I just finished my first year working at an elementary school in a technical support role. It's a great job, but I learned the hard economic realities of working in the public schools. You just can't head down to the supply room and find it stocked with everything you could need for your workspace. Most times, the supply room is locked, and the supplies are meted out with an eyedropper by the ever-vigilant office manager. Many of the supplies I had come to take for granted in my former job in the private sector (3-ring binders, hanging file folders, etc.) just aren't available. And, this is in a school district that is weathering the storm better than many. We still have budget issues (don't get me started on the budget battle we parents had to fight this spring to save sports and music), but compared to many districts across the nation, we are doing OK.
This spring, I found out that my former employer (MFE for short) was going to have to cut their office space by 30%, due to a huge cost increase in their lease. This meant getting rid of close to 100 4-drawer filing cabinet, and oodles of gently-used office supplies--three-ring binders, file folders, large metal binder clips (those big, heavy paper clip things), bulletin boards, etc. Having left there on good terms, I was able to inquire about taking some of the surplus off of their hands. MFE was delighted to get rid of some of their excess, and were doubly thrilled to learn it would be going to my school.
My school office manager was absolutely delighted as well. I was able to get dozens of three-ring binders, boxes of hanging file folders and manila folders, two large boxes full of metal binder clips, an electronic three-hole punch, stacking file trays, 2 bulletin boards, a regular three-hole punch, stacks and stacks of scratch paper (printed only on one side), and more (I can't remember what all, exactly, but that's the bulk of it). I took one of the filing cabinets for use at home since the school had no need for it.
This was a true win-win situation. MFE got rid of a lot of things that they no longer needed. My school got a lot of things that we could not have afforded otherwise. Landfill space was spared! I have also arranged with the copy center person at MFE, who will continue to collect used-on-one-side paper for me. Schools can never have enough scratch paper. Again, this saves money and resources.
For those of you who work in the private sector, regardless of whether you have kids in schools, I challenge you to look around your office. Cozy up to your supply person. When there's a surplus of items in the office that your kids' school (or your neighborhood school) could use, speak up. Start saving paper from your printouts. If you would normally just toss it in the recycle bin and it doesn't have business-sensitive information on it, that's paper you could donate to a school. Give it a try--and let me know the results!!
