Talking Number with Plum

Numbers

Let’s Talk Numbers and then create some Linkage to probable successes with these numbers.

Questions:

How big is the annual School District budget?

Follow-up Question:

How much impact can an expanded aquatics/athletic/fitness program actually have upon the School District’s bottom-line budget?

Answer:

All in all, the amount of money spent at the swim pool and payed to employees to staff the programs is a drop in the bucket with the overall school budget. If the board gave its permission to Mark Rauterkus to go ahead and build upon the existing programs and create the greatest community swim program the world has ever seen, the total costs involved would amount to nearly nothing when compared to the existing overall budget.

None-the-less, if the people on the board feel it is their duty as elected officials to examine and scrutinize every drop of water that enters the larger school budget (er-bucket), then let’s examine the budget impact. So, get out your microscopes and here is a lesson in water chemistry and pool costs.

Question:

How much does the pool cost per year?

Answer:

Now that you have asked, buildings and grounds should provide us with the costs to operate the swim pool per year. As an outsider, the swim coach does not know, yet I’ve recently asked to answer your questions to me.

But, it is my guess that the grand total for the average yearly pool costs for buildings and grounds is about $20,000. That includes: heat, lights, water, electricity for the pump, chemicals, wear-and-tear fix-ups, cleaning supplies, etc.

Given a worst case examle of taking present-level-modest-usage of 20 swimmers per session and turning that into an extreamly populated facility with usage at 200 instead of 20, throughout the course of an entire year, the extra costs would amount to somewhere between $400 to $500 per year, maximum.

Expert Answer:

I’ve arrived at the maximum yearly costs of $400 to $500 per year after talking with area consultant given:180,000 gals of water in the Plum pool, given an extra backwash in the summers on a weekly instead of monthly basis, given a loss of 375 gallons of water while backwashing, given the price of water at $52 per 10,000 gallons, given the price of chlorine at $125 per 100 pounds and the price of acid at $4.95 a gallons, given that the pool probably consumes 100 pounds of chlorine a month and 20 gallons of acid a year.

The same number of lights are on in the pool area if there are 20 people in the pool or 200. The pump is circulating the water as the heat is on day and night anyway. So some things don’t change at all.

•••

After Coach Mark Rauterkus explored the projected costs with a consultant, we can say that a significant increase in the existing aquatics programs would have a negligible increase on facility costs to the district.

•••

We expect the chlorine and acid numbers to rise by 10 percent with my plan in full operation. Lumped together, there is a good chance the chemicals with increased usage could only amount to an extra $5 per week. All-in-all, the extra cost for greatly expanded programs amounts to a grand total of no more than $400–500 per year.

Getting this technical is what Coach Mark refers to as an inspection of the molecules in the drop of water in the big bucket of the school district budget. But at least I’ve done my homework.

Furthermore, the water and the pool do not wear out like a football field. The pool is a steel, concrete and ceramic tile hole in the ground that is depreciating slowly throughout the next century. Swimmers can make waves in a that swim pool for hours on end, and there is no chance that the swimming tank will wear out. Playing fields needs to drainage, seed, sod, cutting, grooming, expensive lighting, etc., etc.

Summary Answer:

The real costs that amount to anything are not related to the building’s operation, but instead are staff programing (managers, life-guards, instructors) and custodial worker’s compensation.

Question:

What about the custodial worker’s compensation?

Answer:

I come to understand from the November ‘92 committee meeting that the custodians can make up to or beyond $29 per hour. I guess they are union and a contract in place. As for specifics about costs and compensation with regards to clean-up and custodial time, the board would have a much better knowledge than the swim coach as it negotiated the union contract.

I don’t know what existing schedules and costs are associated with buildings and grounds. In the winter the pool area is cleaned every day, and those are fixed costs that should not escalate if 200 people use the pool in an evening instead of 20. Now that the pool is idle in the summers, perhaps the non-profit organization should cause the schedules to change so that the pool is cleaned daily instead of once a week in June and July.

It has been my experience and opinion as a manager of other similar facilities that :45 minutes of time per night would be sufficient to regularly clean that facility even after the most populated, high-use periods. Three-quarters of an hour would allow 15 minutes for each of the locker-rooms and another 15 minutes for the either the deck or the entry hallway on an every-other-day basis.

I also know that the federal government was paying most municipalities to hire a young-person for a summer-job experience. Perhaps some soft-money or some type of grant could be obtained to pay for summer-time-cleaning. Or, the lifeguards and managers can operate a mop and hose.

If the pool is put to extensive use in the summer months and if there is a daily clean-up of 1 hour at $7.00 per hour, then the costs for the 10 week summer period would be $490.

In the final conclusion, paying union wages to clean-up the pool, or as someone suggested at the meeting, having a custodian at the pool every moment that the pool is open, would be the kiss of death for expanding the aquatic’s programs. This is something that the board has to deal with, and I can’t address the existing facts that getting the floors mopped is too much to overcome when educating the public safty in water skills. I only hope that Plum isn’t like some other districts that I’ve heard about that have set itself up to contend

with a four-hour minimum of pay going out to have a janitor come in for :20 minutes of work to empty a hair-catchers on drains. Recreational activities can’t absorb those types of premium expenses.

Question:

What about costs for staffing (managers, lifeguards, instructors) for programs.

Answers:

With my expanded aquatics plans, the innovative, dynamic programing will require expert instruction and a solid educational mission. Staff costs would be significant, but they would be paid for from user fees. Staff programing costs are a variable cost. For example, as more classes are taught and as enrolment increases, more teachers can be hired and perhaps at higher rates as the paying customers will pay user fees. If no classes are held, no teacher is paid.

Today’s aquatic program offered by the district is not based upon the philosophy of user fees. Plum’s aquatics programing takes all comers for lessons and has nominal evening swim programs. Now that I’ve witness these programs first hand this fall, I have my opinions.

It is my guess that Plum’s present aquatic programing staff costs average about $12,000 per year. There are two programs: evening swim which takes into account a pool manager at $8.50 per hour and a lifeguard at $7.00 for 2 hours each night and 4 nights per week for 32 weeks for $4,000; and then the free-Saturday-afternoon lessons is for 4 sessions at 7 weeks each with a $10.00 per hour salary for 3 hours each week with 8 instructors is close to $7,000.

Now, if the lessons were to be a huge success and the evening program grew to accommodate scouts and such, then the staffing could double in one season and easily triple with successful experiences and some marketing efforts. It hasn’t happened yet, but with the involvement of Mark Rauterkus and responsible staffing levels given the existing hours with modest latitudes, the staffing expenses could exceed $25,000 per year. This growth of existing programs would be an solid increased to budget expenses as there is only nominal user fees collected in the evening swims.

Dilemma Answered:

As the recent-interim-pool manager I have not gone overboard with the budget and created new programs yet and hired lots of new people. Mr. Neff gave me the job and was supportive to me in September and said that I would be able to staff the pool to suitable levels. However, I was told I could not get a second lifeguard in the evenings and there have never been any clear-cut guidelines for increasing or decreasing the staff. I proceeded to do the best I could with what I was given, witnessing the program run at status quo, and implementing minor changes as time progressed.

Vision and Solution:

The swim pool staff (managers, lifeguards, instructors) should have a specific budget line-item.

Given the existing programing, the budget spending cap should be raised to $25,000 for the next year and up to $35,000 for future years. A projected spending amount and a spending ceiling should reflect a wide latitude in the time of growth. In a few years, as programs are operational at full or near-full capacity, then the budgeted numbers can be much closer to targeted amounts.

The manager should be responsible for staff schedules and ensuring proper management of the human resources.

In future years, the manager with the approval of the HR director, should establish a more competitive and more subjective pay scale for workers based upon certification, experience, merit and job performance. We should not have to pay more than $10 per hour to first-time, junior instructors. The swim staff will not be excited to hear I’ve made this recommendation, but I feel it is the right thing to do.

In my plans to the board regarding Plum’s expansion of its aquatics programs, I’ve always tried to make it clear that maintenance and supplies would be paid for out of the operating expenses of the non-profit organization. All costs would also be paid for by the non-profit organization too. Either way, the salaries were accounted for in the plans and those clean-up charges were not to be taken from the district’s 10% of the revenue or in the recent proposal its $100 flat rental payment each month.

In summary, it was the goal of these aquatics proposals to have the aquatics programs pull their own weight in a fiscally responsible manner and have user fees pay for any extra costs. The new non-profit organization would pay its share.

Question:

Some people thought that numbers Mark projected in the expanded aquatics plans were too high, too unrealistic, too much for others to understand. Can you prove those projections?

Answer:

“I’ve played in Peoria.” Literally, I moved to Peoria, Illinois, a market one-third the size of Pittsburgh, in the heart of the not so nice (Central High School) city, suffering the worse depression with Caterpillar Tractor falling through the floor with huge, year-long strikes choking the city, and my program went gang-busters. Every program in the region was cutting off whole limbs, and mine was turning a $15,000 surplus even after mid-year budget adjustments. I moved to town and there were 35 swimmers on the team. In three months we had 6 coaches and a rental agreements at a second H.S. pool and a waiting list because I could not take more than 200 swimmers. We eventually settled down to 150 on average in the program at any given month, 12 months per year. Plus, the YMCA program took one of my former assistant coaches and north suburban team sprang up from nowhere too, all because I promoted the sport and we were just too good.

I got a large raise to move to New Trier School District. While I was there, New Trier was rated the best public high school in America by Town and Country. I mainly coached the community kids. I had nine-lanes-full of 10-and-unders, and we had a total of 350 kids in the winter swim program from ages 7 to high school with one pool. I grew the team to reach those numbers dramatically, and that’s one of the reasons they hired me—to build the base of their team in an area with a shrinking demographics for kids as the real estate prices were too high and prohibitive for families to purchase homes.

In Waco, Texas, I worked for the City and its hard to get children of cowboys to do a sissy thing like swimming lessons, but we boomed with an awesome program at the city’s huge outdoor pool.

Building numbers in a swim program is easy. Even locally I’m having an impact with the PAYS team. In the winter of 1991, my first season there were 48 swimmers. Now there are 78. That is an 80% increase. And I’m only engaged at a very-part-time level. But I have to admit, there isn’t a day when I don’t speak to Coach Jerry O’Neil on the phone. Oh, and this past summer, we went to Boyce

Park for 3 days per week for dry-lands and swimming for 150 minutes each session. The summer before my arrival there were 32 swimmers in the program and last summer there were 68. And funny thing, if I try modestly hard again this summer we will double again. We can garner 140 swimmer in the summer of 1993 using the wave pool and the YMCA.

The scarry thing, is if we used the Plum High School pool, taught lessons and still had swim team activities, with some advance planning and my supervision, we could have 200+ swimmers. And, I’m talking 80% Plum and without kick down the local teams too. I’m a builder.

How can Mark Rauterkus attract those numbers?

Answer:

Notice, we worked out with the kids for 150 minutes this summer. It was cold and rainy all summer long and the rates were nearly $100 per kid as the County rental molded the program badly. We were not giving anything away in terms of cost, convince, tons of assistance, etc. I worked alone, and Jerry O’Neil had only one college kid helper.

But the secret is to offer a challenge to the individual. Show them how to improve by teaching. And then the rewards become quite intrinsic. I can motivate and I have the technical skills to support my methods which yields better and better results which in turn puts the program on a high level of excellence and the snowballing effects are nurtured. Work and learning is fun and I guarantee all three.

Vision and Solution:

You can’t sit on your hands and babble away the time. At Plum, I will build a first-rate, world-class, dynamic teaching program. We will not replicate anything already being done. We will not replicate anything already tried before and failed. We will not have one lane line in recreation swim as we need three or more. One was a failure. Three or more will be a success. I know.

A huge advantage to Plum is the teaching center. The pool is connected to the school, we have a great track, we have tennis court, a gym, class rooms. With the roof, there will be climate control, never a rain-out policy. We will hold long courses in odd times and be a Mecca of fitness learning.

You can’t throw out a beach-ball and expect people to come back. With great teachers, you can have higher course fees as it is more similar to college tuition than lessons.

We will reach for the stars and grab the tiger by the tail. I’ll make quick decisions, change course, accommodate teaching, keep the lessons fresh, experiment in classes and with classes. I’m going to be persistent, but in the back of everyone’s mind, we will guarantee that the program pulls its own weight with finances.

Question:

Who is going to benefit?

Answer:

The people at Plum are going to be in these programs to 80% levels. We will get some from the next door neighborhoods. But soon they will be trying to copy us and that will keep away some of the casual drifters. When something great comes to your own neighborhood, people will respond and come out for the programs.

Furthermore, Pittsburgh is a habit-forming word of mouth town. I am surprised so far that so much can be accomplished with the lessons and evening swims with so little marketing. Certificates, stickers, flyers, posters, phone calls, surveys and the like can accomplish so much. I know marketing too.

I will study participation levels from our citizens. We will document user levels and report to the board. I’ll target Plum residence. There is no validity to the lie that I’ll be turning the Plum pool into anything other than a great place for Plum kids and adults to enjoy and learn.

Question:

What about that other 20% that Mark predicts will come from out of the district?

Answer:

Visitors will travel to our programs because they are so special. However they will pay a slightly higher fee. And, we will be seeking their attendance at certain times, especially special events.

For example, if Matt Biondi came to speak to the swimmers, and if we invited a few hundred other swimmers and coaches, we could have a great turn-out, which would be necessary to pay for his appearance fee and travel costs. We will use the visitors to beef-up our numbers which in turn will allow our level of excellence to keep on climbing.

Question:

What about the numbers of economics?

Answer:

In this time of high unemployment in our state, and with the large medical and service sector in our region, and with the growth in high-tech areas, this expanded swimming plan fits right in like a glove on a hand.

We will hire 20 or more instructors. We will put a good boost to the local economy.

Question:

What long-term money aspects can be reviewed as a benefit to this expanded aquatics program.

Answer:

We will make better citizens of our youth by providing specific job skills training and experiences, plus the scholarship factor is intense money due to the program.

Question:

How is Job-Skills-Training a part of an Aquatics program?

Answer:

In this area in any given summer, there are more than 500 different summer job openings related to lifeguarding. We will train our students to become great lifeguars and instructors. Our kids will get the best jobs around and we will have high standards.

Beyond this area, we can place lots of kids in summer camps, at lakes, with scouts, etc. There could never be a saturation of lifeguards as kids will always be able to go away to guard, either at camps, or at the ocean as Mr. Painter did as a young man, or at colleges.

With steady summer work, teaching lessons and with the proper energy, we can show students how they can pay for their room and board through college. Yet alone, we are giving hands on teaching experiences. Perhaps some may go into education, or at least be good teachers should they grow up to be engineers and one day want to coach a diving team or something.

We had a hard time finding an assistant coaches for swimming. Furthermore, all the other area schools are in the same situation. We can train coaches who can then go on to coach throughout the WPIAL.

Question:

The college education is important part of the HS experience. Is there more to explain, especially with scholarships?

Answer:

Mark Rauterkus predicts that the Plum kids will earn, on average, college swimming scholarships to the amount of $160,000 per year. This is money that stays right in Plum because the kids don’t have to pay their tuition elsewhere.

Getting the district to pay a few extra thousands of dollars for the swimming program is nothing when your son or daughter can get a scholarship to go to college for nothing. Sure this is a localized list of people who will benefit, but when the matter is fully explored, I can prove that all the kids in the district will benefit.

If four swimmers and/or divers graduate each year, two guys and two gals, typically the captains or best swimmers on the team, these kids will be at All-American ability levels and will be able to, with the proper coaching and support and decision making, cash in with swimming scholarships. There are all types of scholarships at all types of schools.

For instance, Jim Rumbaugh could have gotten a full-ride to swim at many schools. He went to a major university with a big-big-time NCAA program, and his scholarship is his own private business, but they were out there for him. Plus, with additional years of coaching, we will have many more opportunities to develop our own swimming stars year in and year out. This year’s graduates of Jay, Tom, Karen, and Susan are in the scholarship range. The class of 94 looks strong too with Karin, Erica, Emil, and Mindy.

Not only do you need to have talent to get offered a swim scholarship, but you need to have connections and the right guidance. I can assist by telling our upper and lower class students what to look for, where to apply and what to ask. Kids who are engaged in our program for four years will know that getting scholarships for college will be an every day occurrence, much like getting a drivers license is to them now.

To figure the $160,000 average contribution to the district community for swimming scholarships, give 4 athletes $10,000 each and multiply that by 4 years at school. Each year there will be some starting and others leaving, and individual amounts going up and down, but the dollar value is significant and directly attributed to an excellent aquatics program through their high school years.

Beyond the hard money of scholarships, this program will shoot out lots of letters of recommendations, write strong cover letters for employment or admission to graduate programs and the such. In the

last five years, Mark Rauterkus has coached two swimmers who attended West Point. They both swim and they both are getting great educations and careers, in large part because of the excellent swim programs they were involved with as adolescents. Coach Mark takes these matters seriously, and these extra benefits to the students will make positive changes to all the kids in the program.

Finally, other students in the school will also get some benefits to having a great aquatics program, as the Aquatics program at Plum will set a standard and enhance the school’s national reputation. From meeting with the County Commissioners to the features in Sunday newspapers to eventual Sports Illustrated and Newsweek mentions too. The Pull Your Own Weight program from Jefferson Middle School in the Quad Cities in Iowa got attention from Clinton/Gore and Bush/Schwartznegger, and we can duplicate the same efforts in Plum and with our Governor’s Council on Health and Fitness. If Plum does not become a household word like Stanford, then at least those in our end of town will know good things about Plum and the local pride can grow significantly.

In the beginning, many of the teachers will not be as expert...

Money to the Community

Lets talk economy:

Jobs, Scholarships, Tourism, Materials.

College Scholarships:

Track Record

Typical Swim/Diving Scholarship

Summary

ASCA Certification, units for Mark Rauterkus

Letter to Tom M, Plum Board Member

Mark Rauterkus

October 9, 1992

Dear Tom McGough,

I have a few things to share with you, and I’d like your assistance on a couple of them.

First, my proposal as presented to the school board in July is dead. There was discussion at the last workshop meeting. I guess the board is unwilling to give up complete control.

Second, the board is interested in talking with me about getting better utilization from the pool facility and they suggested I go back to the athletic committee. So there is good news with the bad.

Third, there is no future athletic committee meeting scheduled. I want to have an honest discussion and design a working plan along with the athletic committee with the goals of writing a motion that would be forthcoming from the athletic committee. Then I’d like to take the motion to a vote with the full board some time in 1992. My last plan didn’t even get a vote as there was no motion ever made. Furthermore, I didn’t hear any strong objections to specific parts to my plan, so I’m wondering what needs to be changed. I feel progress can be made if the athletic committee writes the proposal and motion with my assistance, instead of the other way around like last time.

With these regards, could you see to it that a future athletic meeting is scheduled for discussion on these issues. I asked Mr. Becker at the end of the last board meeting and he said there were

no plans for future meetings, but that was understandable as the big issue was the teacher’s contract. Now that that is over with, I hope we can give some further attention to the swimming activities, as we do need to make plans for summer soon.

I feel that the three committee members and myself could hammer out a great package and proposal. If we wanted to get very serious at the athletic committee level, we should schedule a meeting and have the superintendent, athletic director, Mr. Neff and even the legal advisors present, Frank Jones and I’d bring my lawyer too.

Fourth, to change the subject, I’m recruiting an assistant swim coach to Plum from Southern California. I have him very interested in moving here to help me with the team this winter, as we have been talking for weeks. Robert Webster is 36, single, and a strong Christian. The last time he spoke he was interested in local fellowships and churches. This guy has coached at the college level many years and is in-between jobs as he was getting graduate work at Univ. of Pacific when the budget axe fell on his department and he was cut. He has put in for the opening of Head Swim Coach at Southern Illinois University Women’s Team, but I think we could get him here with a little effort. He wants to make a long-term move to a community and someday meet a woman and begin a family. I said Pittsburgh is the perfect place.

I’m going to hire him to assist me in my business as project manager for two short-term jobs as we publish a new water polo book with a former Olympic Water Polo coach who is also in Southern California and as we make a second edition of a swim book with another writer/coach now in Southern California. He would gather some new data this month, move to town at a few weeks, stay with me over the winter and together we would finish these projects and coach the Plum High School Team.

The year before last, Robert was Head Water Polo coach at Harvard. Before that he was working at UNLV. A couple summers ago, I ran into him at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs as he was preparing to take a 10 to 20 swimmers to Europe with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Robert is a wonderful gentleman, and dedicated coach.

With Robert’s coaching assistance, and the opportunity to move our full aquatics plan forward, the students at Plum would

have such fantastic experiences. I would love to be able to look to you for some significant help and support with these issues.

Fifth, could we get together to talk again? I’m close to down-town. We could meet most days. Or, how about if you bring the family to the Plum swim pool for an evening splash, $1.50 get the whole gang in. Such a deal! I’m managing the pool now on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:00-8:30 pm. We could visit then, and/or afterwards.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thanks.

Sincerely Yours,

Mark Rauterkus

Seeking sponsor for UK trip

Letter to the principal at Plum

9/24, 1992

Plum School District

Dear Mr. Edwin Neff,

I just talked with Mr. Andy Becker, and he will make mention tonight of the expanded swimming programs I have in mind with the proposal.

I want to keep the ball rolling. I did tell him that I did have a good conversation recently with Frank Jones and that I’m working the evening swimming and Saturday lessons.

Furthermore, I do understand that this swimming proposal is not #1 on everyone’s list at present.

I will attend the meeting on Tuesday. Perhaps I’ll say “Hi” to you there if not before. I’m finishing up the first draft of a pool policy manual. We are getting the applications completed too, and we will have a good, large staff.

Thanks for all the help with anything that you can do to keep the program floating downstream!

By the way, I was talking with the Red Cross officials in Pittsburgh. It would be great if we could teach CPR, First Aid, Lifeguarding and WSI classes at the pool for our students is spare time this fall and winter. As the swimming proposal takes shape, this should be one of the first offerings. Teaching classes such as this is a benefit to the district, as we get more qualified workers, and a benefit to the students, as they get an opportunity to earn an income at other facilities, especially at summer jobs.

Sincerely Yours,

Mark Rauterkus

Plum job stuff

Mark Rauterkus

August 7, 1992

Memo about Swimming Pool Proposal

To: High School and School District Administrators

From: Mark Rauterkus

After talking with Mr. Arco, I wanted to be certain that everyone had these answers to questions he had of me.

First, the office space.

To run a program in the facilities, office space will be needed. To be true to the spirit of the proposal, the school district will not have to pay for anything, including office space. Since office and storage space will be necessary, I suggest a temporary, trailer-type office structure put near the outside exit to the pool, across the parking lot. This new room would be rented/purchased by the aquatics program, not the school district.

In the first months of the program, activities could operate out of existing facilities, including the trunk of my car, like last year as well as the team room. An out-of-building office structure might be built in the first year of operation. It is not right to use the office of the teacher, Mr. Klaus, other than what was done this past year when I seldom put the office to use. So, don’t worry about office space for the aquatics program. If it is needed, the aquatics program would provide it.

Secretarial assistance, much like office space, is a non-issue as far as the high school administration is concerned. If the aquatics program needs secretarial help, someone to answer the aquatics phone, or any other services, the aquatics program would then hire, staff, train, and administer the secretarial help in aquatics program office space. The program being proposed would not put any additional demand on the secretarial loads with increased calls, space, or staff energy.

The proposal I have in front of the board at this time has no impact what-so-ever on the academic courses of the high school. This proposal deals only with programing in non-school hours.

As far as schedule conflicts, the aquatic’s program should be aware of the major events that occur at the high school, and activities should be kept to a minimum or avoided totally when there are big dates and events at the school in the evenings. For instance, no events should be on the aquatics schedule the evenings of graduation and/or musical productions when the parking lot will have lots of traffic.

Finally, the proposal as it went to the full school board is enclosed, just in case you did not get a copy already. Also, copies of some swim articles that recently appeared in the Advance Leader is also enclosed. The reporter for the newspaper was at the school board workshop meeting covering his normal duties when I gave my first full report to the full board. He asked me a couple of questions in the back of the board room when the presentation was completed.

If any of you should have additional questions, please feel free to call me directly. I look forward to working with all of you further as we get access to the facilities with progressive programing for the sake of the students, tax-payers and community.

Thanks.

Mark Rauterkus

Scottland wants our books

Date unsure.

Swim coach points to pool as facility needing more use

Article published July 29, 1992 in The Advance Leader

By Kevin DiColo, staff writer

Plum has an under-utilized, potential moneymaking hole in the ground, according to Plum High School's swim coach.

but to use the facility to its fullest potential, he first has to win the favor of Plum School Board and the administration.

Mark Rauterkus, Plum's swim coach for one year, proposed a regional Plum Aquatics program that would bring approximately $13,760 in revenue to the district, acording to preliminary revenue breakdown figures.

The program is designed to provide instruction to all levels and age groups of swimmers and to promote the sport of swimming in the western Pennsylvania area.

"This is a sink or swim idea," said Rauterkus.

"in my mind, the best classroom ever designed is the swimming pool."

He urged the board at a work study session last Thursday night to make a quick decision so as to capitalize on the popularity of swimming in light of the summer Olympics.

Rauterkus did not get his wish, though. The board referred his proposal to Frank Jones, solicitor, who is presently on vacation until mid-August.

The indoor high school swimming pool was open to the community just two hours every weeknight from the beginning of June to July 30.

Rauterkus poposed to utilize the facility during after-school hours, excluding special school events.

He said he has received concunity and regional support for the program.

Rauterkus' plan is to establish a nonprofit coporation, which will implement programs, schedule special events and manage the money.

Programs include swim teams for various age groups, adult fitness, Triathlon training, pregnancy and newborn swims.

Participants would pay a yearly fee for the programs. Of the revenue Plum Aquatics would draw, 10 percent would go to the district, while the rest would defray operating costs.

The board looked at the proposal with guarded optimism.

"No one is pouring cold water over your idea," said Jeannette Spofford, pardoning the pun. "We are expressing our concerns."

Some concerns include a potential lack of interest in competitive swimming in this area, the idea that Plum's pool would not be exclusively for Plum residents, and the establishment of a nonprofit organization to spearhead the program.

As to the question of competing against East Suburban YMCA pool, Plum Aqua dn the Boyce Park wave pook, Rauterkus said Plum Aquatics is a means to train lifeguards and instructors for area public pools.

"Pools need lifeguards with good instruction. They can only train people three months out of the year," said Rauterkus.

"There is a need for some dymanic leadership programs."

PHOTO: Gabriel Chan, 6, floats head and shoulders above the rest of the Plum High School indoor pool. The pool is open weeknights from 7 to 9 for recreational swimming. (photo note, the kid is in water wings)

to Plum School Board

Mark Rauterkus

Plum School District

School Board Members

& Friends of Fitness, Literacy and Enrichment

Dear Board Members,

I had a great time in my first year as the coach of the Plum High School Swim Teams. I’m thankful for the opportunity to work with the students and get back into the day-to-day activities of sports.

I’ve done a great deal of thinking about next year and the long-term future. I’ve explored some possibilities with myself and those around the Plum program and in the community at large. Now I’d like to put a solid proposal into discussion and to a vote regarding the administration of the after-school-hours aquatics program.

Looking forward to our discussions.

Sincerely yours,

Mark Rauterkus

President, Sports Support Syndicate, Inc.

Plum High School’s Head Swim Coach

Facts

1. Plum has a swim pool facility. A past investment built a concrete, steel, and ceramic-tile hole in the ground.

This fine, bare-bones facility will not wear-out.

We have a new diving board.

Chemicals are controlled automatically.

2. The District should serve the tax payers when possible.

Lessons can be learned at the pool after school hours.

Jobs can be obtained, either through pay or life-guard certification.

Recreation concerns are public policy issues.

A sense of community can flourish, and gatherings can

contribute to civic pride.

3. The School District could use an Aquatics Director.

To coordinate and overhaul existing swim-related programs

To create new swim and fitness programs

4. Plum’s financial situation is already under stress.

Programs are being reduced.

Expenses are being re-evaluated for economy.

5. Plum’s swim pool is under utilized.

Summer lessons were canceled.

The pool is empty many hours per week.

6. Progressive Aquatics Programing can generate new revenues and incomes for the school district.

See attached plans for budget numbers.

Summary

The Plum District should seek to cut expenses and generate revenues in tight financial times, while always striving to offer programs that enrich the physical, intellectual and professional well-being of the students, faculty, staff and community.

Proposed Solution

The Plum District should seek to reduce expenses and generate revenues from existing facilities by addressing short-comings in the aquatics programming.

Plum should seek the expertise of a leader and organizer who will strive to offer aquatics programs that enrich the physical, intellectual and professional well-being of the students, faculty, staff and community, while costing the district no additional expenses and generating new revenues for the district.

To hedge on the safe side in these tight economic times, the salary for the new Aquatic’s Director position should be based on a strict commission basis.

For implementation, the district could:

1) expand the duties of Swim Coach,

2) create a new, contract, commission position of Aquatic’s

Director,

3) agree to have Mark Rauterkus create, non-profit corporation to

administer programs, collect fees, pay bills and hire staff.

Summary of Finances with Mark Rauterkus as Aquatics Director & CEO of the non-profit agency.

• The Plum School District will not have any new financial burdens.

• The Plum School District will have an increase in revenues from these programs.

• Mark Rauterkus will be paid by the Plum District for the regular coaching salary as previously approved in past meetings, and Mark Rauterkus will be permitted to receive a salary based on a straight commission from the new aquatics programs.

• The new, non-profit organization will collect user fees, generate new incomes, and in-turn, pay the Plum School District for facility usage as well as pay operational expenses, including payroll and the director’s salary.

Suggested Revenue Breakdown from Plum Aquatics Programs

Percentage of Income from User-Fees:

Plum School District Revenue = 10%

Non-Profit Aquatics Fund = 90%

Non-Profit Aquatics Fund (90% of fees) includes:

Staff, Coaches, Lifeguards, etc. = 55%

Supplies, Materials, Equipment = 15%

Overhead, Phone, Office, Postage = 10%

Marketing, PR, Recognitions = 10%

Profit, Aquatic’s Director = 10%

Programs:

Age-Group Swim Team

200 members x $120.00 = $24,000

Masters Swim Team

50 member x $200.00 = $10,000

Adult Fitness

20 participants x 6 classes x $40. = $4,800

Triathlon Classes

6 classes x 50 participants x $40 = $4,800

Sponsorships:

Title Sponsor $15,000

Secondary Sponsors $15,000

Special Events:

Scouts $5,000

Scuba $4,000

Marathon Swim $3,000

Talks, Guests $20,000

Camps $12,000

Swim Meets $15,000

Sales:

Informational Items $3,000

Gear & Merchandise $2,000

Total Revenues = $137,600.00

Plum School District gets $13,760.00

Points to mention.

Competition with PAYS

Schedule Conflicts with the District

Non-Profit Corporation operates under 501 (c) (3) Tax Code

Letters of Support

Possible School Board Motion

To expand the duties and responsibilities of the existing position of Senior High Head Swimming Coach for the 1992-93 school year as follows:

To administer all programing in the natatorium (and other existing facilities as needed) for all times with the exception of the school-day classroom periods.

To devise programs that will increase aquatics revenues for the Plum School District by 15% per year for the next five years and decrease expenses a similar amount over the same time period with exact dollar amounts and a complete review of existing budget items and a full report to be made to the School District Athletic Committee and Board of Directors on a semi-annual basis.

The Plum Borough School District will increase the compensation of the Senior High Head Swimming Coach by $100.00 per school year and permit additional compensation from other sources.

The Plum Borough School District will maintain or diminish the existing spending levels on all non-academic aquatics programing, and permit and facilitate close cooperation among other sources so as to further reduce expenses for the district in aquatic areas, and to further enable these other sources to offer programs and generate revenues.

For the Board to create and accept a steady stream of revenue from other sources as a result of new aquatics activities as administered by the Swim Coach.

Vision Description

As for the new responsibilities, I see a number of different ways in which I could be of value to Plum besides being the swim coach. I’ve witnessed a number of needs for Plum that match perfectly with my past experiences and my goals for the future. I’d like to pull together a combination of part-time duties, and build a new position for myself within the district that would keep me busy on a 12-month basis.

For starters, Mark will become the executive director of a few new ventures including: the Keystone Swim Conference, the Plum Press and the Pennsylvania Literacy’s Unity Movement.

These new names and organizations will be necessary to generate large-scale projects with significant sponsorship investment. We will be able to go beyond the basics of teaching elementary students how to float and kick. With my contacts, I’d like to generate larger amounts of

The Keystone Aquatics Conference will host big swimming competitions and clinics at Plum and around the area. For example, the Plum Area YMCA Swimmers are preparing a bid to host the 1993 YMCA district meet. This two day meet generates profits of thousands of dollars.

The best description for the Plum Press is the academic press model in use at colleges and universities. I am sure you have heard of the University of Pittsburgh Press, or the Yale Press. The Plum Press is a business agency that utilizes student/employees to create educational products, mainly books. The Plum Press would jump into action as an outgrowth of the existing activities of the Sports Support Syndicate, Inc. A catalog and a list of projects that would take a life-time to develop are enclosed.

The Pennsylvania Literacy’s Unity Movement (PLUM) is an umbrella organization that allows the activities of the Plum Press to extend beyond boundaries of the community. Other schools, towns and sponsorship dollars are expected to be more attracted to our programs and further brought into the fold if we used the Pennsylvania Literacy’s Unity Movement banner.

Each of these new projects will be a not-for-profit (and not-for-loss either) venture and operate as a subsidiary of the Plum School District. In total, these new organizations will bring in substantial revenues to the district.

As for specific costs, the new projects presented should all pull their own weight. Mark would like to have a separate operational

budget and line of credit for these activities that are not part of the traditional school district budget. Instead, the district could establish a corporation that is owned by the district. Each year the operational profits could be reinvested into the programs to purchase new equipment and provide better products for the district to enjoy.

Given a smooth transition and solid support for the ideas from the district, Mark can make projections of first year revenues (1992-93 school year) exceeding $50,000.00. In future years, the Plum Press could expect to grow to generate at least $250,000.00 per year.

The Plum Press, and/or the district can purchase plenty of computer labs, team uniforms, bus trips and timing scoreboards on a quarter of a million dollars of revenues. The Executive Director would like to be able to act like an entrepreneur and be able to respond to the marketplace quickly. Getting the responsibility, a special account, an identity and line of credit at a bank would take care of the majority of the start-up investment from the district. Both the pool and presses sit vacant and idle many hours every week. There would not be a start-from scratch learning curve as the Sports Support Syndicate could jump-start all Plum Press business.

Personally and professionally, Mark, as executive director of the non-profit agency associated with a school, would earning salary based upon performance.

There are thousands of benefits presented when discussing the formation and operation of the Plum Press. However, chief among the benefit are abilities of the Plum Press to:

• stimulate reading,

• foster a respect and love of books, and

• teach that hard, challenging work is personally rewarding and fun.

With the new directions being stressed by the Governor and the State Board of Education based on educational outcomes rather than credit hours, Plum is faced with changes. This proposed program stresses excellence in education and fitness and can easily garner front page headlines in the Wall Street Journal and features in Newsweek magazine. The whole community and school system can get excited about these ideas. Furthermore, my plan gets the ball rolling in areas outside of the traditional school day—lengthening the school day and lengthening the school year. In due time, we can put the energy and visibility of these projects into the classroom.

Natatorium CEO / Aquatics Director

Job Description

• Program and administer all after school activities at the swimming pool.

• Design and manage the budget for programs.

• Hire all staff.

• Coordinate payroll, time sheets, and getting all pay materials from the employees to the school district accounting office.

• Hold a forum for community input and evaluation regarding the programs.

• Coordinate usage of the pool with outside groups.

• In the summer months, either manage or hire a manager to operate the pool’s programs.

Goals

Increase utilization of the natatorium by the community with involvement in meaningful programs such as:

Learn to swim, family swim, water safety, masters swimming, fitness swimming, rehab exercise, and alternative activities such as water polo, diving, scuba, underwater hockey, birthday parties.

Mission

To upgrade the aquatic educational opportunities in periods beyond the school day by sponsoring creative programs and enrolling active, dues paying participants supporting such programs.

Needs

•Classroom and weight room availability

• Instructor payroll

• Marketing and promotions budget

• Class supplies

• Storage for pool area

Executive Director of the Plum Press

Plum Press Definition

The Plum Press would be a new department or a non-profit subsidiary within the school district.

The Plum Press would have its own operational budget that allows for revenues, expenses, speculative investments, capital investments, inventory, part-time salary, etc.

The Plum Press is a commercial enterprise, operated by a school district appointed executive director that creates an educational setting for the students and allows for the development, display, distribution and marketplace involvement of in-house products.

Mission of the Plum Press

The Plum Press would be a cutting-edge, private/public cooperative venture that would operate 12 months of the year.

The Plum Press activities would work with student/employees giving experiences in a wide range of roles including:

Management, Manufacturing, Writing, Editing, Photography, Design, Production, Advertising, Marketing, Accounting, Sales, Telephone Marketing, Wholesale, Public Relations, Printing, Merchandising, Direct Mail, etc.

Job Description

Design and seek approval of a business plan for the formation, funding and operation of the Plum Press.

Direct all aspects of the Plum Press.

Projects for the Plum Press

Mark Rauterkus has researched a wide variety of projects, investing countless hours, searching for meaningful and viable projects. Mark has a long list of pending projects ready for his direction, a list so long and deep that these projects would take a life-time to accomplish. The following is my short list.

Following Ideas by Category:

Book Series

Big Books

Periodicals

Book Series

Each title below is not one book, but a series of books with up to 30 total books in a series. Some of the books are simple, 48 pages in length, others are longer. Enclylopedia companies are hungry for the rights to sell books that come in a set. Each series would take a year or two to complete. Sponsors could be found for each series, similar to what BP Gas Company is doing with Winnie the Pooh books now being advertised.

A is for Athlete

This series of multi-lingual, sports-specific, alphabet books would teach languages and sports and culture. The series would feature one book for each Olympic Sport and each book would feature six or more different languages, including sign-language. I think we could get an Olympic sponsor, such as Pittsburgh Paints to sponsor this first printing. The Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs would also want to be involved.

Sports Math

This series of workbooks feature questions and answers about math as it relates to sports and recreation. The books in the series get more difficult with regard to the sports in discussion as well as the math skills needed to solve the problems. There has been a tremendous advance interest from this book. An attempt to publish the book with questions from sports magazine was not easily accomplished.

Age Group Swiming Around the World

This series of books would feature a different sport in each book. For example, the swimming book would feature chapters on 11-year old swimmers from different parts of the world. Different sports and different age groups could keep this series interesting and it would teach sociology as well as geography and languages. Mary T. Meagher, world record holder in swimming wants to help with the swimming book.

First Things First

This series of sport-specific books would teach a 9th grader how to consider trying out, joining, playing and conditioning him or herself for a scholastic sports team. The series would have a book on each sport offered in the high school setting.

A Plum Season

This series of sport-specific books would follow the activities of a sports team, its players, its coaches and the competitors from the first day of the season until the last, and beyond. We just published a book called, A DAM Good Year, on Masters Swimming from the Davis Aquatics Masters. The Plum Season could be similar in concept with a workout diary and drills.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

This series of sports specific books look at sports in terms of history, development and how the play of the game has changed. For example, in swimming, most good 12-year-olds can break world records, if they only lived in the 1940s. The core of the history part of the book would be a reprint of an older how-to book. The future section is a fun part that gives insight as to how the game might change.

Patrick Rabbit - Literacy Comic Books

This series of comic books feature Patrick Rabbit of the literacy advocate group, Cartoonists Across the World. We will write the stories, sell the ads, build a program of distribution and contract with the creative talent. Barbara Bush, an advocate of literacy and an avid swimmer, wrote the forward to the swimming book, thanks to Mark Rauterkus’ contacts.

Notes on ________

This series of more technical, how-to books are written, by and large, by proficient student-athletes in conjunction with expert, internationally famous coaches. Each book will be on one sporting activity. For example, we can get Olympic Swim Coach, Don Gambril, to coordinate the text for the book, Notes on Swimming. These books serve as handbooks for our clinics and seminars.

Lifting in the 5th Dimension

This is one book that looks at peak performance and it utilizes weight lifting as the medium of expression. However, we can re-write this book over and over again making it apply to all sorts of activities, from marching in the band to playing on the volleyball team.

Talking with the Golf God

This book, like Lifting in the 5th Dimension, is written for a specific game—the game of golf. However, the sports psychology, visualization, and other self-help messages of this book can be taken out of the context of golf, and re-written for other activities. This would be a fantastic project for high school students to complete.

Big Books

These books are single titles and potential best sellers. If we sell 3,000 copies per year, of a $15.00 book that costs us $4.00 to produce and deliver to the customers, the profits would start to grow.

Collegiate Recruiting Guidebook

There is not any one book designed for the high school athlete to read to tell him or her what to do about college sports participation. This book would be a big-time seller, if only all the rules would stay the same year to year. Every high school in the country would buy a copy of this book.

Pull Your Own Weight for Kids

The PYOW concept is in a pre-release edition and the Chicago Bears are about to run with this idea in Illinois. We could get most NFL, if not all the major league markets to get PYOW into the schools. Plum will start a PYOW program with the elementary grades. It is great for self-esteem.

Reading Day at the Ballpark

There is hat day, bat day, poster day, t-shirt day, and not READING DAY. We can get Reading Day at the ball park in every stadium and arena in every market in month.

Periodicals

These titles would be published on a quarterly or monthly basis. The Plum Press, as a book publisher, needs plenty of free space to promote its own books, and we would do this in our own magazines. Our staff of writers, editors and advertising executives (all Plum students) would easily fill the pages, and our sponsor, Typecraft Press in Pittsburgh, would print the magazines on color newsprint in an economical fashion.

The Sports Reader

A quarterly, book review magazine with a fun, sports, recreation and fitness focus. Book reviews, written by our students and expert coaches and participants, would also appear in RR Bowker, Books In Print.

The Sports Chronicle

A quarterly magazine of newspaper article reprints from around the nation related to sports-specific topics. Every major weekly and daily newspaper would send us their publication for our clip service. We would read, select, and reprint local articles in a national journal, giving us volumes of materials to use at our desire.

The Golden Cog Award Program

An awards program for authors, editors, photographers, video producers, publishers, and illustrators for accomplishment in publishing in the sports and fitness field. Like the Cleo's for advertising or the Oscars for motion pictures, our award, The Golden Cog, would put our organization on the map and under the spotlight for years to come.

Reading Public Service Announcements

A series of TV commercials, PSAs, that feature reading and literacy promotion, much like the Project PLUS from WQED. The Plum Press PSA’s could star athletes and authors engaged in a dialog similar to “tastes great vs. less filling.” Instead we would promote, “read books vs. read magazines vs. read newspapers.” All our celebrity shots can be provided at the annual Golden Cog Award Program.

School Operational Considerations

The Executive Director of the Plum Press would team-teach two classes per semester, 6th period and 7th period, to be called Applied Reading and Writing.

This elective, one-semester course would be open for 10 to 15 upper-class students who have earned high-honors English grades.

Applied Reading and Writing would be held in a classroom next to the office and store-room of the Plum Press. Hopefully, this room could be made available near the print-shop, perhaps room B6? This classroom and storeroom would also need to be the Executive Director’s office throughout the day. It will need to be equipped with 4 to 10 computers, a couple of phone lines and other, special equipment.

As teacher, the Executive Director would report to the school principal.

The Plum Press will also be a club within the school that all the students could take advantage of if they want to particpate.

The Natatorium CEO/Aquatics Director will hold many pre-school activities for students and staff. Among those activities will be the creation of a new club, the Plum Guards. The Natatorium CEO should be assigned Home Room responsibilities and have the Plum Guards as students in that Home Room throughout the entire school year.

The Natatorium CEO should also teach one course in the first period in the first semester to be called, Advanced Aquatics Exercise and Instruction. This class should serve as a PE requirement for the students who enroll. The class should be restricted to swimmers who have already passed the PE swimming class. A classroom and part of the swimming pool should be available for the class meeting. It might be possible that the regular swimming class and the Advanced Aquatics could be held in the pool in first period if both classes are kept to a small number of enrollment.

As far as the coaching is concerned, Mark would continue to serve as the head swimming coach for the boys and girls teams. No significant changes other than hosting a couple of large meets each season, are in-store for the swim teams and the coach would report to the athletic director.

With the Plum Press and the activities revolving around fun activities, like athletics and sports and such, the Executive Director would like to be considered a “Resource Coach” for all athletic teams in the school.

Governor Casey Calls for Reforms

State Board of Education makes sweeping curriculum and testing changes.

Education’s Changing Face

Taken from recent newspaper articles.

“To lead our children out of the classrooms of the 20th century and into the world of the 21st, I propose fundamental changes in how we educate our children,” Governor Casey said.

... to shift measurement of student progress from how much time a child spends in school to what a child actually knows and can do.

... an apprenticeship initiative that would bring schools, business, labor and state government together to prepare kids for 21st century jobs. This initiative would include classroom training, as well as on-the-job experience, with certified craftsman and technicians employed by businesses or industries.

... students graduating from high school will have a wider understanding of subject matter and an accompanying personal enrichment, both achieved through dramatic revisions in learning requirements.

.. give educators the autonomy to develop their own programs. And those programs, the Board of Education hopes, will produce graduates who know what they need to know to become productive in society. Credit standards will be replaced with knowledge standards.

Will Plum High School have its own High School Press? It could be a commercial, incubator, laboratory, enterprise, operated by a school district appointed executive director.

The Plum Press will create a new educational setting for the students and allow for the development, display, distribution and marketplace involvement of in-house products and services. Why talk about exporting in class and not have an example of it in action down the hall at the Plum Press?

The Plum Press could be a cutting-edge, private/public partnership, that would inject a tremendous amount of energy, and zeal for reading, writing, fitness and sport into the student body and community at large.

The Plum Press would do wonders for literacy, personal fitness, creative thinking, self-esteem, and the Plum Press would offer real-world application of classroom knowledge for the students.

I feel that the Plum Press could have a positive impact on every student that goes through this high school and for every citizen in the district. Within ten years, the Plum Press could have touched every adult in the county in a positive manner. Furthermore, I am certain that the Plum Press can be operated in a fiscally responsible nature that would make it a source of new revenues within five years.

More information and proposals, including the budget can be generated at our next meeting.