Case Study: Schoolhouse Supplies

Interview: Gayle Kellman, Executive Director, Schoolhouse Supplies
Number of Employees: 6
Internal Full-Time HR: No
Xenium Service: PEO

The Background

Schoolhouse Supplies was founded in 1999 by Katie Gold. Katie recognized that there was a gap between the growing need of school supplies in the Portland Public Schools and the surplus of supplies in the business community. Her vision was to distribute the surplus of supplies to classrooms in the Portland Public Schools.

The Employer Challenge

Schoolhouse Supplies was in a unique situation when they were first established. The Portland Public Schools Foundation agreed to take Schoolhouse Supplies on as a sponsored project, and through that structure, they administered human resources, payroll and other employer functions for Schoolhouse Supplies.

As Schoolhouse Supplies grew, they realized they needed to regain the control of their employer functions in order to attract and retain great employees.

The PEO Solution

In 2007, Schoolhouse Supplies engaged in a partnership with Xenium while establishing their own non-profit status. This allowed the Executive Director, Gayle Kellman, access to a team of professionals at Xenium.

Xenium enables Schoolhouse Supplies to focus on their main vision by managing their human resource functions.

Gayle Kellman
Executive Director

"It's a challenge to get more done with limited resources, so having Xenium manage those employer functions is huge for us."