Client Profile
Located in Toledo, Ohio, Toledo Public School District is the fourth-largest urban school district in Ohio with an enrollment of 23,000 students. The district began using TeacherWallet, a ClassWallet solution, in 2018.
Challenge
The district needed an efficient way to distribute classroom funds such as Behavior Modification funds, student-teacher stipends, Head Start grants and Early Childhood funds to teachers.
Solution
Toledo Public School District rolled out ClassWallet’s TeacherWallet solution in 2018. TeacherWallet is a pre-paid virtual wallet that enables teachers to make day-to-day purchases through a convenient, simple mobile or desktop user interface. It affords maximum control and fraud-risk mitigation for organizations in a completely paperless, cashless and automated manner. Today, Toledo Public Schools has 1,400 users on the platform across its 55 schools.
Impact
- Reduced processing time significantly.
- Freed up 20-30% of accounts payable staff time.
- Reduced purchase requisitions from 2,653 to just 53.
"We were looking for a system that was user friendly and would show how the allocated funds were being spent. ClassWallet is a more effective system and is a perfect fit for our school district."
Seth Sansing Director of Accounting and Finance
Challenges – In Depth
Toledo Public Schools’ spending is limited with dedicated specific funding sources.
These include Behavior Modification funds, student-teacher stipends, Head Start grants and Early Childhood funds.
However, the district’s purchase order process was too cumbersome – especially for small items, such as when a teacher needed $25 for a set of workbooks. Seven different people, from the teacher to the purchase order originator, were involved in the approval workflow. Delays were common since a purchase order could sit on someone’s desk for two to three days before it was moved along.
Finally, Behavior Modification and student-teacher stipend funds were distributed via payroll checks. This caused an issue for the auditing team because Behavior Modification Funds are designed to be spent on student incentives, classroom supplies, awards and more. Student-teacher funds were designed for classroom supplies. With the funds going directly to the teachers via payroll checks, it was not possible to track how the funds were spent. In addition, teachers were being taxed on these funds as if they were income.
That’s when Seth Sansing, Director of Accounting and Finance at Toledo Public Schools, knew something had to change.
Sansing wanted his 8-member team to spend more time working on higher-value projects that drive organizational efficiency and department outcomes. Greater visibility into the cost of supplies would also help his team make more informed decisions. Finally, it was imperative for the schools to transition away from a paper-based work culture.
Solution – In Depth
In 2018, Toledo Public Schools implemented TeacherWallet, a prepaid virtual wallet.
Teachers can make day-to-day purchases through a simple, convenient user interface. The solution affords maximum control and fraudrisk mitigation for organizations in a completely paperless, cashless and automated manner.
TeacherWallet helped organize the district’s employee data, making it more accessible. Through the onboarding process, staff were educated about the platform and made a seamless transition to the fintech system. Whenever a problem arose, ClassWallet customer support resolved it almost instantly. Today, Toledo Public Schools has 1,400 users across its district.
TeacherWallet greatly improved the purchase order process for Toledo Public Schools. One purchase order can now be tied to a group of teachers rather than a single teacher. Sixty-three vendors are available from the online platform, including bigbox vendors like Scholastic and Lakeshore Learning, allowing teachers to benefit from a diverse shopping experience.
"Implementing the system was relatively simple. The sample testing we did for our central office staff was very successful. Everyone agreed that ClassWallet would be a perfect fit for our needs."
Seth Sansing Director of Accounting and Finance
Impact – In Depth
The initial implementation of TeacherWallet was a great success and continues to play a vital role for the district today.
TeacherWallet created a ripple effect across the district. It reduced purchase requisitions and allowed for the implementation of department efficiencies. It reduced processing time from 1,327 hours to 26 hours and freed up 20-30 percent of accounts payable staff time. Plus, Toledo Public School teachers now have more flexibility and ownership in the ordering process and the tracking of purchases.
The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for educators to be nimble and adapt quickly. With TeacherWallet, Toledo Public Schools modernized teacher access to funds and created a paperless environment.
TeacherWallet not only met the anticipated needs of Toledo Public Schools, but also solved problems the district didn’t realize it had. The virtual wallet solution simplified the purchasing order process, enabled tracking of specialty allocated funds, provided teachers with an easy, efficient and paperless online ordering system and saved time and money. For Toledo Public Schools, TeacherWallet was the right choice.