From copy paper to milk to laptops, schools are struggling to get the supplies they need to run their day-to-day operations, and experts say the situation won鈥檛 be resolved any time soon.
Although students may not always be aware of the issues, school administrators who deal with procurement鈥攚hether it鈥檚 purchasing food, office supplies, furniture, or technology鈥攁re working nonstop to keep their schools stocked as supply chain nightmares have wreaked havoc for schools and other industries across the country. It illustrates how K-12 schools are part of鈥攁nd beholden to鈥攁 global web of factories, ports, and distributors more than most people probably realize.
The problem has been particularly acute for food services, an area where students are most likely to notice the disruptions.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really challenging for our team members who love kids to not be able to give them the items they like and expect,鈥� said Doug Wordell, the director of nutrition services for the Spokane schools in Washington state. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not that a burger isn鈥檛 good, they just wanted the chicken. And now you鈥檝e got a kiddo showing up in line who looks at you with tears鈥攁nd some of these kids, the emotional issues that we鈥檙e dealing with now in schools are dramatically different than five years ago. Kids will tilt over little things.鈥�
In a national , 98 percent of food service directors said their top three problems right now are a lack of available menu items, lack of packaging and supplies, and menu items getting discontinued by suppliers. Three-quarters of respondents said that higher costs of items鈥攁 sign of inflationary pressures in the economy鈥攁re creating significant challenges for them, too.
It鈥檚 a perfect storm that is happening鈥攊t鈥檚 not just one thing that has taken place, it鈥檚 all of those factors piling up over time.
It鈥檚 not just food services feeling the pinch.
鈥淪ix months ago, it was lumber, now it鈥檚 steel, and paper and pulp, and it鈥檚 like trying to read a crystal ball,鈥� said Dianna Casper, the director of purchasing for the Denton Independent School District in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area.
For districts with growing student enrollments, like Casper鈥檚, lumber and steel are needed for everything from new classroom furniture to construction projects. In addition to shortages in paper鈥攁 critical mainstay of any school鈥攕chools are also struggling to purchase enough laptops due to major chip shortages affecting a range of industries including automobile and toy manufactures.
What鈥檚 wrong with the supply chain?
The term 鈥渟upply chain鈥� is a bit of a misnomer. The word 鈥渃hain鈥� makes people think that the procurement and movement of goods is a linear process when, in reality, it鈥檚 far more complex, said Ayman Omar, an associate professor of supply chain management at American University.
鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to see a chart with boxes and arrows, but it鈥檚 a very, very complicated process to get a product from A to Z, because each entity has its own universe of suppliers and chains,鈥� he said. 鈥淎 car has almost 2,000 parts in it, and each part is a product in and of itself, and that part has its own supply chain.鈥�
And it doesn鈥檛 take much to knock that process out of balance, said Omar. Like an airport, a single delay sets off a whole series of delays and before you know it, 鈥渋t becomes complete chaos鈥� he said.
The global supply chain had major structural issues predating the COVID-19 pandemic. As demand for more and more products has gone up over the years, crucial pieces of infrastructure, such as seaports and airports, have not increased their capacity sufficiently to keep up. Throw in a disruptive event, said Omar, be it a pandemic or a shipping container stuck in the Suez Canal, and that delicate web of factories, air and sea ports, shipping companies, and consumers (to name only a handful of supply chain parts) unravels.
Add to that labor shortages, said Omar, in particular among truck drivers, and you have the situation we鈥檙e in now.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a perfect storm that is happening鈥攊t鈥檚 not just one thing that has taken place, it鈥檚 all of those factors piling up over time,鈥� he said. Pre-COVID, said Omar, people had the attitude that 鈥渁s long as we are getting the products, no one cares how stretched the system is.鈥�
How supply chain disruptions are impacting schools
Now, all aspects of K-12 schooling are feeling the effects of an overburdened supply chain. The Association of School Business Officials has heard from districts across the country that are facing long lead times鈥攅specially on furniture鈥攁nd delayed orders.
鈥淏asically, nothing has been untouched by supply chain disruptions and rising prices,鈥� said Elleka Yost, the director of advocacy at ASBO, from athletic equipment such as helmets and balls to items that rely on computer chips like laptops and smart thermometers. 鈥淭here is just this whole spaghetti noodle tangled mess contributing to what we鈥檙e seeing.鈥�
Flush with federal aid dollars, school districts are all making big purchases at once, said Yost, exacerbating the problem.
Shortages and increased prices can be especially trying for growing districts with multiple construction projects underway, such as Casper鈥檚 in Denton, Texas.
鈥淲e had placed a classroom furniture order on a renovation, fairly far in advance, then came to find out that one part to build the teacher鈥檚 desk was sitting in a container trying to get into the port,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t took about three months to get that part from the container to the port and here to North Texas so that we could get that teacher鈥檚 desk built.鈥�
Casper said she doesn鈥檛 anticipate seeing significant changes for the better in the supply chain until 2023.
Basically, nothing has been untouched by supply chain disruptions and rising prices ... There is just this whole spaghetti noodle tangled mess contributing to what we鈥檙e seeing.
Another frustrating issue schools are experiencing are purchases in which they are only receiving partial orders.
鈥淲e did get one order where they shipped us approximately 30 percent of the order of the Chromebooks,鈥� said Howard Barber, the assistant superintendent of finance and operations in Mattapoisett, Mass. 鈥淲hen the Chromebooks came in, there were no chargers.鈥�
Shortages of warehouse workers and truck drivers means food isn鈥檛 getting delivered, said School Nutrition Association spokesperson, Diane Pratt-Heavner, driving some districts to find creative solutions.
鈥淲e鈥檝e heard from schools that are finding these new local vendors鈥攁 local restaurant that can supply menu items,鈥� she said, and some districts have even started sourcing some fruits and vegetables from local farmers.
But while that strategy might work for smaller school districts, it鈥檚 generally not a solution for larger ones.
鈥淲e would need 20,000 portions a day,鈥� said Wordell. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just go pick that up at Costco. We would wipe them out.鈥�
On the flip side, bigger districts are more likely to have warehouses and excess refrigerator space, allowing them to store more items.
In addition to shortages of food, schools are also having trouble procuring enough trays and paper cups鈥攁nd keeping enough cafeteria staff on hand鈥攖o serve the food they do get.
How schools should handle shortages of supplies
When necessities get delayed, districts have to scramble to buy the items elsewhere, sometimes at higher prices.
This can turn into a budgeting nightmare for schools, said David Lewis, the executive director of ASBO.
鈥淥ne thing that school districts don鈥檛 like is when they got something agreed to, it鈥檚 in the budget, and then all of a sudden whoever they are getting it from comes back and says we need to redo the contract, and there is a whole can of worms that gets opened with procurement issues,鈥� he said.
To make matters worse, districts that have seen student enrollment drop during the pandemic now are receiving less money from their states just as they are dealing with increased costs from supply chain problems, said Lewis.
Various economic forecasts predict that supply chain disruptions will likely drag on for a while, and resolving those issues are far beyond the control of local school districts.
Fixing the supply chain is something that must be done by corporations, manufacturers, and national governments, said Omar, and if there鈥檚 a silver lining to all this, the pandemic may jolt corporate and government leaders into taking long overdue action.
Unfortunately, that doesn鈥檛 help school districts in the near term. While there is a lot outside of the control of district leaders, school districts aren鈥檛 completely helpless so long as they plan, said Omar. The key, he said, is having a risk management plan.
鈥淚f there is a food shortage, if there is a computer shortage, do they have a plan B?鈥� he said. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 a 10 percent shortage, can they deal with it? What about 20 percent? What about 30 percent? That doesn鈥檛 prevent the disruption issues but it at least makes [schools] more agile and more responsive and be able to react quicker.鈥�
Schools should also do all they can to improve their understanding of what is happening further up the supply chain, said Omar.
For Casper, that means talking to vendors, peers, and counterparts in other districts about how long it is taking to get orders.
鈥淚 just have to be prepared,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 afford to not be prepared with a growing district.鈥�
For school district leaders who deal in procurement, the pandemic has forced them to adapt. They say they are figuring out workarounds and finding a new鈥攁lbeit chaotic鈥攔hythm to their work.
Casper used to order items six months before she needed them. Now she鈥檚 putting in orders at least 12 months ahead of time.
ASBO recommends that districts strive to maintain open communication and good relations with their vendors as they can help give districts a more thorough picture of lead-time on deliveries.
鈥淚t鈥檚 being as proactive as you can,鈥� said Barber, 鈥渂ecause we鈥檙e not guaranteed anything.鈥�
