22 September 2008
SUOZZI, SCHOOL OFFICIALS ANNOUNCE GROUNDBREAKING SCHOOL/MUNICIPAL SAVINGS INITIATIVE WITH POTENIAL
FOR $5 MILLION IN TAXPAYER SAVINGS
Blueprint on Centralizing of School Back Office Services
Sets Clear Roadmap for Immediate and Long-Term Savings
Mineola, NY - Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi, together with a coalition of school superintendents, school board members, BOCES administrators, elected officials and county staff, today announced the results of a first-ever cooperative effort by local school officials and County agencies to share “back office” services and reduce costs by at least $5 million, while maintaining the high quality educational programs that have become the standard for Nassau County schools.
Suozzi created the coalition immediately after his March 2008 State of the County Address, during which he discussed centralizing of school back office functions as a goal toward tackling the property tax crisis confronting Nassau County taxpayers.
Among the non-instructional areas outlined in the group’s first report where consolidation and further collaboration are being recommended are (recommendations are outlined below):
- telecommunications and information technology;
- purchasing and out-of-district transportation;
- audit services;
- short-term borrowing and capital finance; and
- legal services
“Property taxes are too high. While the County has no jurisdiction over school operations, by bringing this coalition together we have taken the first concrete step towards centralizing school back office functions,” said Suozzi. “I commend all the participants in this effort who recognize that we must all do things differently. This is just the first step in an ongoing effort that will benefit many other municipalities and, ultimately, our overburdened taxpayers.”
“This effort is truly unprecedented and reflects our collective belief that high quality education and sound business management should go hand-in-hand,” said Ronald Friedman, President of the Nassau Council of School Superintendents. “Just as we strive for educational excellence, every effort must be made to deliver educational services as efficiently as possible.”
“Our Association welcomes the report's call for changes in legislation and regulation that would enable schools, municipalities and the County to pierce the barriers that have hindered cost-saving collaborations among various levels of government,” said Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association President Jim Kaden.
“It is imperative that all levels of government find new, creative ways to reduce their costs – we owe it to our taxpayers. Internal control reviews, which can be consolidated in the State or County Comptroller’s office, is one service area where we can save money and continue at the same service levels,” said Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weitzman. “There is no question that we can do it cheaper, saving schools valuable resources, and by drawing on a larger pool of knowledge, instill best practices over a wider area.”
“It’s been great to work with this group as they explore ways to save money without hurting education. Using an earlier study applied to various back-office consolidations, our Commission’s April report estimated potential statewide savings in the range of $87 to $137 million annually,” explained John Clarkson, Executive Director of the Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness. “As the Nassau project progresses, we’ll have a much clearer picture of the possibilities. The Nassau work will help us identify needed changes in state law and promote successful cost-saving approaches statewide.”
Key recommendations related to the five service areas included in this blueprint are:
- Telecommunications and Information Technology
- creation of “NassauNet,” a countywide telecommunications and IT network that utilizes the existing infrastructure of the County, the 56 school districts and Nassau BOCES
- allow the use of third party providers/vendors for certain high-tech services for which schools could separately or jointly contract
- Purchasing and Out-of-District Transportation
- implement a countywide “Just in Time” purchasing program, similar to Nassau County’s, across school districts
- create a countywide out-of-district transportation cooperative and allow for a single contract
- Audit Services
- centralize the internal audit function by utilizing the County Comptroller to perform internal control risk assessments
- increase cooperation between external and internal auditors
- Short-term Borrowing and Capital Finance
- consolidate cash flow borrowing among school districts for which state aid is at least twice the amount they need to borrow for cash flow purposes
- eliminate delays by granting Nassau BOCES authority to approve school district construction projects costing $1.5 million or less
- Legal Services
- based on each individual school board’s decision, utilize the County Attorney’s office for free legal services on a select variety of school district issues.
Suozzi noted that while individual school districts have worked cooperatively with neighboring districts in the past, this county-wide effort breaks new ground in leveraging the county’s 56 independent school districts, BOCES and Nassau County to achieve economies of scale and staff efficiencies, and has the potential to generate significantly more than the $5 million in savings conservatively outlined in this initial report.
In organizing this effort, Suozzi set three broad objectives for the group:
- Creatively and aggressively pursue opportunities for efficiencies regardless of traditional boundaries;
- Identify real opportunities for savings that could be pursued immediately even if, ultimately, statutory or administrative changes would be needed; and
- Develop platforms for ongoing savings in future years.
The coalition met regularly to develop this preliminary blueprint, and will continue to meet as they cooperatively manage implementation of these initiatives and continue developing additional cost-saving ideas in non-instructional areas.
“I commend the determination, dedication and hard work of this broad group of professionals who came together based on a shared belief that we simply can’t continue doing business as usual in this economic climate,” Suozzi said. “I am encouraged by the cooperative spirit among multiple layers of government that has created a new and strong foundation for continued work that will result in real dollar savings.”
