By Mary Velan
Gov1
A recent analysis found Mississippi school districts stand to save more than $200 million a year if inefficient contracts are eliminated and shared services are embraced for certain roles. The state auditor’s office found potential for cost-cutting if school districts shared services such as:
- Facilities maintenance
- Textbooks
- Transportation with other school districts
The state auditor’s study analyzed expenditures by school districts that share services with at least one other school district and compared the finances with those who do not share services. It also looked at the finances of school districts that contracted out services as opposed to relying on in-house employees, The Clarion-Ledger reported.
According to the auditor’s study, school districts that used contracting spend about $638.93 more per student annually than if the same services were provided by in-house staff or a shared services contract. Overall, shared services demonstrated a cost savings of $738.97 per student annually, totaling $116 million, The Clarion-Ledger reported.
Under state law, school districts are not held to the same requirements as other government agencies when entering into contracts and do not have to competitively bid for services. Therefore, the state auditor recommends school districts competitively bid contracts and tighten up requirements for vendors.
Learn more here.