$500,000 Annual Savings Possible in Central Oregon School Districts

Regionalizing Fiscal and Technology Services Would Create Efficiencies

If Crook County, Sisters, and Redmond school districts were to combine their fiscal and technology services, with a logical partner like the High Desert Education Service District, they could see $500,000 in on-going, annual savings. This data comes from a report commissioned by the Chalkboard Project and the High Desert Education Service District, and conducted by ECONorthwest.
 
ECONorthwest analyzed district-reported spending data in four categories: fiscal services; human resources; information technology including student and financial information systems; and curriculum, staff development, and textbook adoption. The analysts looked at spending within the four categories in the Crook County, Sisters, Redmond, and Bend- La Pine school districts and compared each district's spending to the spending of districts of similar size across the state. Using data from 2000-2008, as well as interviews with the district staff, ECONorthwest was able to determine whether the districts would be able to achieve significant savings by combining specific business functions.
 
"Analyzing business operations is not only good practice, it helps ensure that dollars are getting to the classroom where the make the biggest difference for our students. Given our state's fiscal realities, we need to be open to reexamining how we conduct business operations in schools statewide" said Sue Hildick, Chalkboard Project President

The report concludes that the most significant saving could be found by combining fiscal and technology services in the three smaller districts. Efficiencies in instructional and staff services could be found internally, but would not be gained through regionalization.
 
Additional Key Findings:
•    Different business functions have different economies of scale. Regionalizing fiscal and technology services in Crook County, Sisters and Bend creates substantial saving, but instructional services are efficient at a smaller scale.  
•    It is likely that districts across Oregon could also find efficiencies by regionalizing certain services so that those services reach 4,500 or more students.
•    In districts with more that 4,500 students, such as Bend-La Pine, greater efficiencies could be found internally, but are less likely to be found through combining its services (in the four analyzed categories) with other districts.  
•    Successful savings will require strong leadership and thoughtful implementation. The organization that oversees the regionalization will need to create a strategy for high quality on-site service and will need the support of local administration.
"It is important that school districts and ESD's find ways to do business differently in the future so that impending reductions in state and federal funding do not impact the classroom and the students we serve.  This study is a great step in our efforts to do business differently in Central Oregon and will support our current and future regionalization efforts," said Dennis Dempsey, High Desert ESD Superintendent

Read the full report at http://www.chalkboardproject.org/images/ECOESDefficiencyFinal.pdf

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About the Chalkboard Project
 
Launched in 2004, the Chalkboard Project is a non-profit, non-partisan organization working to unite Oregonians to make our K-12 public schools among the nation's best. We aim to help create a more informed and engaged public that understands and addresses the tough choices and trade-offs required to build strong schools. Chalkboard is the first initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon, a consortium of six leading Oregon foundations: Meyer Memorial Trust, The Oregon Community Foundation, The Collins Foundation, The Ford Family Foundation, JELD-WEN Foundation, and The James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation.     www.chalkboardproject.org  @ChalkTalkers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Sue Hildick
President
Chalkboard Project
hildicks@chalkboardproject.org
(503) 542-4325

Aimee Craig
Communications Manager
Chalkboard Project
craig@chalkboardproject.org
(503) 542-4325

Dennis Dempsey
Superintendent
High Desert ESD
dennis.dempsey@hdesd.org