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NY School District Transforms Outdoor Seating with Cooperative Purchasing Solution
Rye Neck Union Free School District, located 25 miles north of Manhattan, serves over 1,400 students across three buildings. Carolyn Mahar, the Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance, is responsible for managing the district’s financial operations, drawing on her extensive experience in public accounting, insurance, and education finance.
The district recently used cooperative purchasing to enhance its school environment with outdoor seating areas—a move that reflects both the district’s financial responsibility and focus on student well-being.
The Problem: Student Socialization Gap Post Pandemic
With students returning to in-person learning, the district wanted to address the socialization gaps caused by remote schooling. The administration identified an opportunity to use American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to create outdoor spaces for students to connect, socialize, and engage with one another. However, the district needed a cost-effective, compliant, and timely solution to turn this idea into a reality.
The Solution: Cooperative Partner Landscape Forms
Rye Neck UFSD turned to OMNIA Partners’ cooperative purchasing program, which allowed them to quickly and efficiently source outdoor furniture through Landscape Forms, an organization with expertise in modernizing outdoor spaces. Using the cooperative contract, the district was able to purchase outdoor benches and seating that could be installed on grass without extensive installation or drilling into concrete. This innovative solution helped create a vibrant outdoor environment that encouraged student interaction while utilizing the limited funding available.
Why Cooperative Purchasing?
- Time Savings: Cooperative purchasing allowed the district to bypass the lengthy and resource-intensive process of going out to bid or gathering multiple quotes. As a result, the outdoor furniture was ordered and delivered in time for the start of the school year, ensuring that the new spaces were ready for immediate use.
- Compliance and Cost-Effectiveness: The pre-bid contracts through OMNIA Partners ensured that the district was compliant with purchasing regulations while securing competitive pricing. This enabled the district to stretch their ARP funds further and create an impactful space for students without exceeding their budget.
- Strategic Purchasing: The partnership with OMNIA Partners offered the district access to a wide range of industry leading suppliers and solutions. OMNIA Partners provided the flexibility needed to select the right products for the project, streamlining the purchasing process and allowing the district to focus on improving the student experience.
Rye Neck UFSD’s successful collaboration with OMNIA Partners and Landscape Forms transformed an underutilized outdoor area into a welcoming space for students to socialize. By leveraging cooperative purchasing, the district saved time, remained compliant, and maximized the use of public funds—all while fulfilling a critical need for their students’ post-pandemic. The result is an outdoor space that not only enhances the school environment but also supports the district’s long-term commitment to the well-being of its students.
About Landscape Forms
The Landscape Forms cooperative contract through OMNIA Partners provides public sector and nonprofit customers a comprehensive range of high-design outdoor site furnishing and structure solutions to meet a wide variety of needs. Understanding the unique requirements of public agencies and nonprofit organizations, Landscape Forms and OMNIA Partners help K-12, higher education, and state and local organizations achieve their outdoor design visions while taking advantage of group volume to reduce cost, save time, and maximize the returns on their investments.
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