Common Cents – Making Every Dollar Count
By: Import User
Updated: August 6, 2009
"Every dollar invested in today’s children is a down-payment on a brighter future for the commonwealth." Governor Rendell
Across the Commonwealth, pockets of school districts are turning to their neighbors to find ways to work together on behalf of their students and taxpayers by sharing services including back-office operations and instructional offerings, including special education programs. The savings are real. School districts collaborate to improve quality and save taxpayers money.
Common Cents - Pennsylvania will help more school districts make "Common Cents" decisions to better serve their communities and students by sharing services. The goal is simple: make every dollar count in the classroom rather than on administrative costs.
Governor Rendell’s 2007-08 budget provided the initial investment of $1 million to provide expert advice to groups of school districts that volunteer to learn about ways they can share services and programs – from the business office to the classroom. Common Cents offers districts free advice – and no mandates. The program received an additional $987,000 in the 2008-09 budget in order to reach more districts.
The Common Cents program will examine and make recommendations about:
Transportation
Technology services
Food services and nutrition
Safety and security
Finance and payroll
Purchasing
Human resources
Facilities & real estate
Administration
After all, it’s a matter of "common cents."
For more information, please visit www.pde.state.pa.us.
