Editorial: Bar coding isn’t just for business

Tuesday, May 12, 1998 | 8:55 a.m.

The Clark County School District should consider shelving its outdated inventory-tracking system that oversees its $160 million in equipment; it instead should pursue using a technologically superior bar coding system.

A Sun story revealed Sunday that the school district has trouble tracking its equipment, including computers, musical instruments and even $5,200 milk shake machines. School district officials estimate that $6 million in equipment last year was either unaccounted for, lost or stolen.

The $6 million figure may in fact be higher because the current inventory system fails to accurately assess how much equipment has disappeared, according to officials of the nation's ninth-largest school district. In April, the school district started its annual rite of trying to track down more than 76,000 items valued at $500 or more.

Reporter Benjamin Grove noted that the district's inventory problems can be traced to a system that relies too heavily on overburdened staff members who must do manual checks on thousands of pieces of equipment. In contrast, this is at a time when many businesses use bar codes and scanner guns to track their inventory.

Revamping the inventory system won't be cheap and some may squawk over the cost. But businesses have found bar coding to cut down on theft and missing equipment.

Superintendent Brian Cram said funds for a new system could be designated as soon as the next budget cycle. All seven school board members interviewed by Grove said that while they agreed the school district needs an improved inventory system, they didn't commit to spending more money for a new one.

The school district's staff should demonstrate bar coding's cost-effectiveness to allay any criticism it isn't justified. The School Board shouldn't fear criticism for devoting additional funds for better inventory controls just because some critics may suggest the money isn't purely educational. If the school district doesn't guard against theft, then those equipment losses translate into fewer supplies for students.

Teachers already have to dip into their own pockets -- and parents must hold fund-raisers -- to pay for expenses that could otherwise be offset partially by theft prevention. A better system of inventory control can only help students who are getting shortchanged under the current system.