Mississippi schools looking to cut spending outside of the classroom

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Some Mississippi schools are working to cut spending outside the classroom and redirect money back into teachers’ salaries.

Mississippi State Auditor Shad White’s office partnered with Columbus Municipal, Hinds County, and Starkville-Oktibehha school districts to examine their finances.

With help from a third-party data firm and a list of recommendations, a report suggested around seven to 12 million dollars could be saved a year between the three school districts.

If school districts around the state take action, over 200 million dollars could be saved, according to the state auditor’s office.

“The great thing about that is when you have a school district who comes to you and they say ‘we want to do this, we want to find these savings,’ you know they’re going to take your recommendations seriously and I’m happy to work with them. I’m glad they had the leadership to step up and do that and I wish more school districts around the state would take cues from them,” said Shad White, State Auditor.

In the report, the largest opportunities for savings can come from software and digital products, maintenance, and supply chain management.