ROI of a School Business Official

When we asked Superintendents in Illinois why they had not yet hired a dedicated school business official (SBO), 85% said it was due to district size or financial constraints.

It is our documented experience that school business experts more than pay for themselves by fine-tuning the operations and finances of a district. When surveyed, school business officials reported saving an average of $577,000 in the past year by simply doing their job. This is three to five times the average salaries of school business officials.*

Below are examples of how school business officials have reported saving money in the course of a given year.

 

Amount Saved How Savings Were Achieved
"At least two times my salary" "By leaving no stone unturned."
$2,500,000 I did the analysis and made a tough recommendation to close two schools, tighten overall supply and purchased services spending and eliminate some popular but ineffective programs.
$900,000 I looked for inefficiencies or duplication of efforts and eliminated or changed procedures to save on personnel costs.  I was also able to make a change in health benefits for employees that saved the district $750,000 in year one.
"Several million dollars" Negotiating collective bargaining contracts, health insurance contracts, transportation contracts, monitoring internal controls and holding people accountable for budgeting and staffing decisions.
$1,000,000 I wrote two 500,000 grants to improve the district health clinics. I have written other grants for construction and curricular needs for the district in addition to my regular responsibilities. Prior to my joining the district, no grants were written by the business office.
$500,000 Bought our own $5.2 Million, four year working cash bonds saving over $500,000 in interest and issuing costs.
$700,000 Three districts in our area banded together and bid transportation as a group. The annual savings to my district alone are $400,000.
$1,600,000 By simply following up on the responses/inquiries from a state audit conducted in 2011.
$10,000,000 Purchased an existing manufacturing facility and converted it to fit our transportation needs at one-third of the cost to build new.
"$1.2 million or approximately 5% of the budget"

By examining the district's financial situation, we were able to execute a pay-to-ride transportation program, bid out almost every contract we had, pull back over identified special education students and come away with big savings to stabilize the district.


Want to share a case study of how you have achieved savings for your district? We are always looking to add to this list and promote  what you do. Send your "money saving solutions" to Rebekah Weidner at rweidner@iasbo.org

*Average salaries based on title only were approx. $112,000 for a Director, $124,000 for a Business Manager, $137,000 for a Chief School Business Official and $150,000 for an Assistant Superintendent. Source: 2012 Teacher Service Record


"When districts ask me, 'How am I going to survive at a lower GSA proration and with another cut to transportation funding?' My reply is always: You can’t afford NOT to utilize the expertise of a school business official."

 

- Michael A. Jacoby, Executive Director, Illinois ASBO