School Finances: How to Save Money and Stretch the Budget

There are many ways a school can save monies and reduce costs. One of the most compelling is Competitive Grants.

Using an internal Grant Writer for Competitive Grants are for Public Schools that are given to schools in order to help them improve their educational programs. The grant is given to the school based on their performance in a competition. The grant can be used for various purposes such as hiring new teachers, buying new textbooks, or upgrading the school’s facilities. These can save taxpayers significant funds, offsetting some of the inflation that has recently risen dramatically.

Opening up purchasing for a more competitive environment, ensuring the best price for the dollar. Currently, there are a few ways to do business with Public Schools in New Jersey,

1. Purchasing under a bid cap. This just means that say the district has a "Qualified Purchasing Agent" and the amount the district can use a single vendor can be increased. This does not require a bid or RFP in most cases.

2. Using a State Contract from the NJ Department of Education/Finances department. This means that for all purposes the state has already bid goods and services to specific vendors. A school district can purchase those specific items in bulk without going to our next option, the local Public Bid.

3. You will see from time to time on the school's website, a notice of Public Bid requested from companies. These are usually large projects or services, that will not fit in the other 2 categories. Such as Transportation Services, Large Scale Projects such as rewiring an entire school, or just updating the large Air Conditioners just some examples.

A more recent trend is to combine purchasing with other schools for larger orders and get better discounts from vendors in return. These are often called Co-Ops or Cooperative Purchases Services. One like Hunterton County Co-Op comes to mind.

All these have their place and can save the district money, but like many things, it takes time and coordination to choose the best course. I would be sure to work with school officials to assist in this in any way I can as I have done millions of dollars of purchasing over my 25-year career and know this can be a daunting task in the best of economies.