Chesterfield School Board approves efficiency review

The Chesterfield County School Board last night gave the go-ahead for the school system to request that the state conduct an efficiency review of its non-instructional operations.

The School Board voted to request participation in the School Efficiency Review Program run by the Virginia Department of Budget and Planning. The department hires an independent consultant to look at possible efficiencies in various operations, including human resources, finance, special education, facilities and technology management, transportation and food services. The goal is for recommended savings to be used for instruction.

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Chesterfield school officials are talking about participation in the program in anticipation of shrinking budgets in the coming years. Stimulus money from the federal government reduced the school system's $52 million budget shortfall to $32 million, but school officials said they need to find ways to operate with fewer resources when the stimulus funds go away in two years.

The school system is responsible for paying 25 percent of the cost of the efficiency review and must implement at least 50 percent of the recommendations. The cost of the study ranges from $75,000 to $100,000, said Kathryn S. Kitchen, assistant superintendent for business and finance. Based on 2007 state estimates, Chesterfield will have to pay $20,000 to $30,000. The final report may be available in late 2010.

"If we can run our operation better than we are now, we certainly want to do that," said Marshall W. Trammell Jr., School Board chairman.

Contact Juan Antonio Lizama at (804) 649-6513 or .