Solano County Office of Education Annual Report 2011-12
Our Mission:
The Solano County Office of Education provides effective leadership and services that support the community in its effort to provide equal access to the highest quality education and ensure a positive outcome for every Solano County student.
The following are some of our services and programs:
Administrative Services and Operations
The Administrative Services and Operations Department supports many programs within Solano County’s school districts including Special Education, Career and Technical Education (CTE)/ Workforce Development, the Juvenile Detention Facility and Community Schools in addition to providing fiscal oversight and support to our districts.
The Internal Business Services Department manages the daily fiscal operations of these programs including budget development and monitoring, accounting services, accounts payable and receivable, and payroll.
The District Business Services Department provides advisory services to Solano County K-12 school districts and Solano Community College. Services to districts include budget approval, monitoring fund apportionment and distribution, payroll, employee retirement services, auditing, accounting, issuing warrants, collecting and processing statistical and financial reports, and general management team assistance.
The Information Services and Technology Department provides services to SCOE staff, students, and school districts. It provides high speed Internet services to school districts and charter schools, as well as technical and fiscal leadership in operating the financial information system used by most Solano County districts and the Solano Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA).
The Facilities and Maintenance Department maintains existing buildings and grounds, oversees modernization, new construction and upgrades to sites as needed to ensure the best educational environment possible for students and staff.
The Transportation Department provides transportation to approximately 103 special education students to and from school daily, year-round, to SCOE sites, district and county programs, as well as non-public schools.
Human Resources and Workforce Development
The Human Resources Department provides services to employees as well as school districts within Solano County. Internal services include recruitment, selection, employee orientation, benefit programs, workers’ compensation, unemployment, retirement assistance, and substitutes as well as managing contracts, maintaining personnel records, and conducting position classification studies. Services to districts include consulting, advising and sharing data on an array of personnel issues, Live Scan fingerprinting, technical assistance to first-time teachers and renewal applicants, and monitoring credentials.
Career Technical Education (CTE) and Workforce Development includes cutting-edge programs such as virtual entrepreneurship, culinary, automotive, biotechnology, health care, computer graphics design, green construction, and much more. Courses are designed to motivate and engage students by training them for new and emerging careers to fill 21st century jobs through academics and hands-on project-based learning. Business and industry are vital partners in the education of our students and preparing them for post-secondary education and/or the workforce.
Student Programs and Educational Services
The District and School Support Professional Development Programs respond to ongoing training needs for the North Bay region as well as Solano County school districts. Specific areas of focus are effectively addressing the needs of our 21st Century Learners including differentiated instruction and technology in all content areas, effective instructional strategies for English Learner students, and Response to Intervention; Administrative Leadership including Building Leadership Capacity, implementing the Common Core Standards, and Transformational Leadership strategies. We also partner with districts and schools to improve student achievement through implementation of rigorous core content area standards.
The Special Projects Program focuses on supporting individuals pursuing alternative credentialing options. We also provide technical assistance and support to districts implementing Transitional Kindergarten as well as offer workshops for Preschool Providers.
The Foster Youth Services Program works with districts and schools to provide foster youth with the resources needed to achieve their maximum educational potential. The program identifies and utilizes appropriate multi-agency services with the purpose of improving academic achievement and attendance while reducing dropout rates, incidence of pupil discipline problems, and juvenile delinquency.
The Homeless Youth Services Program provides support and resources to school districts that are involved in working with homeless youth. Services include immediate enrollment in school regardless of living situation, assistance with school services, assistance with obtaining immunizations and medical records, continued attendance in the school in which last enrolled, and transportation from current residence to school of origin.
Youth Development and Special Events provide the Solano County public school community with programs that enrich and improve the quality of the educational experience. Programs include: Educators of the Year, Elementary School Spelling Bee, Student Art Faire and Solano County Youth Art Council, Academic Decathlon, Academic Bowl, and Career and College Club.
The Juvenile Court and Community Schools Program includes the Golden Hills Community School and the Solano County Juvenile Detention Facility and provides educational services to students in grades 7 through 12. The Golden Hills Community School serves students who have been referred due to expulsion. The Juvenile Detention Facility program serves students who are in the juvenile justice system. Students in both programs are provided both a rigorous academic instructional program as well as services of support that address their social and emotional needs intended to assist with the successful transition back into a comprehensive secondary school setting.
Special Education
The Special Education Department partners with families and school district personnel to ensure that students with disabilities have their unique needs met. There are SCOE special education classes in five of the six districts in Solano County. Preschoolers are served at the Irene Larsen Center in Vacaville and the T.C. McDaniel Center in Fairfield. Students with significant academic and behavioral needs are served at the Delta Program located at the H. Glenn Richardson Center in Fairfield. Support personnel include behavior specialists, nurses, psychologists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, physical therapists, specialists for the deaf/hard-of-hearing, and assistive technology specialists.
Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA)
The primary function of a SELPA is to deliver high-quality special education programs and services to students with disabilities in the most appropriate, efficient, and cost-effective manner. In addition to ensuring that the needs of disabled students in Solano County are met, SELPA also offers technical assistance, staff development, dispute resolution, regional governance, program development, legislative advocacy, and compliance monitoring.
Solano County Office of Education Financial Report
Revenue Limit Sources(21%) – Revenue limit funding is comprised of a combination of state aid and local property taxes based on funding formulas and is a source of revenue for the Juvenile Detention Facility and Community School classes, Solano County Office of Education revenue, and a small amount of special education funding.
Federal Revenue (9%) – A source of revenue for grants and entitlements for special purposes. The majority of Federal revenue includes special education, Workability II, No Child Left Behind Teacher Quality, Limited English Proficient Program, and Medi-Cal billing.
Other State Revenue (47%) – Some of the state revenue that is received includes fiscal oversight of school districts, staff development, lottery, career and technical education (CTE)/workforce development, school safety, special education, instructional materials, transportation, peer assistance and review, and foster youth in licensed facilities.
Other Local Revenue (23%) – Some of the local revenue that is received includes interest earnings, fees collected from districts, leases and rentals, donations, Friday Night Live, Safety Credit-Worker’s Compensation, Redevelopment, and the California Education Computer Consortium.
Expenditures are budgeted and spent in categories as determined by the California School Accounting Manual (CSAM). Most categories are self-explanatory such as certificated salaries, classified salaries, employee benefits, books and supplies, and capital outlay equipment.
The Services and Other Operating Expenses category includes subagreements for grant awards or entitlements, contracted services for special education, travel and conference, utilities, maintenance, and legal services contracts. In the past, the Other Outgo category included pass-through funds to school districts as well as debt service payments. In 2011-12, new state reporting guidelines required that pass-through funds to school districts reported in the Other Outgo category to be reported separately from the general fund. As a result, the total budget for Other Outgo expenditures was reduced by $13.5 million. This changed the percentage in each expenditure category significantly even though the amount in each category did not change significantly.
