The share of tax dollars that actually wind up in Arizona classrooms slid again last year, to the lowest level in the 12 years the state has been monitoring.
A new report Friday from the Auditor General's Office found just 54.2 percent of every dollar schools received was used for "classroom spending.'' That is down a half a percentage point from 2011 and below the peak at 58.6 percent in 2004.
That classroom spending figure includes salaries and benefits for teachers, aides and coaches. It also covers supplies such as pencils and paper, athletics, and activities like band or choir.
But that 54.2 percent figure exposes only part of the situation.
That percentage is applied to total per-pupil operational spending in 2012 of $7,475, or $4,051 per student.
But total per pupil spending by schools has declined now for the third straight year.
In 2009, that figure was $7,908. So the 56.9 figure for that year translated out to $4,500 per student.
Put another way, actual real-dollar classroom spending is 10 percent less than it was three years ago. And that's in real dollars, before accounting for inflation.
And Auditor General Debra Davenport said if school districts were putting the same percentage of their resources into the classroom in 2012 as they were in 2001, they would have spent an additional $310 million on instruction.
By comparison, the national average for classroom spending was in 2012 61.3 percent.
But there's another side to that comparison, too. Davenport said part of the way Arizona keeps its instructional spending lower is by putting more children in each classroom.
She said in 2009 -- the most recent figures available, the national average class size was 15.3 students per teacher. Arizona's figure that year was 17.1.
Despite the multi-year slide in percentage of dollars winding up in the classroom, Davenport said there are some bright spots in the report, at least statewide
"The relatively low classroom dollar percentage was not the result of high administration costs, because Arizona districts allocated a smaller percentage of resources for administration than the national average,'' she wrote in the report. The Arizona figure is 9.9 percent; nationally, school districts spend 10.7 percent of their budgets on administration.
Still, the percentage of school funds spent on administration is 0.4 percentage points higher now than in 2004. That category includes superintendents, principals, business managers and other staff who do accounting, payroll, printing, human resource and tech services.
Within that category, however, size makes a difference.
Davenport said the largest school districts spent an average of just $632 per pupil on administrative costs due to the economies of scale. That increased to $800 for medium-large districts, $1,149 for medium-sized districts -- and $1,519 for the smallest.
State lawmakers have tried for years to force consolidation of the state's 227 school districts. So far, though, the best they have been able to do is offer financial carrots to districts willing to combine, with few takers.
Marty Shultz, who headed the 2009 School Redistricting Commission, said the problem is local resistance, including superintendents and school boards.
He said it was one thing for lawmakers to leave the issue to local control when the figures on classroom spending were closer to 60 percent. But now, with the continuing decline, Shultz said lawmakers are finally going to have to force the issue.
"It starves teacher salaries, it starves class sizes,'' he said of the administrative costs. "It's less money going to the front lines.''
State School Superintendent John Huppenthal said some of the high administrative costs for schools can be blamed on his agency's ``antiquated student data system.'' He is pushing lawmakers to fund a new system that should cut total administrative spending statewide by $100 million ``which can be redirected back into the classroom.''
Davenport said what is making the non-instructional side of the equation so high in Arizona are the categories of plant operations -- 12.4 percent here versus 9.5 percent nationally -- and food service costs of 5.1 percent in Arizona compared to 3.8 percent nationally.
That issue of plant operations, she said, can be blamed in part on the fact that in the last five years Arizona schools added nearly 12 million square feet of building space, a 9.4 percent increase. Yet at the same time, the number of student attending dropped by 2 percent.
The result is that building capacity usage dropped from 81 percent in 2007 to 79 percent last year.
Davenport acknowledged that some of that new construction was started before enrollment began to decline in 2009. But some of it, she said, was due to what has been the reluctance of some districts to reduce excess space.
She said, though, that attitude appears to be changing, with 26 fewer schools operating last year than the prior year.
"Although decisions to close buildings or schools can be difficult and painful, these decisions are important because school district funding is based primarily on the number of students enrolled at the district, not the number of schools or amount of square footage maintained,'' Davenport said. She also said that districts that completely close schools, including turning off utilities, can save more than those which continue to heat, cool and maintain closed buildings beyond minimum levels.
The increasing cost of food service, however, is something else.
Davenport said that, statewide, the cost of meals was only a nickel higher in 2012 than five years earlier.
But districts served 9.7 million more meals. She said that is not surprising "considering the state's poverty rate increased from 17.7 percent to 25.1 percent during that time and the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals increased from 50 to 59 percent.''
Transportation costs also are up, making up 4.8 percent of districts' operating dollars in 2012 compared with 4.3 percent in 2007.
Some of that, Davenport said, was an increase in the number of miles driven. That includes the effect of closing some schools and having to transport students farther.
But it also can be blamed in part to diesel fuel increasing from $3.04 a gallon in 2007 to $4.16 last year.
chuckles3 posted at 2:39 pm on Mon, Mar 4, 2013.
So, we are spending more education money on excess space and even more on free breakfast and lunches. 59%eligible for free or discount meals? Really?
I can think of a way to help with the "obesity epidemic" so popular with our Dear Leader's wife, and have more dollars in the classroom.
jezzabella posted at 3:13 pm on Mon, Mar 4, 2013.
I can't think of anything worse than some ignorant fool like you having children, chuckles. Children need nutrition to learn, but I am sure you know NOTHING about learning. Any adult who begrudges children having enough food is a worthless human being that makes no contribution to society.
Katydid52 posted at 3:41 pm on Mon, Mar 4, 2013.
There are 2% less students in the last 5 years, but schools built 12 million square feet of space within that same timeframe.
"Davenport acknowledged that some of that new construction was started before enrollment began to decline in 2009. But some of it, she said, was due to what has been the reluctance of some districts to reduce excess space."
"Some" of the construction was started before the decline? Then the rest of it should have been cancelled. Right?
And building way more square feet than you need has exactly what to do with school refusing to reduce space?
My property taxes keep going up, even though my home value went down. Where is all the money going that all us taxpayers give you each year?
Arizona Willie posted at 5:05 pm on Mon, Mar 4, 2013.
227 school districts!!!
REALLY?
I don't think there are 227 towns / cities in Arizona.
Arizona Willie posted at 5:16 pm on Mon, Mar 4, 2013.
Just looked it up and there are only 90 incorporated cities / towns in Arizona.
There is ABSOLUTELY no reason for a place to small to be incorporated as it's own township to have to have a school district.
Of course, some of the bigger cities / towns have multiple school districts and that doesn't make much sense either when you have one big contiguous area. Why can't one school district take care of that?
Think the state is throwing money at education? No the state is throwing money at school district " administrators " ... not at students.
LiveInGilbert posted at 6:00 pm on Mon, Mar 4, 2013.
But read the report AW - and don't confuse those who will be easily confused. It's not all "administrators" and in many school districts spending on administration is well below peer group and state averages (eg Gilbert) - where they are both efficient (despite the naysayers) and effective as an "A" district. What the state overall needs to do is address the aggregate number of districts and turn that waste into a more efficient model for the entire state.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 6:27 pm on Mon, Mar 4, 2013.
227 SCHOOL DISTRICTS = 227 SCHOOL BOARDS = 227 SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS = TOTAL WASTE !!!
The Governor and the Legislature isn't to blame for not enough money going to Students....having hundreds and hundreds of Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents, Supervisors, Secretaries, Clerks, Mail Room workers, and the offices and maintenance workers and janitors, etc.....is why 65% of every hard-working Tax Payer's Dollars go to educating their children.
$632 = Administrative costs for large sized School Districts
$800 = Administrative costs for medium-large sized School Districts
$1149 = Administrative costs for medium sized School Districts
$1515 = Administrative costs for small sized School Districts ....more than double what it costs a large School District = BLAME THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS....NOT THE ARIZONA GOVERNMENT.
Pat Mytush posted at 7:47 pm on Mon, Mar 4, 2013.
I know this won't satisfy the racists and hillbillies but the classroom spending is reducing each year because the plant operations, food and transportation are fixed costs. When the pie gets smaller and those costs remain the same (or increase in the case of energy), it takes up more of the pie. It is easier to put a few more kids in the rooms
downtownresident posted at 7:42 am on Tue, Mar 5, 2013.
Thank the idiots who run the state for this mess. Charter (religious schools by another name) schools don't help the problem. The mental midgets controlling the money want it all for themselves, let the kids get their own education, in jail or prison where they will end up if they don't stay in school, that's really smart.
LiveInGilbert posted at 8:24 am on Tue, Mar 5, 2013.
Pat - you must be talking about Leon - but I am not sure he knows math or can follow simple logic as you succinctly put in your post. And yes Leon- the state is at fault on many levels for not efficiently and effectively managing the educational system of our state.
godhelpgilbert posted at 8:33 am on Tue, Mar 5, 2013.
AW, you may want to check this out before stating where the money actually goes:
http://www.azauditor.gov/Reports/School_Districts/Statewide/2013_March/AZ_School_District_Spending_FY2012_District_Pages.pdf
As LIG points out, a district such as Gilbert spends 7.6% of their operational budget on administration, 60.1% in instruction (classroom dollars), and the rest is broken down into food, transportation, instruction support, student support and plant operations, which would also support Pat's statement.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 1:55 pm on Tue, Mar 5, 2013.
Solution to these "over the top" expenses for 227 School Boards;
VofReason posted at 2:04 pm on Tue, Mar 5, 2013.
"Any adult who begrudges children having enough food is a worthless human being that makes no contribution to society." I see we have a new level headed commenter. Here is a question, how about the "worthless human beings" (your words not mine) that get pregnant despite knowing they don't have the capacity to support themselves let alone a child or several children? Really, you cannot provide your child with breakfast and pay a few dollars or put lunch in a bag? Maybe we have tapped into the real problem in education- Irresponsible parenting.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 2:05 pm on Tue, Mar 5, 2013.
Lol....try that again.
Solution to these "over the top" expenses Arizona's 227 School Districts;
1. State elected ..."Arizona Superintendent of Education".
2. County School Districts.
3. Standardized books and tests (no more Marxist-Socialist Ethnic Studies Courses).
4. End to any "teacher skill symposiums, conferences, study aids, etc.) from our State Universities or Tax-payer funded Community Colleges.
Every teacher in every classroom in Arizona will be teaching the same subject matter from the same books and giving the same tests as every other Arizona Public School teacher which will make it easier to evaluate teachers with all their other peers.
rabbitguy1964 posted at 5:40 pm on Sat, Mar 9, 2013.
What a shame.