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Money spent with vendors, 2004-2005

The budget process for this school year begins in earnest over the next couple of months.  It is difficult to analyze a budget based on the broad and often vague categories used to sort out public budgets for schools and other entities.

Hindsight is 20/20, it is said, and in the case of public money it is often useful to see what was spent in a prior year in order to better judge a current budget.  And, rather than analyzing broad categories of spending, looking directly at what money was spent with each vendor can allow a more detailed examination of spending.  Another article on this website analyzed spending with energy related vendors in the 2004-2005 school year to help readers understand the effects of rising energy costs.

Below we are publishing the entire list of vendors for the 2004-2005 school year and the associated public money spent with each.  The list is sorted by dollar amount, starting with the largest.  Readers will recall that last year's highly publicized budget fight with the town had some people claiming that the budget was being balanced on the backs of the children and that the budget was all skin and bones with no fat. If so, understanding where the money was spent last school year could help us better determine where it should be spent in the future.

Even a cursory review of the list below yields interesting data. For example, the amount of public money spent last school year with vendors who provide food, catering and lodging services might come as a surprise:

Food & Catering, 2004-2005:

Likewise, the amount of public money spent with vendors who provide flowers or gift baskets might also be unexpected:

Flowers & Gift Baskets, 2004-2005:

Using the list below, the reader can create his or her own categories based on vendor types.  For example, one might add up the money spent with vendors who specialize in bus and vehicle parts and services:

Vehicle Parts & Services, 2004-2005:

These sorts of exercises may make more sense to the reader than trying to understand the broad categories published by the school district. The list below is complete and accurate according to records released by Readington School District under OPRA requests.  If you are a newspaper reporter or simply a concerned citizen and desire more detail, contact readingtonparents.org for the associated data with these vendors.

Complete Vendor List With Associated Spending, 2004-2005: