As I said previously, I think they should keep it in house for at least the short term if they can compete. If not, it should probably be contracted out ASAP. Though I would prefer it be part of a bigger improvement where they sold off the ESC and Bus Garage facilities. That is a lot of Capital/Overhead that could probably used more effectively. (maybe New Hope wants a Walmart since Plymouth is dragging their feet...)
Of course, "compete" has to include both the Quantitative and Qualitative aspects. (ie not just the money) So Numbers, what are other criteria at stake other than the $600K?
"NumbersGuy said...Sun Sailor Disservice
Any thoughts on the bus transportation issue in RAS??
Does anyone think it is worth an extra $600,000 per year for in-house bus transportation or should that money be used in the classroom/touching the student to help get better performance and learning? "
Sun Sailor Middle School Format
Sun Sailor Bus Drivers Plead case
G2A RAS 14Nov11 Work Session
G2A Full STE(A)M Ahead
18 comments:
Is that a trick question?
J. Ewing
Does Transportation performed by employees of the District vs. contracted services, add to student achievement or reducing the opportunity/achievement gap?
Is the community willing to OVER PAY for transportation services at the expense of the classroom?
Is transportation a CORE service of K-12 education?
Lets get this District back to the BASICS of EDUCATION of students, not fringe benefits for adults!!!
Here is the link https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/PublicItemDownload.aspx?ik=31853044 to "Intangibles Survey" done by RAS. Three districts were questioned on issues with contract services. You be the judge of "non-monetary" items. I talked to both Superintendent Sicoli and Jeff Priess, they are both confident that no issues will be caused by outsourcing the remaining 55% of bus transportation.
RAS Survey Link
The challenge is that the district simply can not just focus on the students because it is the Parents that choose the school they will attend. And if the Parents are dissatisfied enough with any aspect of RAS, there go the students and revenues...
I know of a company that out sourced their warehousing and material handling to a "professional" logistics firm. Unfortunately the quality of service never quite met expectations and it caused problems for the "core" business. So the company chose to reabsorb those responsibilities.
I am not saying that contracting would be a bad idea. However whenever Mgrs start talking about outsourcing for cost savings, I start to get nervous. Costs are easy to compute, the intangibles are easy to overlook when Mgrs start seeing those "BIG SVGS". It's like a fever overcomes then.
I am always suspicious of outsourcing contracts within private enterprise, because if the internal operation is at all competent they can generally perform a better job at less cost. My best example would be the rush to outsource tech support to India a few years back. It turns out that the Indian tech people were brilliant, but often had heavy accents and a hide-bound rule book that they couldn't deviate from. They spent far more time on the phone with far less customer satisfaction.
In this case, we are talking about outsourcing a GOVERNMENT operation to a private business. In such cases, there is almost always a cost savings and a net quality improvement. It is simply the nature of government to be costly and ineffective. If it CAN be outsourced, it should be. Heck, if it were up to me, I would outsource the food service and the classroom teaching, as well.
J. Ewing
J. Ewing,
During my meeting with Aldo & Jeff last week, outside contact services for building & grounds, food service and janitorial were discussed as areas that should be look at for additional savings & efficiencies. These area were told to the District prior to the 2007 referendum too.
Any function not related to EDUCATION of students should in my opinion be reviewed. Also, excess or under-utilized properties need to be looked at and compare opportunity cost vs. leasing (i.e. adm. building, bus garage and Pilgrim Lane school).
I hope that the District is FINALLY working to reduce people costs (salaries & benefits) across the board??!!
RAS needs to put its resources to increasing achievement, NOT JOBS program for the adults!!
I understand the reluctance to keep "education" proper-- classroom instruction-- under the government umbrella, but I'm not sure that reluctance is warranted. If we want to complain about the quality of education delivered per dollar expended, then we have to wonder why this problem of long-standing has not been solved. If the government schools knew how to do better, wouldn't they do better?
I think you ought to take a look at what your district claims to be the average class size, figure out how many teachers are required (total district students divided by average class size) and then compare that with the number of teachers on the payroll. You may be in for a shock, but you probably won't be in for an explanation. One thing that outsourcing does is to establish the performance requirements for contract and the price to be paid, something that you cannot get from the government schools. You very quickly discover what is necessary to the mission and what is not, and what it costs to deliver that.
J. Ewing
I need to trust the school to educate my children. Even more importantly, I need to be able to trust them with my child's safety and wellbeing.
Anecdotal: I haven't had one single negative experience with RAS transportation since the first day we used it. On the other hand, I've called two separate private transportation companies in the past year because their vehicles were driving in a wildly unsafe manner (running a stop sign and nearly broadsiding my car, driving FAR too fast on my residential street).
My child's bus driver is so consciencious about his work. If it costs, what, $50 more per child, per year to ensure my child and others are being kept safe to and from school, I think it's money well-spent.
Numbers Guy: "Lets get this District back to the BASICS of EDUCATION of students, not fringe benefits for adults!!!"
Back to. . .when was that, exactly? I can't remember a time when safe transportation of children wasn't a part and parcel of the deal.
The school isn't a business. This isn't a supply chain.
--Annie
J--"think you ought to take a look at what your district claims to be the average class size, figure out how many teachers are required (total district students divided by average class size) and then compare that with the number of teachers on the payroll. You may be in for a shock, but you probably won't be in for an explanation."
Yes. Because music, art, PE, and other important "specials" will affect that number. And to a MUCH greater degree, so will the unfunded mandates of special education--paras and aides. If one fourth grade teacher has a class of 30 students, and one aide gives 1:1 support to a severely disabled child, suddenly your "average" is skewed.
--Annie
But I don't care what the average is, and it isn't "my" average. Ask the school district for the average, make the simple calculation, and then ask the school district why, by their own numbers, they have 600 completely unnecessary teachers! If they tell you that they excluded Special Ed or Specialists, or somesuch, check their numbers and decide for yourself if there is a reasonable answer for why they "lied" to you in the first place. Mind you, this problem disappears if schools used a program-based budget, as I described in a previous discussion.
J. Ewing
Schools are not a business??? In what possible way are they not a business? Are you trying to tell me that a for-profit or non-profit private or religious school cannot possibly educate children?
Don't public schools provide a service in exchange for money? Does the amount paid and the quality of service matter? It's a business, it just isn't operated like one, and should be.
J. Ewing
Of course public schools aren't a business. They exist to perform a public service. They are not intended to make a profit. They don't control their primary "revenue" stream (state funding). They are legally required to take all comers. No business in the world could operate under those constraints.
--Annie
Annie,
Excellent response and great points...
Those are good points, but I still disagree.
I see no distinction between providing a "public service" and a service of any other kind. Every business exists to serve the public, and if it doesn't, it should cease to exist. Public schools CAN'T go out of business for failing to serve their customers, but they SHOULD. They are a business totally and continually "bailed out" by government.
They don't make a profit, but neither do non-profit charter schools, religious schools, and non-profit private academies. Many businesses don't make a profit, either, some intentionally and some not. Nor do most businesses "control" their revenues, especially if they are providing poor quality products or services. The difference here, again, is that the schools get paid the same whether kids get an education or not, and in some cases actually get paid MORE. That's wrong.
The last one, that public schools take everybody, I hear often and it has some validity. Nonetheless, that is why they are funded the way they are, it is the "contract" that they agreed to when they went into "business," and it ill behooves them to grouse about it now. Besides, there are charter schools, other public schools, non-profit private or religious schools and for-profit public school management firms, all of who can and usually DO provide a superior service for less money. If true competition were allowed, as it is with other businesses, those called "failing public schools" would be replaced and the "public" would be better served.
I guess you could say they are NOT a business because they are protected from competition, given a blank check, and not asked to provide any expected level of service. I prefer to call them a business because everybody would be better off if they were.
J. Ewing
It would be fun to listen in on this...
RAS 2Dec11 Agenda
Not sure if I posted this link before, so here it is...
14Nov11 Notes
Here is an interesting link https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/PublicItemDownload.aspx?ik=31907619 from the up coming RAS board meeting on 12/5/2011 regarding the savings from transportation??!!
The administration proposed a minimum of $700,000, but according to the link the District can only find $596,500??? This means that the GAP is larger ($1.300,000 - $596,500 = $703,500).
Any estimates that come out of the RAS administration have a history of being weak, subject to changes and WRONG!!!!
NG's Link
Somebody please check. Is the amount the District receives from the State in their dedicated transportation account depending on what is spent, or some fixed figure? If fixed, they should be looking for maximum savings consistent with providing an acceptable service.
J. Ewing
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