As seen in Niles Daily Star.

A report published and funded by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice in Grand Rapids, Mich. shows that schools which contract services to private companies, whether it be transportation, food or custodial services, many times are not able to save the district money and add flexibility like they may think.

The report, "A Guide to Contracting Out School Support Services: Good for the School? Good for the Community?" was written by Dr. William J. Mathis and Dr. Lorna Jimerson, both experienced school administrators.

In the report, questions such as should transportation, food and custodial services be provided by employees of school districts, or should those services be outsourced to private companies? And does contracting out these services save the district money and add flexibility?

According to the report, which takes a look at the evidence, the answer to each of these questions is, "sometimes, but many times not." We too believe the savings may not be worth the cost.

The report brief is based on a review of research and commentary on the practice of contracting out support services and includes a series of recommendations directed at school administrators and school board members.

The report states advocates view outside contractors as more likely to deliver their services at lower cost due to competition. Firms that specialize in a particular service, such as transportation or food, might enjoy economies of scale, with after-profit savings passed on to the school district and its taxpayers. Additionally, contractors might provide high-quality services as experts in their field.

Mathis and Jimerson do not issue blanket praise or a blanket condemnation of contracting out. Instead, 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.

Both Mathis and Jimerson stated that, even when schools and school districts can save money by contracting out services, the practice can have mixed effects. These ramifications may complicate the decision of whether contracting out is the best solution for any particular school or district. Contracting out can result in hidden costs that reduce or eliminate whatever savings are promised.

The two writers offer a series of recommendations aimed at schools and districts that are still deciding whether to contract out services. Other recommendations are aimed at schools and districts that have already decided to do so. Among other things, the recommendations call on school officials to closely examine contracting out decisions and the details of proposed contracts. We concur with this recommendation.

The mission of the Great Lakes Center is to improve public education for all students in the Great Lakes region through the support and dissemination of high quality, academically sound research on education policy and practices.