Common Cents Shared
Services Initiative Results
Woodland Hills School District
September 2, 2009
Agenda
Welcome and Introductions
Dr. Walter Calinger & Dr. Jane Heiple
Common Cents Objectives and Goals
Dr. Jane Heiple
Year 1 Overview and Results
Dr. Jane Heiple
Year 2 Project Rollout and Methodology
Dr. Jane Heiple
Woodland Hills Project Results
Dr. Jane Heiple
Next Steps
Dr. Jane Heiple
Questions
Dr. Walter Calinger & Dr. Jane Heiple
1
Common Cents Objectives and Goals
Background: Governor Rendell’s 2007-08 budget allocated funds to
provide expert advice to school districts to learn about ways they can
share services and programs in order to increase the efficient use of tax
payer resources and improve service delivery for students. Common
Cents offers these volunteer districts free advice – and no mandate.
Project Objective: To implement a shared services program across
Pennsylvania’s participating school districts as a way to reduce
administrative costs and allow school districts to invest more dollars in the
classroom.
PROJECT GOALS
• Shared administrative services (where it makes sense)
• Meaningful savings to drive money back into the classroom
• More efficient operations
2
Year 1 Overview and Results
Methodology: Project Rollout
Common Cents is being implemented across the Commonwealth with an
initial Pilot followed by three “waves.”
Two-part waves: (1) data collection and analysis; (2) implementation
Wave 2:
IU 4, 5, 27
Wave 1:
IU 2,3
Pilot:
IU 1
Wave 3:
IU 17
Wave 2:
IU 13
4
Methodology: Project Rollout (cont’d)
A total of 38 school districts participated in Common Cents in Year 1.
Pilot
• Jefferson-Morgan
• Canon-McMillan
• Chartiers-Houston
• Ringgold
Wave 1
• Pittsburgh
• Baldwin-Whitehall
• Brentwood Borough
• Clairton City
• Duquesne City
• Plum Borough
• Shaler Area
• South Allegheny
• Wilkinsburg
Wave 2
• Butler Area
• New Castle Area
• Commodore Perry
• Farrell Area
• Hermitage
• Jamestown Area
• Sharon City
• Sharpsville Area
• West Middlesex Area
• Conneaut
• North East
• Northwestern
• Ambridge
• Blackhawk
• Hopewell Area
• Lebanon
Wave 3
• Athens Area
• Northeast Bradford
• Sayre Area
• Towanda Area
• Wyalusing Area
• Montgomery Area
• Montoursville Area
• South Williamsport Area
• Southern Tioga
5
Year 1 Project Status
The Common Cents Year 1 initiative is in the Implementation phase across all
Waves, including the Pilot districts.
We Are Here
Report
Creation Pre-Implementation
Implementation
Report
Finalization
Public Meetings and PreImplementation Discussions
Implementation
Presentations
Report
Finalization
Public Meetings and PreImplementation Discussions
Implementation
Presentations
Report
Finalization
Public Meetings and PreImplementation Discussions
Implementation
Presentations
Pilot
Wave 1
Wave 2
Report
Finalization
Public Meetings and PreImplementation Discussions
Implementation
Presentations
Wave 3
6
Year 1 Aggregate Potential Savings
Total Potential Savings by Wave
(Aggregate Mid-Range, Pilot and Waves 1-3)*
Total Project-Wide Potential Savings= $8,782,000*
*All potential savings figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.
7
Year 1 Aggregate Potential Savings, cont’d.
Total Potential Savings by Recommendation Categories
(Aggregate Mid-Range, Pilot and Waves 1-3)
*
***
****
Total Project-Wide Potential Savings= $8,782,000
*Transportation savings figures include specialized transportation and purchasing data.
** General Purchasing savings figures include copier, paper, and office supplies data.
***Finance & Payroll savings figures include delinquent tax collection data (for wave 1-only).
****Real Estate &Facilities saving figures include custodial supply and utilities data.
8
Year 2 Project Rollout and Methodology
Year 2 Project Rollout
Common Cents Year 2 continues to be implemented across the
Commonwealth.
Two-parts: (1) data collection and analysis; (2) implementation
Year 2:
IU 6
Year 2:
IU 3
Year 2:
IU 12
10
Year 2 Project Rollout, cont’d.
Eleven (11) total school districts are participating in Year 2 of the Common
Cents initiative.
IU #3
• Woodland Hills
IU #6
• Forest Area
• Franklin Area
• Oil City Area
• Redbank Valley
• Valley Grove
IU #12
• Dallastown Area
• Dover Area
• York City
• Red Lion Area
• York Suburban
11
Key Project Steps
Our approach to Year 2 includes the following key steps:
Conduct
Group Work
Session
Data Collection
Perform Data
Analysis
Develop
Reports


Collect data via
templates and
follow-up
communications

Conduct 2-Day
Group Working
Sessions to
collect category
information and
best practices



Perform data
analysis
Identify opportunity
areas
Develop business
cases
Conduct Public
Meetings and
Provide
Implementation
Support
Report on
findings such as:
 Report on
- Savings
findings such
opportunities
as:
and related
- Savings
benefits
opportunities
- Aggregateand related
level
benefits
initiatives
- Aggregatelevel
initiatives

Present
recommendations
and estimated
savings

Provide support for
the Intermediate
Units and districts
throughout their
decision-making
processes

Supply assistance
and materials for
districts choosing
implementation

Discuss success
stories and lessons
learned from
similar efforts
12
Woodland Hills Project Results
Woodland Hills School District Project
Results
The table below provides the potential cost savings for the Woodland Hills
School District, if the district were to implement the identified opportunities:
School District
Woodland Hills
Potential
Cost Savings
(Low–end to High-end)*
$185,000-$349,000
* Potential Cost Savings are rounded to the nearest thousand.
14
Cost Savings Considerations
• The realization of cost savings is dependent on full participation of
other school districts. No district may realize these savings on their
own.
• Many districts already use certain best practices such as
participation in IU consortiums and state purchasing programs. Our
intent is to grow, enhance, and share these best practices to help
districts realize even greater savings.
15
Current Shared Service Arrangements
The Woodland Hills School District currently participates in the
following shared-service and consortium purchasing
arrangements:
 Consortiums:
-- Intermediate Unit #3 - Office Supplies, Paper Purchasing, Fuel
-- US Communities - Office Supplies
 Other purchasing programs:
-- Member of COSTARS cooperative purchasing program
-- Member of the Pennsylvania Education Purchasing Program for
Microcomputers (PEPPM) purchasing program
 Transportation:
--
Shared services with Wilkinsburg School District
16
Woodland Hills Project Results, cont’d
Five specific opportunities across several different categories were identified for
Woodland Hills during analysis.
Category
Shared Service Opportunities for Woodland Hills
Transportation
(1) Specialized Transportation
Purchasing
(2) General Purchasing (e.g. Paper, Office Supplies, Copiers)
Real Estate & Facilities
(3) Custodial Supplies Purchasing
(4) Utilities Purchasing
Human Resource Admin.
No opportunities currently identified
Finance and Payroll
No opportunities currently identified
Technology Services
(5) Technology Purchasing
Food Services
No opportunities currently identified
Instructional Services
(6) Textbook Purchasing
Safety and Security
No opportunities currently identified
17
Summary of Cost Savings Opportunities
Opportunity
Opportunity
Description
Opportunity Detail
Establish a shared
services center providing
specialized
transportation services
Located at the Intermediate Unit
or on-site at one of the district
facilities, specialized
transportation services could be
provided for students requiring
transportation to schools other
than their local school when these
routes cross through other
districts
Potential
Cost Savings
Transportation
1. Specialized
Transportation
Services
$ 16,000-$32,000
Purchasing
2. General
Purchasing (e.g.
Paper, Office
Supplies*,
Copiers)
Enhance shared service
centers to provide
general purchasing
services for the districts
Enhance purchasing and
state/consortium purchasing to
save on:
•Paper
•Copiers
•Office supplies
*Office Supplies includes all General Supplies purchased for the district, including Instructional Supplies.
** Currently, Woodland Hills utilizes COSTARS for Copier purchases and IU#3 for Paper purchases.
$60,000-$124,000**
18
Summary of Cost Savings Opportunities, cont’d
Opportunity
Opportunity
Description
Opportunity Detail
Potential
Cost Savings
Real Estate and Facilities
3. Custodial
Supplies
Purchasing
Enhance shared
services for buying
custodial supplies
Enhance the coordination efforts
to purchase custodial supplies,
including:
•Paper towels
•Toilet paper
•Hand sanitizer
$12,000-$17,000
4. Utilities
Purchasing
Enhance shared
services for major utility
purchases
By enhancing the coordination of
purchasing utilities (e.g. electricity,
natural gas), districts can take
advantage of economies of scale
$72,000 $115,000
19
Summary of Cost Savings Opportunities, cont’d
Opportunity
Opportunity
Description
Opportunity Detail
Potential
Cost Savings
Technology Services
5. Technology
Purchasing
Enhance shared
services for
technology
purchasing
Enhance purchasing and
state/consortium purchasing to save on:
•Hardware
•Software
•Internet Servers
$14,000 - $39,000*
Districts could increase purchasing power
and reduce costs. Potential benefits
include:
• Curriculum development
• Textbook purchasing
• Professional development
opportunities
$11,000- $22,000
Instructional Services
6. Textbook
Purchasing
Total Potential
Savings
Create a shared
services center
for curriculumrelated
purchasing
$185,000-$349,000
20
Woodland Hill’s Next Steps
1. Determine which, if any, recommendations to pursue after
reviewing with the school board. The Common Cents team will
provide support during this decision-making time.
For districts that decide to implement, next steps will be to:
2. Prioritize and weigh each selected recommendation based on
potential savings and ease of implementation.
3. Finalize recommendations and participate in an Implementation
Kick-Off meeting with other districts.
4. Develop an action plan for implementation with guidance from
the Common Cents Team.
21
Implementation Support
The Common Cents team will work with your district to provide
implementation support in the following ways:
• Work with the district on implementation action plans
• Supply assistance and materials for districts choosing
implementation such as:




Implementation Plan Templates
RFP Templates (Request for Proposals)
MOU Templates (Memo of Understanding)
Vendor evaluation lists
• Monitor implementation plans to support success
22
Questions?
thank
you