How does dispute resolution save school districts money?

School districts involve multi-party stakeholders holding different, although interrelated, interests that could clash and cause disputes. Disputes are costly by pulling time away from other management tasks and resources for dispute resolution that could be of better use in development projects. Dispute resolution could usher cost savings, which is important given the limited resources of school districts.
One way of achieving cost savings through dispute resolution is the mitigation of the further impact of leaving a dispute to self-arrest or preventing the worsening of conditions. Dispute resolution means getting at the core or root of the problem and applying the appropriate solution to stop the impact and prevent the development of more serious problems (Burgess & Burgess, 1997). Doing so means not incurring any additional costs from the extended impact of disputes or the worsening of disputes.
Another way of achieving cost savings via resolving disputes is by building better relations among the parties involved in managing school districts and affected by the actions and decisions of school district administrators. The dispute resolution process reconciles differing interests to create collaborative relations (Deutsch, Coleman & Marcus, 2006). This settles the existing conflict and prevents future conflicts. This means cost savings on potential conflicts and non-realization of contingency plans that require expenditures.

Still another way that dispute resolution saves school districts money is by enhancing the experience of school districts in recognizing potential disputes and applying the appropriate solutions (Deutsch et al. , 2006). This improves the efficiency of school districts not only in handling disputes but also in strategy development. Efficiency means cost effectiveness or optimized outcomes for every input used. Dispute resolution ushers cost savings for school districts as a pro-active strategy that mitigates costs, prevents further costs, and allocates costs for appropriate solutions.
References
Burgess, H., & Burgess, G. M. (1997). Encyclopedia of conflict resolution. Santa Barbara,         CA: ABC-Clio Inc.
Deutsch, M., Coleman, P. T., & Marcus, E. C. (2006). The handbook of conflict resolution. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.