges" every time my statement reminds me with the annual “membership” fee. It’s not cheap and has increased over the years. So, I add it up. They pay my fee for TSA Pre, allow me $200 in airline fees, $200 in Uber Rides, membership in most airline clubs plus the AMEX Centurion clubs, not to mention points on dollars charged that can be used for many things. For a guy that travels a lot, it’s a no-brainer. Yet, I still pause each year to consider, is it worth it? 

I’ve been a member and participant in EDmarket (formerly NSSEA) even longer than I’ve had that Platinum American Express card. When I get that invoice for renewal each year do I think about what am I getting for the dues? I don’t. 

What I do think about is what my company wants and needs, and then, through participation, I work to make those things happen, improving my business/channels/knowledge. And those things only happen when they align with a consensus of others that also find value in those developments. I can only do that if I am involved and a member. More membership involvement equals better the experience - for everyone.

In the early stages of my career, I was very engaged, as were many others in my age group. We became life-long friends, comrades in the community and eventually leaders of companies in the school supply industry. That wouldn’t have happened without the community of EDmarket committees, counsels, and work groups within the association, that lending us the opportunity to serve and commune. 

I guess where my participation waned was in the 90’s, as the focus changed. Consolidation was happening on the full-service distributor side, and taking a second spin on the supplier side. The furniture and equipment folks wanted things at a different time than the rest of us. Retailers were strong and growing. The focus became more and more about a trade show, when should it be, who will it serve and how many orders will we write. The vision was never an education industry viewpoint, but a school supply outlook that became fragmented and myopic. 

Also, at the time, I was VP Business Development of Educational Insights and our viewpoint was educational products at all levels and channels. The association was now working inside a box that was becoming several smaller boxes. Don’t get me wrong, I was managing one of the largest footprints at EDExpo, however, membership was a formality and was not really valued because we were not involved. It worked for us and membership was not a question, just a toll. Oddly enough, many consider that time to be the golden age of EDexpo with large exhibit spaces and thousands of attendees. To me, the trade association was hibernating, sleep-walking as a trade show, and so my involvement, other than as an exhibitor, made little sense. 

I jumped back into participation in the association in the past 8 years or so.  Changes were taking place, the kinds of changes some of us pushed for 15-20 years earlier, starting with the re-branding of the association to better communicate the total education industry mission. The furniture & equipment sector had reinvented itself into EDspaces and awakened a trade association that now had an industry-wide perspective, evolving into an industry event involving all stakeholders, not just buyers and sellers. Architects, facility planners, superintendents, school business officials, etc. 

The EDspaces dialog and cross-pollination reached critical mass. Why else would Google send their Education Evangelist to keynote? As a result, the EDmarket Association is now expanding membership to these stakeholders.  EDspaces communities are thriving and new communities are seeking inclusion. The dialog is year-round within committees and conversations that begin at EDspaces. That’s the kind of trade association I want to be involved in and hopefully bring the instructional materials segment into that industry focus. Good things happen when all stakeholders come together.

I just came from an EDmarket board meeting in Memphis. Without a doubt, it was a meeting about going forward and not looking back. EDspaces participants are conveying to leadership how important curriculum directors are becoming as influencers of learning environments. They also realize the value supplemental materials and EdTech sectors can bring to the EDspaces conversation. Visions of a newly re-focused association over the next few years were dancing in my head by the end of the meeting. Exciting.

That’s why membership in EDmarket remains meaningful to me. It's truly an exchange: I learn a lot from many of the members of the board/councils and hopefully they get a few kernels from me. Having the opportunity to collaborate with others in our industry, related and unrelated, opens my thinking outside the box. Involvement that can lead to being a change agent. That is why I’m in. That is why I don’t question the value when the annual dues statement shows up. Every association or community with total industry viewpoint, the members that are involved see value.

My “membership” in American Express should not to be compared to membership in a trade or professional association. My annual AMEX membership is a fee, that is potentially offset by tangible benefits, to use their transactional device. That fee provides the motivation to use the card as my preference and the “privileges” are there to incentify me to keep paying my annual fee. I have little say in the policy or privileges they offer me. I am not really a member of anything. Not too dissimilar from being a member of a trade show. 

Current State of the School Bond Market

An Overview by SchoolBondFinder.com

On November 7, 2017, there were 309 school bond initiatives on ballots in 24 states. The results for 303 school bonds had been entered into the SchoolBondFinder.com database by noon the next day, with results for the remaining 6 coming in over the following week. After all the dust had settled, 208 school bonds (67.31%) had been approved by voters and 101 (32.69%) had failed.

Every school district with a bond proposal on the November 7th ballot was hoping they'd found the magic formula for producing a positive vote, but almost one third had not. Is it possible to look at the data to ascertain what worked and what didn't?  

Let's consider one example of data comparison. At SchoolBondFinder.com, our researchers place a bond proposal in one or more of 5 major categories based on how the bond monies will be spent. Within the major categories, a bond might also be placed in one or more sub-categories. Analysis of the November pass/fail data show the following for each major category:

Category	Pass	Fail
Construction/Renovation	65.90%	34.10%
Capital Improvements	71.43%	28.57%
Safety/Security	72.26%	27.74%
Technology	74.62%	25.38%
Transportation	81.48%	18.52%

Transportation, which was called out on 54 of the 309 bond proposal initiatives, was clearly the most successful category, but does that mean that a district should add a transportation piece to their bond proposal in order for the initiative to pass? No, probably not.

Identifying the major categories for bond expenditures is just one of the many pieces of data that SchoolBondFinder gathers about each bond in the SBF database. Data analysis can help in making some comparisons, but without knowing more about the local environment (political, social, and financial), the data only provides a starting point. This is why it is so important to form a relationship, early in the process, with district personnel who are working on a bond initiative.

At SchoolBondFinder.com, we recognize that there are opportunities for involvement at every stage of the process: (Watch List) Very early when a bond proposal has made a first appearance, but doesn't have a vote date set yet; (Proposed) the bond initiative is moving toward a scheduled vote date, and may be consulting with industry experts; (Passed) when a bond initiative was successful and the district will begin scheduling work; and (Failed) when the initiative was not successful.

Why is there opportunity in following failed bonds?

One third of the bond initiatives that were on the ballot in November failed, but most likely the reason for the bond did not just go away with the failed vote. Buildings still need to be built or remodeled, security systems still need to be installed, technology infrastructure still needs to be updated ... and the list goes on.

A district that has not been able to pass their bond initiative this year will most likely try again after a "political cooling down period." They may need help setting new goals or rewriting the proposal to ensure passage the next time the bond proposal is put forward for a vote.

When a bond proposal goes back to the drawing board, industry experts can provide invaluable information about products and services, as well as help connect districts who are in the process of writing proposals with other districts that have successfully passed a similar initiative. Identifying key contacts within the district and forming relationships with key contacts early in this process is beneficial for all parties involved and contributes to a successful outcome.

Focused View at the District Level

The bond process is often discussed from a high-level perspective, often leaving the education marketplace wondering what impacts funding and upgrades can have on individual districts and schools. New construction, renovations, school safety improvements, technology upgrades, and transportation equipment needs all often require bond elections. Local school districts hope to piggyback on the possible approval of a state school bond for construction projects by passing their own bonds for school construction money. 

The idea would be to use the state and local bond money together to increase the amount of construction possible. A statewide bond measure would pay for up to $9 billion worth of school facility improvement projects if approved. It is called the Kindergarten Through Community College Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2016. Here’s a snapshot of how this could impact several school districts in California, one of the most active states for school bonds.

Reef-Sunset Unified School District Superintendent David East said most schools in the district are more than 80 years old and are in definite need of improvements. “We will definitely benefit from a state bond,” he said. “We have huge needs out here.” East said the district already has a previous bond – Measure A – in place that has funded facility modernization in the district such as completely renovating the stadium at Avenal High School along with a few other projects. “You are investing in the infrastructure of the community,” East said. “High quality school facilities lead to better achievement.”

The bond process is not only an important part of a state’s public infrastructure, it’s an investment in future generations and has a lasting impact on the community. Hanford Joint Union High School District Assistant Superintendent Cheryl Silva said the district has approved a $28 million school construction bond on the November ballot. The money will be used to pay for projects at Sierra Pacific High School including adding a library and administration building, an agriculture learning farm and additional technology for the school, addressing a diversity of potential career paths for students.

“We have been working on an extensive list [for construction] over the last few years,” Silva said. Silva also said all three school sites would receive some sort of improvements including swimming pool upgrades for Hanford West and Hanford High School. “We are looking at the highest need and the highest priority,” she stated. Lemoore Union High School District is updating its facilities master plan to make the decision on whether to ask voters to approve a local school bond along with deciding what needs to be upgraded.

In another school district, Superintendent Debbie Muro said Lemoore High School is in major need of upgrades since some of the buildings are 100 years old. Some upgrades include improving science labs, painting buildings, upgrading the parking lots, adding new classrooms and re-plastering the campus pool. Muro said painting the main building alone is a $100,000 project. She said LHS teachers are sharing classrooms and more classroom space is needed. “We’ve done student surveys over the last few years,” she said. “If you go to a school and it looks really nice, it has a lot to do with your morale and how you feel about school.”

Funding for public school capital projects continues to be an ongoing challenge. New construction, renovations, school safety improvements, technology upgrades, and transportation equipment needs all often require bond elections, and as reviewed in the cases from the state of California, they can be a multi-step process involving multiple school districts. Look for future articles about where the school bond market is headed, as well as individual case studies about how individual schools can be impacted by this process.