Small and rural schools in Blair County may huddle more closely together to pay the bills in a harsh budget climate that includes stagnant local and state tax bases.
Cooperative purchasing is an emerging element for school districts to share resources while remaining independent, said Joseph Macharola, Appalachia Intermediate Unit 8 executive director.
IU8 connects school districts in Blair, Cambria, Bedford and Somerset counties for educational and business needs.
"In this unit, there is a cross-section of rural, suburban and urban schools with unique needs," Macharola said.
For example, Portage Area School District in Cambria County heats its buildings with coal while Hollidaysburg Area School District uses natural gas.
"Yet, all schools are still under the same umbrella of revenues and expenditures in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and superintendents are concerned about budgeting for the unique needs they have," he said.
As Gov. Tom Corbett prepares to announce his state budget proposal on Tuesday, school administrators are anticipating more education belt-tightening like last year, when most districts were knocked back to 2007 funding levels.
A consortium of multiple districts with similar needs can help the districts to increase their purchasing power and drive down costs.
Tyrone Area School District has long purchased school items including paper through an IU8 consortium, but business administrator Cathy Harlow said districts might increasingly combine resources for extracurricular student activities.
"I think we will see more districts looking to share programs," Harlow said.
Tyrone Area and Bellwood-Antis school districts, for example, have cooperative soccer and swimming teams.
Collaborating keeps programs alive for schools with low student participation or not enough financial means to purchase equipment, Harlow said.
Portage Area and Claysburg-Kimmel school districts plan to share psychologist services for their special needs students this year, said Portage business manager Mike Kunko.
"Even in good economic times cooperative purchasing has always been around, but it is more in the front of your mind now," Kunko said. "You take a second look at things you might not have before and say, 'The district has a need. We need to fill it now.'"
Employee costs are the largest part of school district spending. School district business managers said membership in the Blair County School Health Consortium, through which they purchase health care coverage, is crucial.
"The bigger you are, the more purchasing power you have," Sam Wilson, Hollidaysburg business manager, said of the district's membership in a natural gas consortium.
In terms of health care, purchasing in a consortium with multiple districts means risk and cost for major claims is spread among districts.
Blair County schools have achieved lower than normal increases in health care costs, said Robin Hope, vice president of Reschini consulting brokerage firm in Indiana, Pa., which works with the Blair school consortium.
While annual health care increases range between 12 and 14 percent, school district business administrators said, the Blair County consortium's rate increase is consistently in the 5 to 7 percent range.
Hollidaysburg Area School District business manager Sam Wilson expects this year's rate increase to be lower than last year's, due to fewer claims.
The only Blair County school district that is not a member of the Blair County School Health Consortium is Altoona Area School District, because it is large enough to be self-insured without consortium membership.
"We know where problems are heart disease is a big problem - so the district has conducted exercise and diet initiatives that in the long run keep employees healthy," said Altoona Area Superintendent Dennis Murray.
Hope said all Blair schools have implemented similar health initiatives to drive down costs.
"The Blair County school consortium has done an excellent job in managing costs effectively," Hope said.
Mirror Staff Writer Russ O'Reilly is at 946-7435.
