Arizona public school districts' dollars spent in the classroom : report to the Arizona Legislature

              Dollars in the Classroom
Percentage of Dollars Spent in
the Classroom
Dollars Spent in the Classroom
(Report Highlights)
Page 1
March 2002
In November 2000, voters approved Proposition 301, which increased the State’s sales tax
from 5 percent to 5.6 percent to provide additional money for educational programs. The
enabling legislation for Proposition 301 requires the Auditor General to “. . . monitor school
districts to determine the percentage of every dollar spent in the classroom by a school district.” This
report presents our analysis of the percentage of dollars spent in the classroom for the most
recently completed school year, fiscal year 2001. It also will serve as a baseline for monitoring
this percentage in future years.
Defining Classroom Dollars:
To determine the percentage of dollars spent in the classroom, we used the U.S. Department
of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics’ (NCES) definition of dollars spent on
instruction. This allows comparisons to be made to other states’ statistics, the national average,
and Arizona’s past performance. This definition includes the costs for classroom personnel
such as teachers and teachers’ aides, instructional supplies, instructional aids such as
textbooks and software, and activities. It excludes administration, food service, support services
such as counselors and librarians, transportation, and building maintenance and operation.
As shown below, Arizona’s percentage of
dollars spent in the classroom has
historically been lower than the national
average.
ARIZONA OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL
Arizona Historically Below
National Average
Arizona Currently Spends
57.7 Percent of Dollars
in the Classroom
In 1999, the most recent year for which data
on the national average is available,
Arizona school districts spent an average of
60.1 cents of each dollar in their classrooms,
compared with the national average of 61.7
cents.
50
55
60
65
Percent
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Fiscal Years
Arizona average National average
In fiscal year 2001, Arizona’s school
districts spent 57.7 percent of their dollars
in their classrooms. While individual
district percentages ranged from 32
percent to 89 percent, the majority of the
districts were within 5 percent of the state
percentage. Generally, districts with very
high or low percentages are very small
Dollars in the Classroom Page 2 districts with fewer than 150 students. These
districts tend to have exceptionally high or
low per-pupil expenditures for non-classroom
operations such as food service
and transportation.
Building maintenance and operation and
administration are districts’ two largest non-classroom
dollar expenditures. Building
maintenance and operation and
administration represent 12.5 and 10.8
percent of expenditures, respectively.
Combined, they account for over one-half of
the nonclassroom dollar expenditures.
We found that several factors appear to
affect a district’s percentage of dollars spent
in the classroom:
􀂾􋸠 Factors associated with higher
classroom spending—Three factors
appear to be positively related to the
percentage of dollars spent in the
classroom:
􀂠􊀠 District size—Generally, the percentage
of classroom dollars spent is higher in
districts with more students.
􀂠􊀠 Teacher salaries—Districts with higher
classroom dollar percentages pay
significantly higher average teacher
salaries.
􀂠􊀠 Teacher experience—Districts with
the highest classroom dollar
percentages had, on average, the most
experienced teachers. This may be
partly because districts in which
average teacher experience exceeds
the state average receive additional
funding to pay the higher salaries
associated with additional experience.
���􋸠 Factors associated with lower
classroom spending—Four factors
appear to be negatively related to the
percentage of dollars spent in the
classroom. As spending in these areas
increases, the percentage of dollars spent
in the classroom decreases:
􀂠􊀠 Administrative costs—For every 1
percent increase in administrative
costs, there was a corresponding 0.5
percent reduction in the percentage
of classroom dollars.
􀂠􊀠 Food service costs—Districts with
the highest classroom dollar
percentages spent an average of $150
per pupil on food service costs while
districts with the lowest classroom
dollar percentages averaged $597 per
pupil.
􀂠􊀠 Transportation costs—Districts near
or above the state classroom dollar
percentage spent from $200 to $300
per pupil on transportation. Districts
with the lowest classroom dollar
percentages spent an average of $990
per pupil.
􀂠􊀠 Spending for state and federal
programs—Districts with lower
classroom dollar percentages tend to
have higher expenditures per pupil
for federal and state programs. This
may occur because some special
purpose state and federal programs,
such as job training, technology, or
family literacy, may increase district
expenditures that are not considered
classroom instruction under the NCES
definition.
􀂾􋸠 Factors not affecting classroom
spending—Three factors, including
expenditures for desegregation programs,
do not appear to affect the percentage of
dollars spent in the classroom:
Dollars in the Classroom
Page 3
􀂠􊀠 District type—Whether a district is
union high school, elementary, or
unified does not appear to affect the
percentage of classroom dollars.
􀂠􊀠 Desegregation expenditures—
Nineteen districts receive additional
revenue to pay for their desegregation
programs. This additional revenue
appears to be flowing into the
classroom at the same rate as other
monies. These 19 districts spent an
average of 57.6 percent in the
classroom compared to the statewide
average of 57.7 percent.
􀂠􊀠 Budget overrides—Voters may
approve a district to increase its
budget by an extra 10 percent of its
revenue control limit. However, these
increased budgets do not result in a
higher percentage of classroom
dollars. Instead, the additional money
coming from overrides appears to be
spent in the classroom at the same
rate as other monies.
To Obtain More Information
􀂾􋸠 A copy of the full report can be obtained
by calling (602) 553-0333 or by visiting
our Web site at:
www.auditorgen.state.az.us
􀂾􋸠 The contact person for this report is
Sharron Walker.
A District-by-District
Perspective of Dollars
Spent in the Classroom
Included in the report are three lists
showing each district’s percentage of dollars
spent in the classroom. Districts are shown:
􀂠􊀠 Alphabetically, with each district’s
classroom dollars spending percentage;
􀂠􊀠 Grouped by size of district; and
􀂠􊀠 Ranked from the greatest to lowest
percentage of dollars spent in the
classroom.