Blog
Lebanon SD Wins Award of Achievement
Kelly Herr, Assistant Business Manager at Lebanon SD, was selected as the sole award recipient this year for the PA Association of School Business Officials (PASBO) Awards of Achievement program with her submission, Promoting School Business Through Internships: A Winning Partnership. With this honor comes a $2,000 scholarship for the district, sponsored by the PA Local Government Investment Trust (PLGIT).
With transparency being the buzzword of late, there doesn't seem to be a slowdown in the demands put on already thinly-staffed business offices. In order to keep its head above water, the Lebanon SD business office thought outside the box and created an internship opportunity for local college business management and accounting students. This unpaid internship provided staff in the business office, credits to the students and saved the district money where they typically would have hired temps.
Each intern provides over 90 hours of work in order to earn a minimum of two independent study college credits. Roughly, the intern provides about $1,000 of free professional service to the business office. Over the past several years, Lebanon SD has benefitted from nine interns, which adds up to about $9,000 in salary savings.
The staff within the business office takes pride in mentoring the students from Lebanon Valley College and the students' enthusiasm is amazing. The program provides students an off-campus opportunity to work in a business environment and learn first-hand what skills, abilities and attitudes are needed to be successful.
Lebanon SD had an abundance of interns and turned to other local school districts to accommodate the students. Both Annville-Cleona SD and Palmyra Area SD have implemented internship programs with Lebanon Valley College and are already reaping the same benefits. Herr recommends other districts to start up their own internship program if they have a local college in the community. And if you don't have a college in the area, check with the business departments of your high school for interested students to help over the summer.
According to Herr, having interns in the business office has been a win-win situation, getting eager students who are happy to dive in and help with any task to get the job done and the students walk away with learning a variety of skills and getting a taste of what it's like to work in the “real world.”
Contact: Suzanne K. Yorty, 717.540.9551, syorty@pasbo.org
Smart Business + Informed Decisions = Great Schools
The Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO) is a statewide organization with more than 3,000 members, two-thirds of whom are K-12 non-instructional administrators serving in the areas of finance, accounting, facilities, transportation, food service, technology, communications, human resources, purchasing and safety. PASBO's focus is on educating its members through professional development opportunities as well as keeping them informed on the latest legislative issues affecting school business through workshops, the annual conference, specialty conferences and publications. Business Associate members provide products and services that can improve the operation of schools and support classroom learning.
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