WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT GAUGE
From February 2024 through August 2024, Baboquivari Unified School District partnered with Gauge Precision Consulting to review the Emergency Operation Plan for each one of our schools and our District as a whole.
Our consultant, Paul M. Novak understood our sense of urgency, our needs of a rural public school district operating in a Native American Nation, as well as our strengths and limitations. Mr. Novak went the extra mile by coming to meet the staff in person, evaluating the safety of our infrastructure, learning each site's emergency plan and how it relates to the sites and met with each assistant principal to evaluate their knowledge and awareness of the emergency operation plan.
As a result of Mr. Novak's data collection, interviews, and visits, our District received a much more comprehensive, aligned, and systematic Emergency Operation Plan. Additionally, our consultant extended his expertise by training all district admin teams, equipped the district with multiple copies of the plans, the quick reference administrative charts, and a quick classroom/office flip chart for each classroom.
The training also included a brief presentation for our Governing Board Members and members of the community encompassing the process, the findings, and the recommendations. On behalf of our BUSD community, we thank Gauge Precision Consulting Services, and specifically, Mr. Paul Novak for being a partner and an expert to increase the safety and security of our staff, students, and the community we serve. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with our consultant to ensure we continue to move in the right direction.
Forever grateful,
Ruben Diaz,
Proud Baboquivari Unified School District Superintendent
I cannot say enough about the caliber of consultant support that Gilbert Public Schools experienced with Gauge Precision and Mr. Paul Novak. Mr. Novak is an expert in the inner workings and daily tasks required within a school district transportation department down to a very detailed level. At the same time though, he is a practiced Transportation Department leader! He knows intuitively the importance of processes and procedures but even better than that, he makes recommendations for these processes and procedures that work! He has provided guidance and recommendations at the leadership level as well supporting the Assistant Superintendent with strategies to monitor and oversee the Transportation Department, allowing that leader to ensure the continued success of the Department.
Early on, Mr. Novak focused on improving the on time delivery of our students to and from school. He immediately identified that the eleven varying bell times across all grade spans were not consistent with efficient movement of students and customer support. Within a very short few months, he developed school bell time proposals and presented them to the Governing Board for approval. All of the proposals recommended that school bell times bei reduced from eleven down to three. One of these proposals was approved and in the next school year, the on time delivery improved from 35% on time (yes, late 65 % of the time) to delivering students on time over 96% of the time - an incredible turn around. This success would not have been possible without Mr. Novak's exemplary support and guidance.
He is an expert in Versatrans Routing Software and in the strategies necessary to create the best possible bus routes. Specifically, he understands the detailed data that goes into deciding how many stops per route, where the stops should be located, how many students reside within a particular school attendance boundary etc. to arrive at the most efficient and effective bus routes, given the Gilbert Public Schools environment.
In my 30 years of professional experience, I have never had a more successful consultant, customer relationship that resulted in such a notable improvement in an 18 month timeframe.
Call Gauge Precision and Paul Novak - you will not be disappointed!
Ms. Bonnie Betz, Assistant Superintendent Business Services, Gilbert Public Schools, Arizona
Apache Junction Unified School District greatly appreciates Paul Novak and his work with our transportation department. Mr. Novak spent several months working in AJUSD assisting us not only as an interim Director of Transportation, but also evaluating our current transportation practices, such as budgeting, staffing, routing and organizational structure. His experience and expertise were invaluable to our district. Mr. Novak provided AJUSD with a comprehensive report outlining areas of strengths, concerns, and recommendations for improvement for the district. His recommendations amounted to a 15% savings to our transportation operating budget with no drop-off to the level of services being provided. I highly recommend Paul and Gauge Precision for school districts looking to ensure that their transportation departments are efficient and utilizing best practices.
Dr. Krista L. Anderson, Superintendent, Apache Junction Unified School District #43, Arizona
Bisbee Unified School District #2, contracted with Gauge Precision Consulting, LLC to perform a transportation program performance, safety and efficiency study. Gauge did an excellent job for the district which has resulted in a more efficient cost-effective transportation system for the district. Mr. Novak, President of Gauge, was fully engaged in the project and has continued to stay in touch and assist the district with technical support for our transportation needs and questions. Mr. Novak would be a valuable asset to any district and truly cares about education and his clients. I highly recommend Gauge Precision and the services to others.
Mr. Tom Woody, Superintendent, Bisbee Unified School District, Arizona
Service, Honesty, Integrity, and Precision embody the core values of Gauge Precision Consulting and CEO, Paul Novak. Student and employee safety was at the heart and soul of Paul's 20-year career in the Tempe Elementary School District. Whether he was managing student transportation or school safety, security and crisis management issues, student and staff safety was the center of his attention. Every member of our TD#3 family looked to Paul for guidance on all related issues as he carefully trained, coached, mentored and guided us to safer learning environments, safer transportation, and safer facilities for our students and employees. As a member of the District Leadership Team, we all turned to him in times of crisis and relied on his exceptional judgement, calm presence and steady leadership to get us through to successful outcomes.
With input from others, Paul designed and implemented a district-wide master bell time change that allowed for later start times for our middle school students, with no additional cost to the district. In addition to running a large, urban, student transportation program that is a national model for effective and efficient use of transportation resources, Paul and his staff also provided gold-standard customer service to students, staff, parents and the community.
After the tragedy at Sandy Hook, Paul was instrumental in working with our Tempe Police Department and District Facilities team to design and implement a physical and procedural security upgrade to our 22 preschools, elementary and middle schools, administrative site, professional development site, and district operations facility, that have proven to be the standard for other districts and have repeatedly withstood the test of school district safety and security. As a member of the Tempe Elementary family, Paul Novak was a community leader, a leader of leaders and a critical asset to our District Leadership Team.
Christine Busch, Superintendent, Tempe Elementary School District #3, Tempe, Arizona
Gauge Precision Consulting has a long history and a wide range of student transportation experience. They have successfully developed new boundaries; adjusted for later school start times; recommended and implemented advanced technology solutions; and have found and recommended improvements that have resulted in significant financial savings without impacting the quality of services. Their K-12 knowledge and experience is second to none.
- Dr. Arthur W. Tate, Superintendent, Davenport Community Schools, Iowa
