Nassau school consolidation savings modest

A state-funded drive to consolidate non-classroom operations of Nassau County's 56 school districts and county government has fallen short of initial financial goals, though organizers report significant savings.

Nassau's "local government efficiency" project - the biggest ever attempted in the state - reports savings of $760,000 this school year on student busing, school inspections and cell-phone use. Between 26 and 30 districts have joined so far in bidding on such services.

Originally, project sponsors had hoped to enroll at least 35 districts and save more than $2 million annually. Funding for the efficiency study comes mainly from a $1 million state grant, with about half spent so far.

Sponsors predict savings will multiply, as more school districts and municipalities join the project, and as more operations are merged. For example, Nassau County officials say they will save $240,000 next year and thereafter by consolidating phone service and eliminating about 4,000 unneeded lines.

"Look, some of this has just started," said Robert Hanna, deputy superintendent of Nassau BOCES and the project's chief coordinator. "And some people aren't willing to change until they're convinced that we've got something better."

Outside experts note such savings will barely make a dent in the $15 billion spent annually by the Island's two counties and 124 school districts. With all levels of government now facing a budget crunch, some analysts think more attention should be paid to big-ticket items - especially, public-employee salaries.

"I don't object to saving money wherever we can," said Lee Koppelman, director of the Center for Regional Policy Studies at Stony Brook University. "But there's a danger here. And that is, that it leaves the false impression that something is being done."

Nassau's project isn't the only one falling short of expectations. In Suffolk County, leaders of a smaller effort to save money through pooled health insurance for 51 school districts recently concluded the idea wouldn't work. The reason: a consultant's projection that savings would amount to only two-tenths of 1 percent of current costs.

Western Suffolk BOCES officials who coordinated the insurance project with the help of a $45,000 state grant will outline findings for school district representatives at a meeting Thursday morning in Holbrook. Nassau coordinators will hold a similar meeting March 1 in Westbury.

Due to its size, Nassau's project was announced with great fanfare in September 2008. At the time, then-County Executive Thomas Suozzi predicted schools could quickly save more than $5 million by pooling "back office" operations, including legal services provided by the county rather than private law firms.

Current sponsors say they've dropped that idea, due in part to doubts in local districts that the county's attorneys have enough experience in school law. In an e-mail Tuesday, Suozzi said that current progress, while modest, was "a step in the right direction."