Improvements in Certain District of Columbia Public Schools' Administrative Operations
GGD-83-77
Published: Jul 28, 1983. Publicly Released: Jul 28, 1983.
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Highlights
GAO reviewed the emergency procurement of supplies for the repair and improvement of District of Columbia Public School buildings and the school system's paperwork flow at the regional office level. It also conducted a limited review regarding property and equipment controls.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| DC Public School System | The Superintendent of the District of Columbia Public Schools should monitor the actions being taken by the Division of Buildings and Grounds to ensure that the most competitive prices are received for all supply items to be stocked in the warehouse. Also, operations should be monitored to ensure maximum utilization of personnel who would be associated with the reduction in the purchasing workload. |
Completion of common-use item warehouse not expected until 8/85. DCPS has obtained competitive bids on certain common items but not others, in part, due to lack of storage space. Buildings and Grounds warehouse staff is expanding as workload expands. GAO does not believe further followup is needed due to time lapse between report and expected completion of warehouse.
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| DC Public School System | The Superintendent of the District of Columbia Public Schools should monitor the transition from manual to automated operation of the student information system to ensure the most effective utilization of personnel. |
The Assistant Superintendent for Instruction monitored the transition to automated operation. GAO has verified that it is automated, but there is no documentation to support his involvement or to support the District's claim that teachers and administrators can now devote more time to their primary task because they no longer need to perform the manual operations.
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| DC Public School System | The Superintendent of the District of Columbia Public Schools should complete the taking and reconciliation of physical inventories and require spot checks to establish the reliability of reporting data on inventories. In addition, the Superintendent should emphasize the requirement of reporting all inventory acquisitions, especially those shipped directly to the using factory. |
D.C. Public Schools has not completed the inventory or established the spot checks. Instead it is automating the inventory system and expects it to take 18 months to implement the system at all 200 locations. The system, which provides controls over direct shipment items, will operate at 200 locations; the first location is scheduled to be inventoried in January 1985.
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Topics
Data collectionFacility repairsInformation systemsInventory control systemsMechanizationMotor vehiclesProperty and supply managementPublic schoolsReporting requirementsState and local procurement