W hat do we know about purchasing practices of New York State School Districts? EFRC Symposium November 19, 2004 Cynthia S. Searcy and William Duncombe Syracuse University

Context Public procurement is a complex and time-consuming process. Although non-personnel spending represents a relatively small part of district operating budgets, it is essential to the daily delivery of educational services. Procurement reform has been an area that state and local governments have pursued to realize savings from lower transaction costs and unit costs. Relatively little is known about procurement practices of school districts in New York State (and across the nation.)

Purpose of Survey To document procurement practices used by school districts in New York, and in particular identify “innovative” practices. To document the major constraints school business officials identify as limiting their ability to improve their procurement practices. To collect information on the types of training and resources school business officials would find valuable in managing procurement in their districts.

Methodology Supported by NYSASBO and NYSCOSS Surveyed 679 school districts in New York State using paper and online surveys Excluded New York City and districts with less than 8 teachers. 431 respondents (63.5%)  38.5% online  61.5% paper

Procurement Challenges Public procurement is designed to promote open, fair and competitive practices. As a result, public procurement can be inefficient and inflexible. Key tensions:  centralized vs. decentralized  best price vs. best value  time savings vs. cost savings

General Practices Small purchases Competitive bidding Piggy backing  State contracts  County/city contracts Cooperative purchasing BOCES (COSER) Negotiation

General Practices

“Good” Practices Bidders list Vendor manual Purchasing calendar Warehousing Member of coop Standards for computers

“Good” Practices

“Innovative” Practices E-procurement: the use of electronic means to improve sourcing of goods and services (Abramson 2003) Proposed advantages: lower transaction costs, faster ordering, access to more vendors (more competition), less “maverick” buying, greater accountability (Neef 2001)

“Innovative” Practices

Constraints

Training

Conclusions The major factor affecting variation in practices is the size of school districts. Small districts could benefit from better “packaged” procurement services (OGS contracts, cooperative contracts, online services). Larger districts could benefit from more flexibility in procurement laws, better process management, and access to e-procurement software. All districts could benefit from more training and better coordination of OGS contracts.

W hat do we know about purchasing practices of New York State School Districts? EFRC Symposium November 19, 2004 Cynthia S. Searcy and William Duncombe Syracuse University