ERIC Number: EJ918598
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Apr
Pages: 2
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0036-651X
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Radio-Frequency Identification: Asset Control at Your Fingertips
Scholes, Marcus
School Business Affairs, v75 n4 p12-13 Apr 2009
Times are tough for everyone, including public school districts. During the past decade, school districts have faced the dual challenges of tightening budgets and increasing fiscal responsibility and oversight. Many school districts have found a way to manage their assets, reduce staff requirements, increase accountability, and save money on insurance premiums by implementing unified fixed-asset management programs and accompanying asset-tracking technologies, such as radio-frequency identification (RFID). Most people recognize RFID as the tiny tags placed in or on an item to help determine its location. RFID is incorporated in automated toll-road payment systems, ID cards, and retail products. In fact, the technology evolved from retail store security methods and from technologies such as bar coding, which was initially geared toward inventory management. RFID has been making waves for over a decade as commercial organizations sought to leverage the ease and accuracy of goods tracking to drive down costs and improve product availability. The technology is still advancing in this arena, especially with the continued decrease in pricing for the individual RFID tags, which can now cost just a few cents each. The technology has been strongly embraced by other entities as well, including libraries, museums, industries, and higher-education institutions to track valuable assets ranging from computers to vehicles. With increased focus on improving asset accountability and saving money, the time is optimal for school districts to also consider the benefits of RFID.
Descriptors: School Districts, Accountability, Public Schools, Documentation, School Administration, Educational Practices, Electronic Equipment, Financial Audits, Facility Inventory, School Accounting, Merchandise Information
Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO). 11401 North Shore Drive, Reston, VA 20190. Tel: 866-682-2729; Fax: 703-478-0205; e-mail: asboreq@asbointl.org; Web site: http://www.asbointl.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A