State report finds textbook case of overspending by Boston Public Schools

The state Inspector General says the Boston Public Schools system spends several hundred thousand dollars a year more on books than it has to - and may be violating state law, to boot.

In a report sent to BPS on March 30, the state office said it found BPS spending more on books than the average consumer would spend at your average online book site:

For example, BPS purchased 100 copies of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird from this vendor for $18.75 each. The vendor's website charged $15.12 for a single copy of the same book. Despite purchasing $264,163 in books from this vendor between April and September 2011, BPS did not receive better prices than an internet shopper would have received. The OIG also did not consider that private customers could obtain even lower prices from this vendor through member discounts or a 20% "educator discount" that BPS did not appear to receive.

The Inspector General's office also said BPS isn't complying with its own guidelines for large textbook purchases, let alone a state law that requires competitive bids for purchases over certain amounts (city guidelines say $10,000, state law says $25,000).

In a statement, School Superintendent Carol Johnson said:

We make every effort to use the public's resources as efficiently as possible. The examples cited in the Inspector General's report are the exception rather than the rule. The Inspector General's report states that the vast majority of BPS purchases - 98% - were below the $25,000 threshold for a competitive bid process.

This review is helpful in that it highlights areas where we can better support our schools and improve how the district purchases all educational materials. We intend to fully review the recommendations with the Inspector General and as we routinely do, implement any cost saving strategies wherever possible.

The report gave an example of how BPS could save money by consolidating lots of small book orders throughout the year into large yearly orders that could mean additional volume discounts:

BPS should consider preparing a district-wide "market basket" of textbooks that could be bid annually by BPS or in coordination with the state's municipal purchasing program of the Operational Services Division (OSD) for statewide use. More than 300 school districts across the state may be purchasing similar textbooks each year. For example, both the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the private College Board, which produces the Advanced Placement curriculum, and the SAT for the national market, and other organizations, generate recommended reading lists. Using these reading lists and historical purchasing trends at the school district level, could help generate a market basket of textbooks for a competitive bid process. This would satisfy the requirements of [state law] and possibly increase the buying power for school districts.

Via Blackstonian.