School Business Insider – Episode Summary

Podcast: School Business Insider
Host: John Brucato
Guest: Brian Cheknicki, Executive Director, ASBO New York
Episode: Innovation in Advocacy: How ASBO NY is Using AI to Support Members
Date: November 4, 2025

Overview

In this follow-up episode, John Brucato welcomes returning guest Brian Cheknicki of ASBO New York for an in-depth discussion about the organization’s evolving and innovative use of AI. The conversation traces Brian’s personal journey with AI, the impact on ASBO NY’s tools and advocacy efforts, and the balancing act between leveraging AI technology and maintaining accuracy and trust. They dive into the ways AI is transforming not just their workflows but also member engagement, data presentation, and the broader landscape of school business operations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

How AI Changed Personal and Professional Workflows

• Personal AI Adoption

  • Brian shares examples of how AI has become his go-to over traditional search engines (“It’s largely replaced Googling for me.” – Brian, 02:21).
  • Everyday uses include identifying insects with photos, solving DIY home issues, planning complex vacations, and optimizing time, such as creating a Disneyland day itinerary and adjusting it in real time.
    • “We hit every single ride we wanted to do...every wait was 20 minutes or less except for the very last one.” – Brian, 06:44
  • The host concurs with frustrations about search engines, noting, “Now you have to scroll half the page to actually get to the first organic result.” (John, 03:29)

• AI Integration at Work

  • Major use cases revolve around leveraging AI (mainly ChatGPT and Copilot) for content drafts, first-pass organization of complex data, and document generation (emails, reports, letters).
    • Dictation functionality has become a “game changer,” allowing productive use of idle time:
      • “It is creepy, like Uncanny Valley-ish, where when you’re speaking to it and the voice is talking back to you, it just sounds like a buddy of yours.” – John, 12:30
      • Brian recounts organizing annual reports while driving, simply dictating what happened each month and having AI structure the result.

Successes and Limitations of AI

• Benefits

  • Speed: Rapidly producing drafts and organizing thoughts.
  • Tailored searches: Direct, contextually relevant responses and improved research capabilities.
  • Increased Excel proficiency:
    • “I had never heard of the xlookup function before…now that I know, this is saving…every time I'm doing one of these functions, it's probably saving me five minutes.” – Brian, 19:02
  • Personal enrichment: Improved reading comprehension with AI-generated, spoiler-free chapter summaries for classic novels.

• Limitations

  • AI’s occasional tendency to over-assist or continue suggesting without prompting:
    • “Is this your experience? It doesn’t seem to know when to stop…” – John, 16:09
    • “I almost want to create a GPT within itself…that I only use that just to say, like, no, answer the one question I have and be done.” – Brian, 17:11
  • Accuracy and verification:
    • “I always do go back to the source document just to make sure that it’s accurate.” – Brian, 13:32
    • For critical or public-facing use, AI’s output is always subject to human review and validation.
    • Brian avoids using member data or sensitive information directly with AI tools.

• Refining Tone and Bias

  • AI as an editor for tone, particularly for nonpartisan writing; Brian tells of using ChatGPT to identify inadvertent biases.
    • “It gave me like three sentences back that said, yeah, maybe these three you might want to rewrite…” (Brian, 15:36).
    • “Now, I could have done that with a human editor, right…but this was a way…I could direct it to be that person for me.” (Brian, 15:38)

Transforming Member Resources and Advocacy

• Development of Data Tools

  • ASBO NY uses AI-assisted Excel engineering to build interactive state aid and legislative tracking tools, with outputs now more tailored and visually accessible for individual districts.
    • “It has started to make the charts…more dynamic…I can put the data in that I want to see and it’s helping me figure out…how to manipulate the display in order to tell the story I’m trying to tell…” – Brian, 19:18
    • “You can literally just upload the spreadsheet and…this is where I want to go. And it’ll kind of fill those gaps.” – John, 20:30

• Impact on Professional Development

  • ASBO NY piloted a six-part webinar series combining expert speakers with newly updated AI-powered data tools, aiming for easier district-level data analysis and visualization.
  • Early feedback from beta testers has been highly positive; more advanced versions are in development.

• Member Feedback and Future Directions

  • Awaiting broader feedback as members receive new tools.
  • Envisions long-term improvement in how local taxpayers understand school budgets – “My BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) is that every voting taxpayer in New York State is better informed of their school budget because of the work that ASBO has done.” (Brian, 41:07)

Balancing Innovation and Trust

• Models for Responsible AI Integration
  • Content curation vs. creation:
    • Emphasis on using AI to organize and refine, not originate, public-facing content.
  • Process steps vs. products:
    • AI is best for automating steps, not replacing the final product/analysis.
  • Supplement, don’t supplant:
    • The goal is for AI to enhance efficiency and insight without replacing the human–especially in advocacy, where context and trust are vital.
  • Human validation remains essential:
    • “It is still 100% driven by the human element…” (Brian, 31:28)
    • ASBO NY does not input confidential data into AI systems; all outputs are thoroughly reviewed for accuracy before public release.

AI and Staff/Student Use

• Varied adoption among ASBO NY staff; users with less technical experience leverage AI for web design and communication.
• AI as a homework and tutoring tool for students—cited as beneficial for getting “unstuck” but caution advised about over-reliance.
  • “That is probably my biggest concern…for kids and young adults…if they’re going to overuse it in a way that sort of removes that ability to think for themselves later on.” – Brian, 37:08

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Quote & Speaker | |-----------|----------------| | 02:21 | “It’s largely replaced Googling for me…” – Brian | | 06:44 | “We hit every single ride we wanted to do but for the Matterhorn…and every wait was 20 minutes or less except for the very last one of the day.” – Brian | | 12:30 | “It is creepy, like Uncanny Valley-ish, where when you’re speaking to it and the voice is talking back…it just sounds like a buddy of yours.” – John | | 13:32 | “I always do go back to the source document just to make sure that it’s accurate.” – Brian | | 15:36 | “It gave me like three sentences back that said, yeah, maybe these three you might want to rewrite now.” – Brian | | 19:02 | “I had never heard of the xlookup function before…this is saving…every time I’m doing one of these functions, it’s probably saving me five minutes…” – Brian | | 27:29 | “We try as much as possible…if we’re using AI in any way, that it’s not being the original content creator, it’s really helping us curate what we have.” – Brian | | 31:28 | “For us, it is still 100% driven by the human element.” – Brian | | 41:07 | “My own personal BHAG for the work that we’ve done is…every voting taxpayer in New York State is better informed of their school budget because of the work that ASBO has done.” – Brian |

Important Segment Timestamps

• AI Replaces Googling and Daily Workflows: (02:21–07:29)
• Real-Time AI Search: Opportunities and Limits: (07:29–08:30)
• Dictation and First Drafts with AI: (08:30–13:11)
• Pros, Cons, and Evolving Use Cases: (13:11–16:37)
• Excel Proficiency and Data Tool Innovation: (17:54–21:37)
• Member Tool Impact and Feedback: (22:24–25:24)
• Accuracy, Trust, and Human Oversight: (27:09–33:54)
• Broader Organizational Use and Human Validation: (33:54–36:26)
• Student Use and Concerns About Overreliance: (36:26–39:08)
• Personal Reading Enrichment with AI Summaries: (39:08–40:52)
• Future Vision and “Big Hairy Audacious Goal”: (41:07–43:37)
• Conclusion and Appreciation: (43:37–44:19)

Conclusion

This episode provides a rich, candid exploration of how an education professional organization—ASBO NY—is not just experimenting with but strategically implementing AI-driven workflows and tools. Brian Cheknicki’s practical approach highlights the power of AI when paired with human expertise, the importance of continual human oversight, and a vision for enabling districts, members, and even taxpayers with better, more digestible data. Both leaders emphasize that while AI can supercharge productivity, creativity, and access, true value comes from skillful, ethical, and thoughtful use.