Status Report: Small Business Enterprise Program

The objective of this report is to recognize the District's effort to reinvest tax dollars into the Tampa Bay area's small business community. On a periodic basis, the Office of Supplier Diversity captures the performance of the District staff and its prime contractors in the utilization of small, women and/or minority owned businesses. The value of this report provides the Board and public a measurement of the District's program efficiency and the response to the District's performance expectation.

In fiscal years 2006 and 2007 (the period of July 1, 2005 - June 30, 2007), small, women, and minority business participation in new construction and major renovation totaled $22,188,000. The percentage of construction tax dollars reinvested with certified, Office of Supplier Diversity (OSD) registered small business firms translated to 16.4% of all subcontractor bid awards during the subject period. As a part of this analysis, women and minority owned construction related subcontractors and suppliers registered with the OSD, performed work valued at $22,169,284 during the subject period. The participation reduction from the District’s expectation of 20% reinvestment within the targeted community is attributed, in part, to the number of Classroom for Kids project additions that were required to be placed in the marketplace at the same time. Because these additions also had parallel completion schedules, this appeared to reduce the number of available companies that would have had the capacity to compete.

Although the OSD had its continued focus on Facilities related new construction and major renovations, the District’s ability to track its Small Business Enterprise goods and service expenditures through its Lawson financial software has continued to reflect the foundation for future anticipated growth. The OSD was able to account for over $37.7 million dollars spent with small business enterprises by our divisions, departments, and school sites for the same two year reporting period.

Priority 2.0 (3) Increase participation in the Minority Business Enterprise Program for inclusion and continued growth.

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