Six Strategies for Expense Reduction

Executive Summary Table

Note: Cost savings are estimates and will depend on participation rates, fee structure, and administrative implementation.

#1: Optimize Contracted & Professional Services

Overview

CISD’s "Contracted Instructional Services" is a major budget line. Auditing, rebidding, and renegotiating these contracts, as well as exploring interlocal agreements or in-house options, can yield significant savings.

DFW Examples

• Plano ISD: Achieved 5–10% cost reductions after rebidding major service contracts.
• Richardson ISD: Saved $500,000 in one year using interlocal agreements for special services.

Trustee Questions

• When was the last comprehensive audit of all contracted services?
• Are any contracts up for renewal that could be rebid or renegotiated?
• Have we benchmarked our rates against other DFW districts?
• Could bringing some services in-house be more cost-effective?

#2: Streamline Workforce & Administrative Overhead

Overview

Reviewing and consolidating administrative roles, leveraging automation, and optimizing organizational structure can reduce overhead while maintaining service quality.

DFW Examples

• Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD: Consolidated admin roles and adopted automation, resulting in significant savings and improved efficiency.
• Statewide: Legislative Budget Board reviews show that districts reduce costs by reviewing staffing patterns and eliminating redundancies.

Trustee Questions

• Where are there overlaps or inefficiencies in admin roles?
• What tasks could be automated to reduce manual work?
• How do our administrative staffing levels compare to those of peer districts?

#3: Centralized Procurement & Bulk Purchasing

Overview

Centralizing procurement and negotiating volume discounts lowers costs for supplies, equipment, and services.

DFW Examples

• Frisco ISD: Centralized procurement for custodial and maintenance supplies, achieving 8–12% savings.
• Statewide, many districts leverage cooperative purchasing to achieve better pricing.

Trustee Questions

• Are all departments using centralized procurement? If not, why not?
• What savings have we achieved through bulk purchasing?
• Are we leveraging regional or state purchasing cooperatives?

#4: Enhance Facilities Efficiency & Preventive Maintenance

Overview

Energy audits, efficiency upgrades (such as LED and HVAC), motion sensor lights and air conditioning, preventative maintenance, and smart facility management systems can yield significant, recurring savings.

DFW Examples

• Lewisville ISD: Saved $1.9M in utility costs in 2022 alone and over $29M since 2008 via energy efficiency and micro-scheduling.
• CFBISD: Water conservation partnership with Microsoft/HydroPoint to reduce utility and maintenance costs.

Trustee Questions

• When was our last energy/facility audit?
• What is our preventative vs. emergency maintenance ratio?
• What energy efficiency upgrades are planned or completed?
• Are we using smart systems for facility management?

#5: Modernize Technology & Data-Driven Management

Overview

Consolidating IT systems, migrating to cloud, outsourcing managed services, and automating routine tasks can reduce costs and improve reliability.

DFW Examples

• Garland ISD: Cloud migration and managed services saved $600K/year and improved network performance.
• Plano ISD: Consolidated software licenses, reducing costs by 15%

Trustee Questions

• When was our last IT audit?
• What percentage of IT is cloud-based vs. on-premises?
• Are we consolidating software licenses and using managed services? This has been an area of weakness identified by many PTSO Board members.
• Are we automating routine IT/admin tasks?

#6: Optimize Student Transportation

Overview

Route optimization, advanced scheduling software, renegotiated fuel/maintenance contracts, and maximizing bus occupancy all lower transportation costs.

DFW Examples

• Allen ISD: Route optimization software reduced mileage by 12%, saving $400K/year.
• Garland ISD: Fuel cooperative participation saved $200K/year
• Right-sizing the fleet to add smaller buses or Sprinter vans

Trustee Questions

• What route optimization tools are in use, and when were routes last redesigned
• How do our cost-per-mile and bus occupancy rates compare locally?
• Are we using cooperative purchasing for fuel/maintenance?
• Have we explored flexible scheduling or staggered bell times?
• Have we explored the use of smaller buses or vans for shuttling? Dallas ISD uses vans when possible in order to save on fuel costs.
• Would small buses be more economical for shuttling between NewTech and CHS? These are low-demand routes due to the number of students who drive themselves.
• Could the PTSO or CEF purchase a compliant van or two for use?

If the intercampus transfers are for elective courses and not required academic courses, the legal requirements for vehicles in Texas appear to be more flexible and they also appear to be flexible when transporting under 10 students.

According to Texas Education Code Section 34.003:

For regular routes to and from school (including required courses):

• School buses or mass transit authority buses must be used if transporting 10 or more students.

• Federally compliant passenger vans may only be used if transporting fewer than 10 students.

For school activities other than regular routes (such as elective courses, field trips, extracurriculars):

• Passenger vans (up to 15 passengers, including the driver) may be used if transporting fewer than 15 students.

• Only school buses or motor buses may be used if transporting 15 or more students in a single vehicle.

Federal law prohibits schools from purchasing new 15-passenger vans for student transportation unless the vehicle meets all federal school bus safety standards, which requires acquisition from a specialty company. In the U.S., most federally compliant school van solutions are built on Ford Transit, Chevrolet Express, or similar platforms, as these are more commonly upfitted to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). Sprinter-based school buses, also known as MFSABs, are rare but may be available through specialty bus manufacturers or upfitters that certify compliance.

Legal and Liability Issues

Purchasing or leasing a new Sprinter van (or any van with more than 10 seats) that does not meet FMVSS school bus standards for student transportation is prohibited and exposes the district to legal and insurance liability so they would need to be purchased through proper vendors that specialize in right-sizing school district transportation.