Coy Sasse: I’m going to do the very best I can at my role and my job and my piece of this process, whatever that is, so that everyone around me can do the same thing.

Introduction

[Intro music plays in the background.]

Janet Pilcher: Hello everyone, welcome to the Accelerate Your Performance podcast, where we focus on hardworking excellence to create great places to work, learn, and succeed. I’m your host, Janet Pilcher.

Before we get started, I’m excited to share our podcast is ranked in the top 5% of podcasts worldwide, according to Listen Notes. This is an incredible milestone for us, and I want to take a moment to thank you for your support. Accelerate Your Performance is highly ranked because you tune in each week, eager to create inspiring workplaces. Thank you for listening and connecting and being part of our show.

Today I welcome Coy Sasse. Coy is the Chief Financial and Operations Officer of Rapid City Area Schools in South Dakota. He’s been in school finance and operations for 16 years, and he’s responsible for 53 total facilities around the city.

Coy joins us today to share about some of the operations and facilities challenges he’s faced and how he’s brought together a pillar champion team to address those challenges. So let’s dive right in.

Interview

Janet Pilcher: It’s with great pleasure that I welcome Coy Sasse to our show today, and we’re going to talk about operations. So I’m looking forward to this Coy because operations is really an important part of the work of the school districts, and sometimes we don’t showcase that. So very excited for you to be with us and have this conversation.

Coy Sasse: Yeah, well thank you very much. I’m really honored to be here and to share some thoughts around that. I think you make such an excellent point. It is such a huge part of school systems, and I think it is often overlooked for really the importance of the role it plays in that bigger picture goal of giving students the best educational experience possible. So really happy to be here. Appreciate it.

Janet Pilcher: Yeah, so good. So as we jump in, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came into the career in school finance and operations. How did you get here?

Coy Sasse: Sure. Yeah, I am a South Dakota guy born and raised. I was actually born and raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation here in South Dakota. Attended college at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota. Out of college, worked primarily in banking and finance for about eight years, mostly with Wells Fargo. Was pretty deeply involved in some commercial lending and then moved from there into some different finance pieces of the banking aspect. And so I really enjoyed that experience, but I had gotten to know a gentleman in college that actually had become a business director for another school district close to Rapid City. And it just so happened that the school district near where I was born and raised, which is now Oglala Lakota County School District, that position came open, their business director position.

And so I reached out to my friend and said, “Hey, have you enjoyed the work? Do you enjoy what you do?” And he sold me on it pretty quickly. And so I thought, “Man, what a great opportunity to kind of go home and hopefully give back a little bit to the community that helped shape me and inform me.”

And so I was lucky enough to get that position. And it was absolutely in no way what I expected. [laughs]

Janet Pilcher: [laughs]

Coy Sasse: It was immediately apparent that I was out of my depth and not at all again what I expected it to be, but was an absolutely amazing experience. It’s a tough area. It’s a difficult place, but I really, really enjoyed my time there. I learned a tremendous amount.

And so after about a decade with Oglala Lakota County School District, Rapid City Area Schools Business Director position came open. And I thought that would be a really great professional move. And so I threw my hat in the ring, and again, was lucky enough to get the job here.

And then over the course of the six years I’ve been here, we did some organizational changes and eventually sort of split the organization. And I was lucky enough at that point in time to become the Chief Financial and Operations Officer for the district. So it’s been an amazing experience. I really enjoy everything I do and have really enjoyed my time in school finance.

Janet Pilcher: Yeah, so good. You know, it’s interesting. So we work, as you know, in K-12 and higher ed.

Coy Sasse: Yeah.

Janet Pilcher: And when I look at the people coming in, in your position, Coy, it is different. I’ve talked to people who’ve come in from the private sector into those positions and they’re like, “Whoa, this is a little different.” But always talking about the value that you provide and how you can see that purpose in that. So I’m so glad you made that decision. And we need really good finance and operations chief officers in our schools because it’s so, so important. And when they’re missing, it makes a big difference in our schools. So just appreciate your passion for the work and the continuation of the contributions that you’re providing. So thank you.

Coy Sasse: Yeah, thank you.

Janet Pilcher: So let’s talk a little bit about What’s Right in Education. We had an opportunity to all be together in Denver in October. And you shared, one of your presentations, that you were part of the strategic planning process and your community expressed the desire to create safe, modern and effective learning environments. So talk a little bit about the challenges of your district and facing that when you begin this work, hearing that from the input on your strategic plan.

Coy Sasse: Yeah, certainly. So first of all, I just want to say it was such an honor and a really amazing experience to be invited and speak at the conference and really, really appreciated being able to share our story. So thank you very much again for inviting me.

I said during my time, I think the best way to describe the situation our district is in in terms of facilities is to call it a facility crisis, frankly. We just have a significant amount of needs ranging from preventative maintenance to expansion of buildings to need for new buildings in some of our more quickly expanding areas of our community. And I know like a lot of districts, we just find ourselves in a situation where we don’t have the resources to be able to deal with those needs.

I shared with the group our age span of our facilities ranges from 1929. And I joke that no, I didn’t transpose those numbers. It really is 1929 all the way to a brand new building that we just opened in August. And I showed some pictures of some of the discrepancies between those two buildings.

And so we have this very unique situation where the conditions of our facilities can be dramatically different. Our district has not been lucky in passing bonds over a very long period of time, technically since 1973, so a full 50 years. Which, you know, then what happens, Dr. Pilcher, everything then is funded through capital outlay in terms of any type of major building movement.

And so what’s happened over the period of time as our needs have continued to snowball is that our capital outlay fund has just become highly leveraged because we had to issue debt or pay cash or any of those types of things to really do anything from a building standpoint.

And so it’s all resulted in this really just difficult situation that we find ourselves in. And it has a really deep impact on the district. You know, I shared some stories about how it’s impacted our district and how it impacts our decisions. And it’s just been a really difficult issue.

And so the district did issue a bond, had taken a lot of time between bond asks to the community, but issued a bond referendum in 2020. We have unfortunately a supermajority requirement in our state of 60%.

Janet Pilcher: That’s tough.

Coy Sasse: And it fell short at 57.4%.

Janet Pilcher: Oh gosh. Getting close. Getting there.

Coy Sasse: So that was really heartbreaking. Yeah, it’s hard when you think about the idea that the majority of the community did support it, not a supermajority, but the majority did. And so it was a process that I think really divided our community. I think there was very passionate folks on both sides of that issue.

And so as we were coming then off of COVID and embarking into the strategic plan with you all, that was really on the minds of some people, especially the type of people who want to be on steering committees and be involved in processes. And so that’s exactly what happened. We had a lot of folks who were really passionate in supporting the bond that transitioned on to the steering committee. And it was no doubting from the very beginning that there was going to be a pillar aimed at facilities and that the community expected the district to improve its facility situation. And so that’s how we got to that safe, modern and effective portion.

Janet Pilcher: Yeah. So, you know, carrying that story forward. So as you listen to the input, know that you have a pillar, know that’s a priority. You know, what did you do? How do you prioritize? How do you take that next step?

Coy Sasse: Yeah. Great question.

Janet Pilcher: Yeah. That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? [laughs]

Coy Sasse: Totally. Yeah. Yeah, it was. It really was. It was a, post steering committee as we formed our pillar champion groups. And obviously being the operations side, you know, that pillar fell to me, which is great. I was happy for the opportunity. But we all just sort of set back and go, “Man, this statement sounds really great on paper, creating a safe, modern, and effective learning environment. Well, that sounds excellent. But what does that actually mean?”

And so I shared with the group the day of my presentation that I think, frankly, one of the very hardest lifts of that process was really sitting back and wrestling with how do we define these areas? You know, what does safe, modern, and effective actually mean? And so we spent really a significant amount of time in our group, our pillar champion group, which included our facilities director, our long range planning and construction manager, and our buildings and grounds manager, and really just wrestled with what does this mean? And so eventually we came up with, under each of those words, what are the criteria that we believe make up safe, for example, modern, and effective.

And then from that point, it was difficult because as then you sit and look at each of those categories, it still doesn’t really mean anything. And what we talked quite a lot about was, if everything is a priority, under these three areas, then nothing is going to be a priority. And so then we really talked about how do we weight these categories, because we have to really determine under these areas, what is the most important thing that we’re doing? And so obviously, you know, safety jumps to the top and it has a very heavy weight.

But under modern, for example, you know, what is the highest criteria under modern? Is it this sounds crazy? And I know it sounds crazy, but is air conditioning rising high to the top of the list? You know, just those types of decisions. So it was a really intensive process of trying to really dig deep into those areas and go, “Hey, what does this mean? And what is most important under each of these areas?”

Janet Pilcher: And so when you did that, so you have the criteria prioritizing, you build the priorities. Is the next step then, Coy, you know, to really build that execution plan to determine how to execute on those priorities?

Coy Sasse: Yeah, yes, exactly. I think there were two things we really had to do then at that point. The first of which was, we had to really dive deep into our own facilities to understand, as we measure our facilities currently against this set of criteria, where are we at? We can’t have a clue where we’re going until we know where we’re at. And so, the pillar champion group spent a lot of time out in, we have 23 schools, walking all 23 of those schools in really in depth with that criteria, comparing those buildings to that criteria.

And what came out eventually, which this has been an amazing tool, was what we call our facility performance index. And so I showed an example of it that day that, you know, we have all the schools lined up, we have them all scored out against that criteria, and then eventually developed sort of a color coded measurement where we have schools in the green that we consider adequate, schools in the yellow that we consider, you know, they need improvement, they need attention, and then schools in red that frankly are failing. And so that gave us this really good base of information that, okay, now we know where we’re at, we know what schools are in what conditions.

And so now we really dive deep into how do we move forward. And so that was sort of then step two of that process was, as you said, how do we put together a plan? And this got fairly complex as well, because what the steering committee was saying to us without saying to us was, “Hey, we want you to bond more often and hopefully be successful with bonds and build new schools and refurbish schools”. And so we had to think about how do we how do we plan out the next 10, 15, 20 years from a facility standpoint, both with the idea that, hey, we’ll never pass a bond, and we have to rely on our internal resources and still get the job done. And if we pass bonds every five, 10, 15, 20 years, here’s what that’s going to look like.

And so really was such a great process of having to dive deep and really get our hands dirty and what that’s going to look like and plan out over time. And I shared with the group that day, I think one of the principles that continued to come back and back and back throughout this process was that aligning acts of improvement. And we thought about that every step of the process. And how do we continually compare back to our criteria, because that’s what we’re saying is most important about our facilities? And how do we make sure that the investments we’re making, whether through the normal capital outlay process or a bond, whether it’s $5,000 or it’s $50 million, how do we pull that over and make sure that it’s making the greatest impact on our district? So it’s been a really intense but really good process.

Janet Pilcher: Yeah. And, you know, what I’m doing is just jotting down, you know, with just a couple of tools. When we think about what we do in general with our framework, it doesn’t matter where it is, operations, student success, but what you actually had, you had an assessment tool, you had a process or you had input into that, input about decisions and engaging people in conversation. You used a stoplight report to assess that data, and then you use that data to build a execution plan that’s probably short term to long term. That’s the, it’s a beautiful process.

Coy Sasse: Yeah.

Janet Pilcher: And the process that you can take and put it in operations, you can put it in student success, you can put it in employee engagement. It’s just a really, really nice approach, Coy. And what I was also thinking as you’re talking is, as you’re going out for additional bonds, you’ve now got a plan. So instead of just going out, you’ve really got very specific information that you can target market, people understand it, and see priorities. And they’ve had, people have had input into that process.

Coy Sasse: Yeah. Totally.

Janet Pilcher: So I think you’re going to be successful next time. [laughs]

Coy Sasse: Yeah. I hope so. [laughs]

Janet Pilcher: Yeah. I mean, good execution strategy. And you also have teams of people and you, people, leaders who report to you, you know, what’s important to you about a leader and how you bring your people along? Just kind of curious, because you’ve just got such a nice way about you. I just would love to hear how you bring your people along.

Coy Sasse: You know, one of the really interesting components of this process, and I think I shared with the group that day, quite different from the strategic planning processes I’ve been a part of in the past, was really this dive into the work, and it starts today, and it never stops, right? It’s a living, breathing process. And I think that’s very different from what I had experienced in the past.

And I, in conjunction with that, we really took seriously the idea of we’re going to commit to some principles of the framework, and we’re going to stick in those principles. And so, the folks that were on the pillar champion group with me were all direct reports of mine, which is great. And so, you know, I had the very fortunate experience to handpick those people. I hired every one of them, interviewed them, hired them. And so we’ve been in this thing together for a while now and it’s been really excellent.

But one of the things in particular that we really pushed on was this idea that, number one in the Nine Principles, we’re going to commit to excellence. And we have had a very difficult situation on our hands for several years from a facility standpoint. And frankly, have gotten beat up quite a bit over time, whether it’s, we have a 13 of our 23 school buildings that don’t have air conditioning, which I know sounds crazy, but it’s our reality. And so we’ve gotten beat up about air conditioning. And there’s just been a lot of, I think, pounding.

And we really wanted to change the mindset with that leadership group from, you know, we’re just kind of here passively sitting in these chairs to, “No, we’re great at what we do. We’re excellent. We’re going to commit to being excellent.” And so every tool that we push out, every report that we push out, every time we open our mouth in public, we’re going to be excellent. We’re going to sound excellent. And so they all did a really great job of that.

And so I think from my standpoint, a lot of that was coaching around, “Hey, we’re going to be on the same page with our conversations. We’re going to make sure that we’re really well versed in the things that we’re saying and how we’re saying them.” And they’ve really done an excellent job with that.

And then second, I think was principle six of being accountable. And I shared with the group that day that I think, just as humans, we sort of attach this negative connotation to accountability. You know, when we say “accountability,” everybody’s hair sort of stands up on the back of their neck, and it automatically becomes this negative thing.

And the other thing we’ve really tried to push is, we’re talking about positive accountability. We’re talking about, I’m going to do the very best I can at my role and my job and my piece of this process, whatever that is, so that everyone around me can do the same thing. So it’s not accountable in the sense of, you know, “Hey, you’re going to get scolded if you don’t get your work done, it’s accountable in I need to do my best at my work so that everyone around me can do their best.” And if we can do all those things, we can put the puzzle together, hopefully, and find all the missing pieces and get it moving forward.

And so I really commend that group that was in our pillar champion group because they’ve lived that over the past year and a half and really immersed themselves in it. And you know, we held together through some of those tougher conversations. And I really think we would highlight those things at the beginning of every meeting we had, you know, hey, here are our principles. We would highlight the aligning acts of improvement, we need to let this guide our conversations. And so that group really committed to that in a really, really effective way. And I think that’s really helped to guide our work through that.

Janet Pilcher: Yeah, so good. You know, it’s turning the way operations have traditionally worked inside out, Coy, which is what you’ve done, you know, because typically, operations are just kind of, they are passive, they’re passive, they’re waiting for something, they’re responding.

Coy Sasse: Yeah. Totally.

Janet Pilcher: Versus, you know, versus we’re going to be out in front, we’re going to lead, and we’re going to be committed. So, you know, that’s what we’re trying to move with people like you as leaders and leading that, we’re trying to move that to be typical, not atypical, because, you know, we’ll really provide great support to our students and to our parents and to the people who show up for work every day. So just very appreciative of the contributions that you’re making as a leader and appreciate your time today.

Keep up the work, because I think the work that we do in operations, again, is really, really important. About half of our staff are employed in that operations area. They can’t be forgotten, Coy, you know.

Coy Sasse: Absolutely. Well, thank you, Dr. Pilcher. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity and thank you and everything that your organization does. I know we’ve just been so happy and so pleased with the process up to this point and look forward to continuing. So thank you very much.

Janet Pilcher: Absolutely.

Conclusion

[Outro music plays in the background.]

Janet Pilcher: Identifying what safe, modern, and effective learning environments look like is a major undertaking when you manage as many buildings as Coy does. But you can hear his deep commitment to executing the improvement plan. His leadership serves as a powerful example of how to approach operations strategically, addressing current needs while proactively preparing for future ones. Thank you, Coy. Thank you to you and your team for what you do and for the commitment that you have in your district.

If you enjoy the podcast, make sure you visit StuderEducation.com/HardwiringExcellence to get a copy of my book, Hardwiring Excellence in Education. Each chapter focuses on one principle of the Nine Principles Framework. Think of it as a companion to enhance your leadership skills and improve all aspects of your work. You’ll also gain access to a complementary book study. Again, that’s at StuderEducation.com/HardwiringExcellence.

As always, I thank you for tuning in today. I look forward to connecting with you next time as we build upon the Nine Principles Framework to hardwire excellence in education. Have a great week, everyone.