NTF Issue Paper: EdMon12.doc. 10-05.
NEBRASKA
TAXPAYERS FOR FREEDOM ISSUE
PAPER:
CUTTING SCHOOL DISTRICT COSTS:
INTERLOCAL & SHARED COST AGREEMENTS.
BACKGROUND. Nebraska ranks among the top 10 states in the U.S. in the number of government entities per capita, e.g., 93 counties and almost 500 school districts. Several counties have more livestock than people.
SHARED COSTS. Metropolitan school districts should pursue shared cost/shared service agreements for use of facilities like playgrounds and libraries, like one planned jointly between the Omaha Public Schools and the City of Omaha. The objective of shared services means to provide pooled resources without adding regulatory burdens. School districts should consider these opportunities when preparing updates to schedules of capital improvements and when planning and designing new or renovating present facilities. Share classrooms, libraries, recreational facilities, stadiums, gymnasiums, ball fields, auditoriums, learning centers, and social service centers, with other school districts or other government subdivisions. Rotate equipment. Share administrators and support personnel, counseling services, testing, financial management, and instructional TV. Initiate joint planning, development, and evaluation. Share contracts for road, sidewalk, and parking lot repairs, purchase of office furnishings, maintenance of athletic fields and lawns, electrical, plumbing, and custodial services, vehicles and vehicle maintenance, website design and maintenance, insurance, and food services. Counties and/or cities can establish cooperative purchasing programs. Urban governments can share building inspectors, code enforcement, and police and fire protection services. Each district/entity would contribute an amount based on total district enrollment/use. More than 30 states now provide such sharing agreements; New Jersey mandates such. Local districts can leverage their purchasing power and gain more purchasing options and perks. Each school district would remain independent and autonomous, with its own school board and tax base. Opt out of civil service and tenure regulations.
ADVANTAGES. Increased efficiency will evolve by establishment of optimum-sized operational units. Participants can share underutilized and expensive equipment, facilities, and employees. Duplication of services and effort will disappear. A local entity can obtain a service or product that itself could produce only at higher cost. A financial problem hurting several local governments can become solved without altering basic structure of the local government system. This system will enhance the service capabilities of small local governments by permitting them to provide specialized services to their residents that they could not accomplish otherwise afford. It allows local government to avoid expensive startup costs of buying new equipment or hiring additional staff for a service. Small counties benefit from having fixes or definable costs for the period of the agreement, allowing accurate budgeting. Each community benefits from growth of infrastructure within its boundaries. Developers shun higher cost communities and gravitate to cheaper ones.1
IMPLEMENTATION. A formal contract for services between 2 or among several jurisdictions will allow 1 entity to agree to provide a service to another or others for a price, like law enforcement services. A joint services agreement sees 2 or more jurisdictions join to plan, finance, and deliver a service(s) within their boundaries. Or, local governments can have service exchange agreements in which they agree to lend services to each other, like mutual aid agreements for emergency services.2 The State of NE can offer technical assistance in conducting implementation studies, also incentives and rewards for successful efforts. Plans must mutually establish clear objectives and service levels to avoid premature public outcries. Remember that creation of very large service areas may not always reduce costs or improve service levels.3
OPPOSITION. Unions, civil service entities, and tenured employees may use turf mentality to cripple and kill interlocal and shared costs agreements.
SOURCES:
Education Week, 9-21-2005, “Conflict or Consensus? Why Collaboration Between Cities and Schools is the Key to Reform,” by Donald Borut, et. al.
Research, analysis, and documentation for this issue paper done by Nebraska
Taxpayers for Freedom. This material
copyrighted by Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom, with express prior permission
for its use by Citizens for Local Control, Cherry County Taxpayers, Dawes
County Taxpayers, and other groups in the Tax Freedom Network. 10-05.
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