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CSJPA 2026 · Leadership

Built, not bought.

Kevin Bice · Karst

KARST02 / 21

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

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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.

Then and now

For a long time, the work stayed the same. Now we can change it.

Nov. 30, 2022

A new kind of tool.

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

Generated for this site

Tools that act

Software that can do the routine parts.

First it answered in plain words, and then it began to use a computer the way people do.

Generated for this site

Your answer

A week has 168 hours. How many go to staff and students?

If the tools take the routine, the hours that come back can go to people: time in classrooms, beside our staff, with our kids.

What the hours are for.

Reading. A book, shared.

A Head Start center, 2013. U.S. Department of Education, public domain
Each other. Two friends, a pot of tea, an afternoon.

Afternoon Tea Party, by Mary Cassatt, 1890 to 1891, a color print. Art Institute of Chicago, CC0
Generations. A grandmother teaches her granddaughter beadwork.

Beadwork, about 1936. U.S. National Archives, public domain
Learning. A teacher beside his students.

The School of Master Cordero, by Francisco Oller, 1890 to 1892. Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Celebration. A graduate and a hug.

A graduation, Kwajalein High School, 2022. U.S. Army, public domain
Making. Two people at one loom.

An Indian Weaver and His Wife, by an unknown artist, 18th century. Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Conversation. Two friends talk in the sun.

Fountain Square, Cincinnati, 1973. U.S. National Archives, public domain
Family. Every generation in one boat.

The Offering, by Saturnino Herrán, 1913. Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Music. An elder passes a song to a child, one chord at a time.

The Banjo Lesson, by Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1893. Hampton University Museum. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Play. Children at play in a garden.

Palace Children Playing, by an unknown Song dynasty artist, 960 to 1279. Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Community. Neighbors gather on blankets under string lights.

Generated for this site
Reading. A book, shared.

A Head Start center, 2013. U.S. Department of Education, public domain
Each other. Two friends, a pot of tea, an afternoon.

Afternoon Tea Party, by Mary Cassatt, 1890 to 1891, a color print. Art Institute of Chicago, CC0
Generations. A grandmother teaches her granddaughter beadwork.

Beadwork, about 1936. U.S. National Archives, public domain
Learning. A teacher beside his students.

The School of Master Cordero, by Francisco Oller, 1890 to 1892. Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Celebration. A graduate and a hug.

A graduation, Kwajalein High School, 2022. U.S. Army, public domain
Making. Two people at one loom.

An Indian Weaver and His Wife, by an unknown artist, 18th century. Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Conversation. Two friends talk in the sun.

Fountain Square, Cincinnati, 1973. U.S. National Archives, public domain
Family. Every generation in one boat.

The Offering, by Saturnino Herrán, 1913. Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Music. An elder passes a song to a child, one chord at a time.

The Banjo Lesson, by Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1893. Hampton University Museum. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Play. Children at play in a garden.

Palace Children Playing, by an unknown Song dynasty artist, 960 to 1279. Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Community. Neighbors gather on blankets under string lights.

Generated for this site

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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

What workers said

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 28, 2026.

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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.

Work moving Waits for your yes Approved, goes out My own setup

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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.

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

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Computer use

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

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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Roseville · The kit

Every app looked the same. Now they look like the district.

When staff built apps on their own, they all looked alike, and many didn’t hold up. So each district gets a kit: its own look, executive and everyday, with district sign-in and a list of who gets in.

Their brand. Their sign-in. Their say over who gets in.

Roseville’s visual system: Executive, then Everyday. Sample data.

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Roseville · A few months in

Their team builds. Their office says yes.

Twenty-one tools on the district’s own app hub, built for their own work. Each keeps its data in the district’s Google account.

Nothing goes live until the district’s approving office says yes.

The hub sits behind district sign-in. Names hidden here.

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Roseville · The LCAP, explored

Every goal in one place. Every number has a receipt.

Sample data for illustration.

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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.

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Sample cards and email. Every change is marked with who made it; a drafted reply waits for a yes.

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Westminster School District · Before the cycles site

Every cycle started on a wall.

13 elementary and 3 middle schools, 6 cohorts, a cycle every 5 weeks.

A classroom wall covered with six large grade posters for one cycle, each split into four sections with printed data sheets taped inside, blurred so nothing on them can be read.

A Data Review Session prep wall, and four grade posters from one cycle. Blurred on purpose: the printed sheets hold student information.

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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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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.

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.

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

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.

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?

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A made-up district, sample data for illustration. Live builds use the state’s public files.

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What I run my week on

A board, a team of chats, and my yes.

The Action FileEvery open project, where it stands, and what is waiting on me. Made-up projects here.

Agent CoordinationThe same idea for you, free. One line in Claude or ChatGPT builds a Sheet in your own Drive, and your chats work as a team.

Agent Coordination, free
coordination.karst01.com

karstinsights.com

KARST14 / 14

Built, not bought.

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

The shape we're in

For a long time, the work stayed the same. Now we can change it.

A new kind of tool.

Eight weeks ago, my son arrived.

Where the week actually goes.

One person. A team's output.

One agent runs the week. You keep the yes.

The newest tools finish longer tasks every few months.

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

Tools that act

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

Every app looked the same. Now they look like the district.

Their team builds. Their office says yes.

Every goal in one place. Every number has a receipt.

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

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

Action

Reference

Archival

Trash

First a board. Now the agents keep it.

Every cycle started on a wall.

A year of team cycles, read in one place.

Budget, programs, people. In one book.

A department, seen whole.

From insight to the story families read.

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

Start with your team

Staff will build their own tools.

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

Karst Data Studio

A board, a team of chats, and my yes.

Agent Coordination, free