MIDDLESEX REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL
SERVICES COMMISSION
Who we are and what we do
WHAT ARE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
COMMISSIONS?
They are public education agencies
 Created under Title 18A Education Law
 18A:6-51 et seq.
 Governed by the member school districts that
created them
 Operated within the guidelines of the NJDOE
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MRESC BACKGROUND
The mission of the Middlesex Regional
Educational Services Commission is to provide
excellence to students in partnership with New
Jersey school districts, and coordinate cost
efficient purchasing opportunities for educational
institutions and government agencies to limit the
tax burden on New Jersey residents.
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WHAT IS OUR SERVICE HISTORY?
Started in 1977 to serve Middlesex County
School Districts
 Quickly expanded into the central region of the
State for the provision special education
programs
 Name changed to Middlesex Regional ESC with
State Board approval in 2005
 Became a Statewide entity with the expansion
of the cooperative pricing system
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WHY WERE WE CREATED?
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To Provide Nonpublic Services
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What services do we provide?
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Chapter 192/193 (1977)
Nonpublic Textbook (1987)
Nonpublic Nursing (1991)
Nonpublic Technology 1994)
Title One (1989)
Title III (1989)
IDEA-B (1990)
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SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM OFFERINGS:
The MRESC operates seven special education schools for students with Multiple
Disabilities, Pre-School Disabled students, Students with Autism, Student with
Behavioral Disabilities, Students with Psychiatric Issues and “At Risk” students.
Raritan Valley Academy – Opened 1982
Piscataway Regional Day School – Opened 1984
Middlesex County Academy – Opened 1994
Academy Learning Center – Opened 1996
Bright Beginnings Learning Center – Opened 1998
NuView Academy – Opened 2000
Center for Lifelong Learning – Opened 2009
Approximately 800 students are enrolled within these programs.
These programs realized tuition savings of over 20 million dollars in FY 2014.
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COOPERATIVE TRANSPORTATION
We currently transport over 14,000 students per
day, mainly in the central region of the State
 We transport to over 273 schools
 We operate over 1100 routes per day
 We work with over 67 districts in 12 Counties
 We work with over 80 bus companies
 Estimated Transportation Savings: $2,500,000
annually
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COOPERATIVE PURCHASING
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Over 880 members in all 21 NJ Counties
Over 80 different contracts
Over 200 different vendors
Saving millions of taxpayer dollars every year
 CDW-G Technology, Supplies & Services
•
FY 14 & 15 savings to date $18,614,000
Electric Aggregation
• Savings since 2009 $12.5 Million
 Natural Gas Aggregation
• Savings since 2012 $5.1 Million
Established in 1994
The Co-op Initiative was implemented Statewide in 2009
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COOPERATIVE PURCHASING 101
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Five types of cooperative purchasing systems
exist under the law:
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Cooperative Pricing Systems
Joint Purchasing Systems
Commodity Resale
County Purchasing Systems
Regional Cooperative Pricing Systems
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COOPERATIVE PURCHASING 101
Cooperative purchasing systems are created
under N.J.S.A. 40A-11-11
 They are controlled by N.J.A.C. 5:34-7 et seq.
 Educational Services Commissions are
specifically authorized to establish cooperative
purchasing programs N.J.A.C. 5:34-7.1
 Public Schools Contract Law is controlling when
an ESC is lead agency N.J.A.C. 5:34-7.1
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COOPERATIVE PURCHASING 101
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COOPERATIVE PURCHASING 101
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COOPERATIVE PURCHASING 101
Cooperative purchasing systems are formed by
application to the Department of Community
Affairs, Division of Local Government Services
 All members must be submitted and approved
by LGS
 All purchasing categories must be submitted
and approved by LGS
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ANNUAL BUDGETS/FUNDING
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Fiscal Year 2014 - $90,000,000
Fiscal Year 2015 Current Budget - $93,000,000
MRESC is funded on a fee for service basis
No Federal, State or Local revenues are
received
We have long-term contracts with participating
districts for educational services
With regard to non-educational services, our end
users who are unhappy with our services may
choose to seek another services provider
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ANNUAL BUDGETS/FUNDING
Annual budgets are submitted to NJDOE for
review and approval
 Annual CAFR is prepared and submitted to
NJDOE
 We operate under the same reporting rules as
any school district does
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HOW WE SPEND OUR MONEY
The MRESC budget is made up of 16 cost
centers
 Each cost center generates revenue to support
the services provided
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Nonpublic revenue supports nonpublic services
Special education tuition supports the program
generating the revenue
Transportation revenue supports transportation
services
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BUSINESS RELATED REVENUE
Revenues generated by non-educational
services
 Revenues are used to offset administrative
costs
 Revenues are used to offset business
operations costs
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BUSINESS RELATED REVENUE
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Revenues are used in support of educational
programs
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Purchase of new technology equipment
Purchase of vans for the Community Based
Instruction program
Purchase of student management software
Purchase of Hybrid Learning program
Offset other expenses to reduce tuition increases
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WHY NON EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES?
All public agencies can benefit from
cooperative purchasing
 Volume drives down prices
 A large member base creates a sense of
opportunity for vendors
 Shrinking budgets make the time savings
important
 Public agencies should work together to save
taxpayers dollars
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WHAT IS OUR FUTURE?
Continued expansion of our Nonpublic
Programs, Transportation Program, Special
Education Programs, and our Deaf/Itinerant
Education Program
 Expansion of technology based programs
 Continued expansion of cloud based
educational services
 Continue to respond to the needs of our
member and non-member agencies
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IN ADDITION WE LOOK FORWARD TO:
Implementation and Expansion of our Hybrid
Learning Initiative
 Provision of educational services across the
Statewide WAN being developed as part of the
DRLAP program
 Continue to expand non-educational business
services as requested by other public agencies
 Continue our partnership with NJDOE to expand
modern educational opportunities
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QUESTIONS
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Mark J. Finkelstein, Superintendent - MRESC
[email protected]
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Patrick M. Moran, Business Administrator MRESC
[email protected]
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