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CSJPA 2026 · Leadership

Built, not bought.

Kevin Bice · Karst

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CSJPA's purpose

“…to promote employee well‑being and safety.”

Time back is part of that well-being.

On the panel

Dr. Gordon Amerson

Superintendent, Val Verde Unified School District

Rich Montgomery

Deputy Superintendent, Westminster School District

Gerardo Martinez

Executive Director of Educational Technology, Westminster School District

03 / 23

Opening

Dr. Gordon Amerson

Superintendent, Val Verde Unified School District

Rows of grey office cubicles under long lines of ceiling lights stretch to the far windows.

Rows of office cubicles. Larsinio, public domain, photo 2006

Before

The shape we're in

The district we've seen for 30 years.

  1. A laptop open on a sunny wooden balcony table, beside a cup of coffee and a glass of water, with leaves behind.
    ChatGPT in My Home Sanctuary: a laptop on a balcony table, Nov. 3, 2023. Andevskaines, CC BY 4.0

    Nov. 30, 2022

    Tools that answer

    OpenAI opened ChatGPT to the public: a program you could talk to in plain words, which wrote back.

Nov. 30, 2022

A new kind of tool.

First, tools that answer. Now, tools that act.

  1. On a dry lakebed, a project manager kneels with a laptop beside a large drone, checking its guidance system.
    A project manager checks that a landing guidance system is talking to its test drone. NASA, Ryan Kline, July 15, 2026

    Oct. 22, 2024

    Tools that act

    Anthropic let developers try a model that uses a computer the way people do, by looking at a screen, moving a cursor, clicking and typing. Its maker called it experimental and at times error-prone, so a person checks the work.

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Why I did this

Eight weeks ago, my son arrived.

Before he came, I handed off everything a helper could carry, so my time could go to people.

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Microsoft Work Trend Index, 2023

Where the week actually goes.

In 2023, Microsoft measured how people spent their time in its work apps, and asked 31,000 workers in 31 markets how their days felt.

Microsoft Work Trend Index, 2023

Where the time went in Microsoft's work apps

  • Communicating: meetings, email and chat 57%
  • Creating 43%

What workers said

  • Don't have enough uninterrupted focus time 68%
  • Struggle with having the time and energy to do their job 64%

In those apps, more of the time went to communicating than to creating, and two in three people said they were short of time to focus.

Source: Microsoft, Work Trend Index annual report, May 9, 2023.

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Changes shipped per month

One person. A team's output.

Changes shipped per month, counted from my project history, November 2025 to October 23, 2026.

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The pace

The newest tools finish longer tasks every few months.

If the pace holds, a month of work by mid-2027 at the recent pace, early 2028 at the long-run pace.

The length of task the newest systems can finish on their own has doubled about every 4 months since 2023.

That is why helpers that finish a whole job are suddenly real.

About every 4 months

is how often the length of task the newest systems can finish on their own has doubled since 2023.

4 hr8 hr12 hr 2020202120222023202420252026

Source: METR, updated Sept. 8, 2026. Dashed lines: a projection, not data. Press the info mark for the full receipt.

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The master agent

One agent runs the week. You keep the yes.

It checks my mail, calendar, shared drive and recordings on a schedule, hands each piece to the right helper, and brings the work back ready for me. Anything that leaves my desk waits for my yes.

WHAT COMES INMailCalendarShared driveVoice memosMeeting recordingschecked aboutevery 15 minutesWHAT GOVERNS ITStanding instructionshow the work is doneYour prioritieswhat matters this weekThe kitmy look and my rulesCHIEF OF STAFFone chat runs the weekA MANAGER PER AREATwin RiversWestminsterRosevilleSPECIALISTS ON CALLBuilderbuilds the draftReaderreads the filesResearcherchecks the sourcesCriticreviews it firstWHAT COMES OUTMorning briefDraftsAgenda itemsFollow-upsthe brief comes straight to youYOUR YESanything outward stops hereGoes outafter your yes WHAT COMES INMailCalendarDriveMemosRecordingschecked about every 15 minutesCHIEF OF STAFFone chat runs the weekgoverned by your standing instructions,your priorities and the kitA MANAGER PER AREATwin RiversWestminsterRosevilleSPECIALISTS ON CALLBuilderReaderResearcherCriticMorning briefDraftsAgenda itemsFollow-upsYOUR YESwaits for youGoes out after your yes
Work moving Waits for your yes Approved, goes out My own setup
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Computer use

What happens when you don't need someone to do work on a computer anymore?

  1. On a dry lakebed, a project manager kneels with a laptop beside a large drone, checking its guidance system.
    A project manager checks that a landing guidance system is talking to its test drone. NASA, Ryan Kline, July 15, 2026

    Oct. 22, 2024

    Tools that act

    Anthropic let developers try a model that uses a computer the way people do, by looking at a screen, moving a cursor, clicking and typing. Its maker called it experimental and at times error-prone, so a person checks the work.

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Why change is slow

Districts are built to be predictable. That is the point.

“Everyone’s comfortable. They show up in the morning, everything’s predictable.”

Eric Schmidt

Former CEO of Google. In Good Company podcast, “Eric Schmidt: Are We Ready for Superintelligence?”, Oct. 2026, at 13:22.

10 / 21
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An everyday task: a walkthrough

A made-up example on a pretend computer. The people, rooms and sites are not real, and nothing leaves this page.

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The human outcome

The work is not the app. It is the better day someone has because it exists.

Less friction for staff. Clearer insight for leaders. Better days for students.

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Rich's system, my build

Twenty-five years of paper files. Now a board.

The paper file

A

Action

Up to 60 open projects. Each one has a Project Index sheet.

R

Reference

Kept on hand to look things up.

A

Archival

Finished, and filed.

T

Trash

Let go.

Sample · My board

Kevin's Action File board on sample cards: Inbox, Needs you with 44 of 60 open, Waiting For, Archive, Done, Set aside and Trash
Sample cards. The helpers suggest; a person decides. It never sends, shares or spends on its own.
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Westminster School District

A year of team cycles, read in one place.

Presented on the panel by Westminster's own leaders.
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Roseville · The LCAP walkthrough

Every number has a receipt.

Tap a number. The panel opens: what it means, where it comes from, and how it is calculated.

If a number cannot be traced, it does not go on the screen.

Sample

A graduation rate of 88.9 percent with its How it's calculated panel open: the definition, where it comes from, and each input
Sample data. Made-up students, no student records.
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Twin Rivers · Vision 2035

Budget, programs, people. In one book.

Three chapters: the budget, the programs, the people. Each LCAP goal shows its dollars, its actions and its results against the target.

Every figure opens its source.

Sample

Vision 2035 on sample data: the Budget, Programs and People chapters beside one LCAP goal with its dollars, actions, results and target
Sample data made up for the preview, not the district's figures.
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Two department explorers

A department, seen whole.

Enrollment, attendance and discipline in one explorer. CTE pathways beside the regional job outlook in another.

Sample · Student Services

Student Services data explorer on sample data: enrollment, attendance rate, chronic absenteeism and suspension rate
Sample data, not the district's figures.

Sample · CTE Pathways

CTE Pathways and the Regional Job Outlook on sample data: concentrators, capstone completers, job openings and job growth
Sample data, not the district's figures.
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Westminster School District · Why Westminster

From insight to the story families read.

With enrollment falling, a district makes its case to families. The helpers connect the data, then draft the plan.

What a family gets: seventeen schools, one district, and the reasons families choose it.

The Why Westminster page: seventeen schools, one district, and every reason a family chooses us
Westminster's own page, a draft for the district's review.
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For every district

Most districts don't have a builder. They shouldn't need one.

Start with your team

The same systems, set up for your district, at your pace.

  • Executive team session
  • One department's data
  • A board for each leader
  • A kit for staff who build

Find me after

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Westminster · The i4 Innovator idea

Staff will build their own tools.

Inspire, Innovate, Implement, Impact. Staff build on the district's kit, and every app takes the same route to a yes.

EVERY STAFF-BUILT APP · THE SAME THREE CHECKS sent back with the reason, then rebuilt A staff appbuilt for a real job CHECK ONEOn screenany personal information? CHECK TWOWho gets insign in as each person CHECK THREEShared withthe list and the Sheet Livefor the district Sent backwith the reason A staff app On screen Who gets in Shared with LiveSent back a clear route makes yes easy.

A clear route is what lets leaders say yes.

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Rich Montgomery · Deputy Superintendent, Westminster School District

Who gets the time back, and what do they do with it?

To close

The question is yours now.

One step this month: write down one weekly task, and who decides.

karst.build

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← → / space to advance · P for notes · B for black