Dr. Caroline Winchester

Schools in Nebraska shared a superintendent to become more efficient and to reduce expenses. The purpose of the study was to determine the financial impact of sharing a superintendent. Fifteen schools, that shared a superintendent in 1998-1999 and were still sharing in a superintendent in 2001-2002, were studied. Each of the 15 districts was paired with a district of similar size, resources, and cost grouping that did not share a superintendent. Financial data was obtained from the Annual Financial Report and from the Nebraska State Aid Supplement. Data was gathered for the year before sharing a superintendent, the year after sharing, and for the 2001-2002 school year.

The first year after sharing, shared districts noted the following: savings in superintendent and total administration expenses, budget percent decreased in the areas of superintendent and total administration, increased principal and general fund expenses, decreased administrative per pupil cost, and decreased per pupil cost. For the 2001-2002 school year shared districts experienced the following: savings in superintendent and business services expenses, budget percent decreased in the areas of superintendent and total administration, increased principal and general fun expenses, increased state aid, and lower per pupil costs and lower administrative costs than non-shared districts. In addition, shared districts maintained average daily membership. Shared districts, also, shared staff both certified and non-certified, equipment, and worked together on curriculum and assessments.