The District of Columbia Public Schools system has taken action to ensure that supply items will be obtained at the most competitive prices. Because lack of storage facilities prevented bulk purchase of emergency items at competitive rates, the Division of Buildings and Grounds has remodeled a building as a warehouse to store large quantities of these items. This measure will reduce not only costs, but also paperwork in the form of the number of purchase orders. Also, other actions will help ensure effective deployment of personnel assigned to the automated student information system and provide better equipment inventory controls. Finally, a review was conducted of bus replacement criteria and repair costs, concluding with a recommendation for redesigning the vehicle maintenance reporting system. The superintendent's response is included. (TE)