District cites ROI results to cut one contract and consider midyear expansion of tutoring pilot
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Summary
SCCPSS officials reported ROI reviews leading to a proposed reduction of the Studies Weekly contract and early Ignite tutoring results that nearly doubled reading mastery for participating students, prompting consideration of a midyear increase costing $200,000–$1,000,000 depending on scale.
District ROI staff told the finance committee that program evaluation has begun to influence procurement and midyear funding decisions.
As one example, staff said the Studies Weekly literacy contract showed misalignment with Georgia standards for science and inconsistent Lexile levels across grades; after teacher feedback and implementation review they proposed removing the science component and changing the purchasing model to reduce scope. Staff stated the contract will be reduced "from $900,000 to $500,000," a change described as generating roughly $400,000 in savings.
The committee also heard early results from an Ignite high‑dosage tutoring pilot intended to boost foundational literacy. Staff reported the pilot served about 100 second‑ and third‑graders with an 81% attendance rate; within seven weeks students who received the tutoring nearly doubled their Amira reading mastery compared with peers who did not receive the tutoring. Based on early fidelity and outcome data, staff said they will explore expanding Ignite midyear, with potential investments ranging from $200,000 for modest increases up to $1,000,000 for district‑wide scale depending on implementation capacity.
Board members asked whether the district has modeled Ignite's potential effect on policies such as retention and whether increased tutoring would translate into cost savings. Staff said they have not completed a detailed financial model tying Ignite to retention savings but expect positive downstream effects if the outcomes hold; they emphasized the need to protect implementation fidelity as scale grows.
Staff emphasized that ROI decisions will follow criteria including compliance/safety, program utilization, KPI strength and cost‑benefit analysis. Several board members urged that before scaling or cutting programs the district triangulate multiple data sources and study implementation barriers for underused seats. The committee was told to expect specific midyear proposals requiring endorsement or approval in the coming weeks.