On Friday, November 15th the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) held their 68th Annual Fall MD and DC Conference at the Maritime Conference Center in Linthicum.

The one-day professional development conference provided presentations and discussions around leadership development, facilities, as well as trends in human resources, purchasing, and school business solutions.

BMC’s Cooperative Purchasing Director, Debbie Groat, was invited to join a panel discussion, entitled: “Cooperative Purchasing for School Roofing Construction.” The session was facilitated by Carla Viar Pullen, Facilities Planner for Queen Anne’s County Public Schools. The panel included representatives from the Garland Company and Jeffrey LaPorta, Executive Director of ASBO MD & DC. The group delved into alternative methods for bidding roofs, learned proven processes for reducing costs, and explored options to structure bids to optimize savings.

Debbie Groat provided additional details on the continued value of cooperative purchasing as a solution to rising costs and options for when competitive bidding falls short..