Overcoming funding woes.
NORTH SHORE SCHOOL DISTRICT 112 | HIGHLAND PARK, IL
North Shore School District 112 has provided excellent education in the Highland Park, Highwood, and Ford Sheridan, Illinois communities. In order to stay focused on its mission and boost cash flow, the district trusts CommercePayments® with its accounts payable strategy.
CFO Chris Wildman shares his experience:
“School districts suffer from stagnant growth in state and federal funding and our local funding is capped, so we need to seek out other sources of financing to deliver on our mission. I knew that we needed to look at Commerce’s AP Card, as I had worked with the program at my last two school districts. I was aware of the multiple benefits of payments automation, so I was eager to bring in a trusted financial partner. It was a no brainer to reach out to my trusted source at Commerce Bank.
When I presented the idea to automate our accounts payable to my Board of Education, they were immediately enthusiastic and supportive. In fact, the Board President stated how prevalent these programs are in the private sector and knew that the district was missing out on savings and revenue.
There are many benefits of the program. It is zero cost to join, it was almost no administrative burden to implement, and Commerce did all the legwork in enrolling our vendors to participate. There is no extra ongoing work beyond our traditional accounts payable process and we cut down on the paper checks, which helps our cash flow while we receive a monthly revenue rebate. Plus, our vendors get paid more quickly now than with our previous process, so it really is a win-win for everybody.”
