By Victor Skinner
EAGnews.org

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Columbus city school district spends a lot more money than it has to, and should consider parsing down its budget to bring it in line with Ohio’s other big-city districts.

That was the conclusion of a report issued by consultants McKinsey & Co. at the request of Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman’s education commission. The reports suggests numerous ways the district could save millions it currently spends on mostly non-instructional expenses, the Columbus Dispatch reports.

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Not surprising, much of the suggested savings  involve  employee labor costs, particularly salary and benefits, as well as inefficiencies in the school system. The report said Columbus schools could save $28.4 million by reworking employee benefits, but the school district redacted nine pages detailing how that might be accomplished, citing a state exemption for “trade secrets,” the newspaper reports.

The report also suggests union seniority policies make for an expensive workforce in Columbus, according to the Dispatch.

“Columbus has an older, longer-tenured staff that is paid more than employees in peer districts and can command more because of competition from other employers in central Ohio,” the study says.

Obamacare could also pose a problem for Columbus school finances, according to the newspaper. That’s because the district offers “high-priced health insurance” for staff members, which will be subject to a special tax under the president’s program.

“Under the federal Affordable Care Act, the district could face by 2018 a $2.3 million-a-year federal tax on high-priced health insurance plans for teachers and administrators,” the Dispatch reports, “and noncertified employees could have to pay the tax shortly thereafter if cost reductions aren’t implemented,” the study says.

Other suggested savings included $12.8 million a year by recouping the cost of busing charter and private school students, $7.7 million a year by limiting school choice options, and $7.2 million for eliminating bus service for high school students, which is not required by state law, the Dispatch reports.

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Making all lunches for district students at one central location and distributing them to schools could save $4.9 million a year, and using cheaper food could save $700,000, according to the McKinsey report.

Increasing the required cleaning area for individual custodians could potentially save another $4.7 million.

Of course the city’s teachers union is already pushing back against the thought of trimming insurance costs.

“Everyone wants to save with health care,” union president Rhonda Johnson told the Dispatch. “The employees don’t want to pay higher premiums and higher costs. (But) we have to make sure our positions are competitive with suburban school districts.”

Regardless of the union’s position, it’s clear the vast majority of potential savings are in employee costs, and it’s imperative school officials consider those expenses first and foremost, because they would have the biggest potential impact on the district’s budget. Trimming those expenses would also show voters the district is at least attempting to live within its means.

We believe adult expenses should be the first on the chopping block, so we’d hesitate to cut student services like busing or school choice options before all possible savings are realized by trimming or eliminating  employee expenses.

The mayor’s education commission will meet again July 1 to discuss the potential cost savings in the report.