Zukowski Law Offices

Overview

Over our many years of experience, the office has developed a wealth of knowledge.  As a result, our counseling and mentoring services have grown significantly and we hold quarterly Superintendent Workshops to discuss recent developments in the law impacting school districts. 

Sometimes superintendents face new or novel situations.  Sometimes administrators want a mentor to discuss proposed actions.  Sometimes school personnel don’t have time to attend to all necessary matters in a professional yet timely fashion.  We have helped many school districts, regardless of whether the superintendent has been on the job 10 days or 10 years.

Recently, with the addition of retired Superintendent Al Humpage to our staff, we decided to reach out to schools in a number of education support areas. 

Areas of Support

·       Borrowing  Understanding your short and long-term debt issues.  Basic understanding of short and long-term borrowing. 

·       Staff Evaluations Practical ways to staff evaluation.  Training in certified and non-certified evaluations. 

·       Remediation Process The best practices to a successful remediation process. 

·       Negotiations Services from representing the board of education to working with the superintendent and/or board team to achieve a successful contract.

·       Dealing with a Crisis Strategies for dealing with a serious crisis in the district that will help keep the crisis from getting bigger. 

·       Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Step-By-Step support from understanding how a TIF works, what a district can do, “and” educating your city leaders and board to working out an agreement with the city.

·       Enterprise Zone How they work and how they differ from TIFs.

·       Handling Conflict A major reason superintendents lose their job is the day-to-day dealings with people, problems and conflicts.  Ways to deal with and reduce conflict.

·       Budgeting The how to’s of preparing and then working within your district budget.

·       Tax Levy Learn how to prepare for the levy and how to present the levy to your board and the public.

·       Property Taxes Understanding individual property tax bills, the assessment cycle, tax extensions, the collection cycle, and tax appeals.  How to predict your district’s equalized assessed valuation. 

·       General State Aid Calculating the formula to determine your future state aid payments.  Understanding the factors influencing the state aid formula.

·       Federal and State Grants How to determine which one to go after.  How to incorporate grants into your short and long range budgeting.

·       Audit Understanding the audit from a practical approach.  What are the important findings in an audit and how to use this information.

·       Working with the Board Of Education Learn how to orient new members and work with experienced ones.  Learn the do’s and do not’s of superintendent board relations.  Best practice for board agendas to board meeting.  Workshops for your board of education.

·       Public Relations Successful tips on building strong public relations within your district and community from newsletters to speaking with the media.

·       Your District’s Financial Profile Getting a handle on your district’s financial condition.

·       Facilities Management Getting a handle on the building’s maintenance and repairs.  Best practices to gain control in this area.

·       Referendums Learn tested strategies for a successful referendum.

·       Superintendent Search We are well equipped to provide your district with all of the services that it may desire for an efficient and professional search. 

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