School districts outsource services for a variety of reasons, including lowering labor and overhead costs, improving access to increased technical expertise, increasing personnel flexibility, shifting capital investment costs, improving access to state-of-the-art equipment, and improving the organization's focus on education. Most often, services outsourced by school districts are in the areas of transportation, facilities maintenance and construction, and food services.

• School districts can take several steps to better ensure the success of outsourcing:
• evaluate the availability of the services in the private sector;
• develop a business case to evaluate the costs and benefits of outsourcing;
• establish a plan for transitioning into outsourcing;
• clearly identify contractor performance and cost expectations in the contract document;
• establish mechanisms to ensure the contractor meets district expectations; and
• develop a contingency plan to be used in the event that outsourcing does not meet district expectations.