Strategies to close school budget gaps

Several school districts are facing budget constraints, with more than half of decision makers (53%) expecting a fiscal cliff in their district’s spending, according to McKinsey & Company. In response, school leaders are tasked with finding ways to reduce costs while maintaining resources necessary for student success, without compromising quality. Here are three ways to help school districts close budget gaps and do more with less.

1. Consolidate suppliers to increase savings

Many school districts work with a variety of suppliers for different categories of products — classroom furniture, school supplies, office equipment, technology and more. While this might seem like a reasonable way to get the variety of products needed, it can end up being costly. Districts may pay higher prices due to smaller order sizes and spend more time managing various vendor relationships.  

By consolidating purchases with a single supplier that offers a broader range of products, school districts can increase their purchasing power. When districts place larger orders with one supplier, they can negotiate better pricing, which can lead to typical savings of up to 10%.

In addition to savings, reducing the number of vendors also streamlines administrative tasks. Managing fewer vendors mean less paperwork and invoices to process and fewer contracts to maintain, allowing staff to focus on other important tasks that benefits the students.

2. Improve and control inventory management

Inefficient inventory management is a common cause of overspending in school districts. Without accurate tracking, districts may over-order supplies they don’t need, run out of essential items, resulting in teachers needing to make costly last-minute purchases from their own personal funds. This not only leads to waste, but can interrupt the day-to-day learning of students and affect teacher retention.

Proper inventory management helps districts keep track of what they have and what they need, preventing both overordering and stock-outs. By using analytics-driven tools that give districts more real-time oversight into their inventory, they can make more informed decisions on when and how much to order.

Moreover, school districts can benefit from supplier diversity without having to go to another store. Buyers can find the prices and sellers they prefer, with no long-term commitments, purchase thresholds, or minimum buys. Having a one-stop shop for reliable prices and predictable inventory on everyday school essentials arms your district with supply chain resilience.

3. Automate administrative tasks

Administrative inefficiencies, such as manual budget tracking, order processing, and invoice matching, can be a hidden source of extra costs in school districts. These manual tasks can amount to several hours to days and are bound to be error-prone, which can result in delays and added expenses.

Automating the purchasing process can help reduce administrative costs. For example, Approval Workflows can be automated to route requests quickly through the necessary approvals across your organization, while 3-Way Match automatically unites your order, item receipt, and invoice for faster reconciliation. This reduces the need for manual oversight and minimizes costly mistakes.

Automation also provides districts with real-time spending data, allowing them to track their school budget more closely and analyze buying trends. School administrators can then identify and forecast potential budget issues, ensuring that funds are being allocated and spent appropriately. By automating these repetitive tasks, districts can free up their staff to focus on more strategic activities for the school.

Beyond savings

Closing budget gaps requires more than just cutting costs. It involves making smarter buying decisions to ensure every dollar is spent wisely and going towards high-impact solutions. By implementing these strategies, districts can stretch their budgets further, free up resources for other priorities, and ensure that more funds are being reinvested into classroom needs.