In addition to the three main support services, private contractors provide other services to districts on a regular basis. This year, we began counting districts that contract out for lawn care, snow removal, substitute teaching and coaching services.
While markets for lawn care and snow removal exist beyond school services and therefore are easy to contract for, only recent legal actions have opened the door for districts to contract out substitute teaching and coaching to private vendors. A district can now use a private contractor to employ its previous roster of substitute teachers and coaches. The company then manages and coordinates the employees and handles scheduling and payroll. Significant savings accrue to the district, since it does not have to contribute money for these positions to the school employee retirement fund (which now stands at 16.94 percent of payroll). As part-time employees, most substitutes and coaches may never become fully vested in the system.