Cincinnati Public Schools will create a new department to do more business with companies owned by minorities and women.

        The district announced plans Wednesday in a presentation to the Board of Education that outlined a new “supplier diversity department.”

        Consultant Darraugh Butler reviewed the district's policies for doing business with underused firms and suggested improvements.

        “This program's been dark for over 10 years,” Ms. Butler said. “You can't go from no participation to 100 percent overnight, and we realize that.

        “But having a strong diversity supplier program can give the district an edge. This can be used as a marketing tool.”

        Of the minority and female business owners in the area, 40 percent are graduates of the district and 50 percent have children in Cincinnati Public Schools, Ms. Butler said.

        Yet business done with these firms — whether it be construction, painting, food service or providing toiletries — makes up only 5 percent of all district expenditures, or about $5 million, said Michael Geoghegan, school treasurer.

        To address the issue, the district will:

        • Make supplier diversity a priority.

        • Create the Supplier Diversity Department, as a division of the treasurer's office.

        • Create awareness within the district and among business owners about how to work with the school district.

        Included in those plans are the hiring of a director, the creation of a steering team to set goals and implement new policies to be approved by the school board, and the creation of a supplier diversity committee to network and forge links with the community.

        Superintendent Steven Adamowski said the district wants to create and fund the new positions this year.

        The director's post would be created by restructuring the treasurer's office; it would not be an additional slot.

        Partnerships between the district and minority-owned businesses are already improving.

        The district sponsored an October meeting to spread the word of business opportunities and get feedback from companies on ways to improve business relationships.

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