Consulting firm suggests BCISD cuts; board hesitates

September 25, 2012, 9:00 pm by James Walker

Keth McBurnett

An Austin consulting firm has identified more than a half million dollars in potential savings in the Burnet Consolidated Independent School District’s auxiliary operations and staffing.

Greg Gibson, president of the Gibson Consulting Group, told BCISD board members and officials at their Sept. 17 monthly meeting that savings of $506,200 were possible in the district’s maintenance, food services and transportation operations.

The savings are conditioned upon the district’s willingness to adopt and adhere to more efficient staffing and procedures, Gibson said.

The school board hired the Gibson firm in May to identify inefficiencies in the district’s operations and bring back recommendations for improving efficiency.

The district took no action after Gibson’s report.

"This represents the ‘what’ they have identified,” BCISD Superintendent Keith McBurnett said. "There are some recommendations for cost savings and efficiencies.

"We’re going to have to go further and identify each one of the recommendations and determine a timeline or if we’ll choose to consider it.”

Gibson’s findings show that BCISD’s 21-1 ratio of students to auxiliary staff positions is lower, or worse, than the state average of 27-1.

For the full story, see Wednesday’s Bulletin.