Below is a press release from the Mississippi Legislative PEER Committee:
The PEER Committee recently released the report volumes titled Analysis of 50 Mississippi School Districts: A FY 2023 Comparative Review.
This report focuses on six non-instructional program areas for FY 2023—finance and supply chain, human resources, information technology, nutrition, operations, and transportation. Through its contractor GlimpseK12, the Committee determined that there were opportunities for the reviewed districts to strengthen their programs and increase efficiency. This review was inhibited by some districts being unable to provide the requested data, and some districts providing questionable data. Each report volume provides recommendations for improvement, which are primarily directed towards district administrators. (Please note that each program area has its own report volume number linked below.)
Analysis of 50 Mississippi School Districts: A FY 2023 Comparative Review:
Finance and Supply Chain - https://www.peer.ms.gov/sites/default/files/peer_publications/Rpt703i_Finance.pdf
Human Resources - https://www.peer.ms.gov/sites/default/files/peer_publications/Rpt703ii_HR.pdf
Information Technology - https://www.peer.ms.gov/sites/default/files/peer_publications/Rpt703iii_IT.pdf
Nutrition - https://www.peer.ms.gov/sites/default/files/peer_publications/Rpt703iv_Nutrition.pdf
Operations - https://www.peer.ms.gov/sites/default/files/peer_publications/Rpt703v_Operations.pdf
Transportation - https://www.peer.ms.gov/sites/default/files/peer_publications/Rpt703vi_Transportation.pdf
Some of the Committee’s major findings and recommendations for each program area include:
- Finance and Supply Chain (Volume I): Fifteen districts do not provide monthly financial status reports to district administrators, and nine districts lack a strategic plan. There was also wide variance across districts in key performance areas (e.g., paychecks processed per FTE), which suggests that many districts have room for improvement.
- Human Resources (Volume II): Several districts encountered difficulties in obtaining accurate HR cost information due to the distribution of HR functions among several district personnel. The median teacher separation rate was 13.7%, which was better than the regional peer average. However, some districts exceeded state, regional, and national separation rates, which could be a cause for concern.
- Information Technology (Volume III): Many of the school districts reviewed lack critical plans to manage technology and disaster recovery, and eight districts keep data backups onsite only. Additionally, all districts reported network bandwidth per student below that of regional and national peers, which could have negative impacts on students’ education.
- Nutrition (Volume IV): The majority of districts reporting did not participate in an alternative breakfast program, which can increase program revenues. Further, there was wide variance in key performance areas (e.g., meals per labor hour and cost per meal), which suggests that many districts have room for improvement.
- Operations (Volume V): The majority of districts reporting did not have a formal preventative maintenance program, which risks unexpected and potentially costly issues with facilities and equipment. Further, there were a wide range of costs across districts for custodial, maintenance, and groundskeeping services.
- Transportation (Volume VI): 82% of districts reporting do not use routing software for managing bus routes. Nineteen districts did not have a sufficient number of substitute drivers to prevent occasional service delays, and 11 districts have potential for cost savings either through bus route improvements or staffing adjustments.
Should you have questions about the report, please contact James F. (Ted) Booth, PEER Executive Director, at 601-359-1226.
The full report can be read HERE.
