Spending Guide Released

Strategies for the Proposed School Budget

Spending Guide Released

The state Department of Education recently released its 2007 Comparative Spending Guide, a statistical report that profiles spending patterns in public schools.

The guide ranks similar school districts in 14 of 15 spending categories, such as total administrative costs or total classroom instruction; and in four staffing indicators, such as student-teacher ratios and ratios of faculty to administrative staff.

Costs are shown on a per pupil basis, with three years of data presented. The four staffing indicators contain two years of data.

Comparative Costs Highlights from this year’s guide include the following:

Total budgeted comparative costs statewide are $12,098 per pupil in the current school year. That represents a 3.1 percent increase from the previous year.
Classroom instruction expenditures are $7,132 per pupil, a 3.3 percent increase.
Support services, such as guidance and nursing services, account for $1,847 per pupil, a 4.5 percent increase.
Administrative costs, at $1,323, increased 1 percent over the previous year.