Report urges caution for schools contracting out support services
MEA ESP Caucus president calls study ‘a quantitative, unbiased resource we can use to fight privatization.’
A new report that examines the outsourcing of transportation, food and custodial services in public schools urges caution before rushing to privatize.
Vermont school administrators Drs. William Mathis and Lorna Jimerson say in their report that privatizing sometimes saves districts money, but many times it does not.
Mathis and Jimerson issue neither blanket praise nor condemnation for contracting out in “A Guide to Contracting Out School Support Services: Good for the School? Good for the Community?”
Instead, they urge that school leaders “take a broad, expansive and careful look when considering these decisions.”
They point out that evidence is decidedly mixed on whether the practice necessarily saves schools money or otherwise offers improvements over having support services performed in house.
Mathis and Jimerson write, “Costing cutting is not a certain outcome,” pointing to case studies of contracting out vehicle or highway maintenance in Albany, N.Y., and in Massachusetts that found costs increased by as much as 20 percent.
Further, they contend, contracting out can result in hidden costs that reduce or eliminate whatever savings are promised. The practice also can result in problems with quality control, place greater demands on administrators who must monitor contracts, and result in social costs to communities with lower wages and reduced or eliminated benefits to employees.
Mathis and Jimerson offer a series of recommendations directed at school administrators and school board members when considering privatization.
Mathis is superintendent of schools for the Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union in Brandon, Vt., and Jimerson is a member of the school board for Vermont’s Champlain Valley Union High School and previous president of the Vermont School Boards Association.
MEA ESP Caucus President George Jackson lauded the report, calling it “a quantitative, unbiased resource we can use to fight privatization.”
“This backs up what we’ve known all along—privatization isn’t the end-all and be-all that results in automatic cost savings. Before school boards go down that path, they need to thoroughly examine all aspects, including the hidden costs associated with contracting out.”
Teri Battaglieri, director of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research & Practice, which funded the study, says privatization is always sold as a way for districts to save money.
“As the report points out, sometimes it can, but more often than not, districts don’t save money when they contract out,” she said. “School boards need to take a careful look before they rush to privatize.”
Examine the report at www.greatlakescenter.org.