Page 24 - The Edge - Summer 2019

SPRING CONFERENCE RECAP

By Don Harris

Mesa, Tempe, Deer Valley, Agua Fria

Win Best Practice Awards
Jim Migliorino

AASBO members at four school districts were honored
at the 2019 Spring Conference for their Best Practices –
programs and processes they devised that can be helpful to
school business officials throughout the state.
Jim Migliorino, Deputy Superintendent of Fiscal and
Business Services for Deer Valley Unified School District,
announced the winners:
Mesa Public Schools: Ken Alexander and Joseph Leon,
Director of Audit Services and Internal Auditor, respectively.
Tempe Elementary School District: Rebecca Seifert,
Director of Purchasing. Ken Alexander Joseph Leon
Deer Valley Unified School District: Martin James, Print
Manager.
Agua Fria Union School District: Andrea Cabrera,
Procurement Coordinator.
At Mesa, Alexander and Leon came up with a self-audit
tool that helps with compliance on student enrollment and
withdrawal documentation for 79 schools. According to
the nominating person, the tool was deployed via Google
sheets and shared with student enrollment staff as well as
the principal. It provides detailed instructions on how to
complete the self-audit. In addition, a video was created
by Audit Services with the assistance of MPS staff to guide Rebecca Seifert Martin James
enrollment staff on how to complete the self-audit. This
was beneficial to the educational process because it gave requested that each teacher have access to order their
enrollment staff a tool that could be completed at their curriculum on a quarterly basis with the ability to order
own pace to identify deficiencies in their enrollment and a combined lesson or individual lessons, allowing the
withdrawal process. teacher to order only the lessons needed for a module.
At Tempe Elementary School District, Rebecca Seifert An analysis of the first six years of program data indicated
brought math to life for students by having Purchasing that the department had produced 128 million curriculum
Department staff teach real-life skills in math class once impressions.
a month. The nominating person reports that for the Andrea Cabrera, Procurement Coordinator at Agua
2018‐2019 school year, the department splits into teams Fria Union High School District, was deemed a winner
of two. Each team serves in a fifth‐grade class at Scales for her knowledge and sharing of procurement practices.
Technology Academy once a month. Taking the skills The nominating person has been assisting Cabrera in
they use each day, they teach the class about district purchasing and is learning so much from her on purchasing
procurement, and how they use the math skills that students and procurement practices. “Andrea has been with the
are learning to be successful in their future profession. school district 13+years and from what I have seen she takes
Through this mentorship, students are also learning about her job seriously from purchasing items to working on bids,”
a profitable career opportunity they may not have known the nominator said. “She is always willing to help others
existed. with teaching them the proper methods of purchasing and
Martin James, Manager of Deer Valley Unified School procurement. I have seen first-hand that she cares about
District Graphic Communications Department, developed her work and goes out of her way to personally go to our
an online digital curriculum solution to allow every teacher school sites to help with procurement projects. Her concern
at all 38 campuses to order math, reading and science
curriculum. According to the nominating person, it was Continued on page 25

24 THE EDGE | SUMMER 2019