Mike Roche is the Facility Use Coordinator at Bellingham Public School District in Bellingham, Massachusetts. For 10 years the district attempted to make changes to their after-hour events, but nothing seemed to be working. Mike stated that, “just last year someone asked the right question.” They asked what it was costing the school to allow our after-hour events to take place free of charge.
In order to answer this question, Mike ran a top down budget analysis using data from Dude Solutions’ KPI Dashboard. His analysis accounted for every aspect of running these events in order to find the estimated total cost. Mike came to the shocking conclusion that these events cost the district around $110,000. Compared to their rental revenues of $57,000, this left the district with a net loss of $53,000. Bellingham Schools had no idea they had been losing this much money. Mike was able to share the staggering data he’d collected with the budget committee and school committee. With the KPI data and his budget analysis, Mike was able to provide the committees with the information they needed to make a change. The 10 years of wasting budgeted money finally came to an end.
Mike needed to look ahead to the coming school year to account for these losses. He estimated the total costs for the upcoming year and decided to start charging groups, such as sports organizations, that were parent run. The schools made sure to communicate their charges weren’t being used for a revenue-making scheme. The organizations were also charged $10 for daily rental of facilities in order to cover costs. The revamped rental policies positively led to $3,000 in revenue. This money was distributed straight into a general rental account used to cover both the costs to hold the after-hour events and supplement custodial salaries. Mike is optimistic that the department will be able to use this money for facility upkeep in the future.
Ultimately, the improved after-hour system caused rental revenue to raise from $57,000 to a projected $80,600 in 2015, 76% of which has already been collected.
Bellingham Public School District’s improved rental policies are now drastically more successful than the previous antiqued system for running after-hour events. The team now takes a data-based perspective toward all aspects of their work. Mike checks the key performance indicators (KPI) displayed on his personal dashboard once a week to ensure the district’s money is being allocated correctly. Mike’s dashboard is automatically updated once a week, displaying KPIs such as work hours per employee, dollars invoiced per student per year for facilities, average cost per trip and many more. These KPIs provide Mike with better data to make the best decision possible. “I then use the data from the KPIs to brief administration and keep them up to date on the department’s progress as we implement Work & Asset™.”
Through Mike’s extensive budget analysis paired with Dude Solutions’ KPI Dashboard, the Bellingham Maintenance Department has improved across the board. Moving forward, Mike will be able to set standards for his department, make investments in areas with the greatest need and maximize savings in the long term. By utilizing the KPI Dashboard, Mike will be able to continue to keep track of his team’s progress and benchmark their success.
