The fiscally-strapped Buffalo school board has been looking at a laundry list of ways to cut spending in its budget for the approaching school year. One spending line that is under scrutiny is the millions of dollars for outside consultants.
"I'm mining through all of these different vendors, trying to get the ones with the highest value, the highest impact, best cost for students," said Schools Superintendent Kriner Cash, who has indicated that he may look to cut some of the consultants.
Consultants are a flash point at almost every school board meeting because there are so many for so many different purposes. It's believed the district spends around $25 million from federal Title One grants while another $9 million from the regular school budget goes to consultants.
"I just can't believe that we continue to do this stuff," said Board Member Carl Paladino, who made a point of an annual visit from a senior vice-president which costs the district $13,200.
"We have very qualified people at Canisius, at Buff State, who could easily come in," Paladino said.
The matter could come to an accelerated conclusion as the board moves to approve the budget for the fiscal year beginning on July 1.
