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SUMMARY
The Office of the Auditor General has conducted a performance
audit of the Ash Fork Joint Unified School District pursuant to A.R.S.
§41-1279.03(A)(9). This performance audit examines six aspects of the District’s
operations: administration, student transportation, plant operation and
maintenance, expenditures of sales taxes received under Proposition 301, the
accuracy of district records used to calculate the percentage of dollars spent
in the classroom, and the District’s English Language Learner program.
Administration (see pages 5 through 11)
Ash Fork Joint Unified School District’s fiscal year 2007
per-pupil administrative costs of $2,506 were significantly higher than the
comparable districts’ average per-pupil costs of $1,611. Costs were high
primarily because the District employed 1 administrative full-time equivalent
(FTE) position for every 38 students, while the comparable districts employed 1
FTE for every 50 students, on average. In addition, the District paid its
administrative employees higher salaries than the average salaries for the
comparable districts. Ash Fork JUSD also had high per-pupil purchased services
and supply costs. In addition to having higher administrative costs, the
District did not adequately manage the use of its 12 credit cards. For example,
auditors found credit card statements containing purchases that were paid
without prior purchase approval and/or were paid despite a lack of receipts.
Further, the District did not adequately review credit card purchases for
appropriateness and compliance with its polices, and it incurred finance charges
and late fees. In addition, the District did not have adequate controls over its
accounting system and computer network, such as requiring users to regularly
change passwords.
Student transportation (see pages 13 through 15)
In fiscal year 2007, Ash Fork JUSD spent approximately
$104,000 less to operate its transportation program than it received in related
revenues, and its per-rider and per-mile costs were lower than the comparable
districts’ average. The lower costs are attributable mainly to the District’s
efficient bus routes and its low supply costs, which were 36 percent lower than
the comparable districts’ average per-mile supply costs.
Plant operation and maintenance (see pages 17 through 20)
Ash Fork JUSD’s fiscal year 2007 per-square-foot plant costs
were 39 percent higher than the comparable districts’ average. Plant costs were
high in part because of the District’s higher staffing levels. Although it had
less square footage to maintain, Ash Fork JUSD employed 1.2 more plant FTEs than
the comparable districts averaged, and its plant employees each maintained about
14,000 square feet less than the comparable districts’ employees. In addition,
the District had high per-square-foot costs for outsourced maintenance, data and
voice communications, electricity, natural gas, and gasoline.
Proposition 301 monies (see pages 21 through 24)
In November 2000, voters passed Proposition 301, which
increased the state-wide sales tax to provide additional resources for education
programs. For fiscal year 2007, Ash Fork JUSD spent its Proposition 301 monies
as specified in its plan and for statutorily authorized purposes. On average,
teachers received total average increases of $3,170. In addition, teachers
participating in the District’s summer school program focusing on AIMS
intervention and dropout prevention earned an additional $1,582, and
participating instructional aides earned an average of $856 each. However, the
District’s Proposition 301 plan was incomplete because it did not specify the
amount of performance pay that eligible employees could earn.
Classroom dollars (see pages 25 through 29)
Statute requires the Auditor General to determine the
percentage of every dollar that Arizona school districts spend in the classroom.
Because of this requirement, auditors reviewed the District’s recording of
classroom and other expenditures to determine their accuracy. After correcting
accounting errors, the District’s revised fiscal year 2007 classroom dollar
percentage was 54.6 percent, 3.3 percentage points lower than the state average
of 57.9 percent. However, the District’s classroom dollar percent was higher
than the comparable districts’ average and the state-wide average for small
districts.
In fiscal year 2007, Ash Fork JUSD spent $13,034 per pupil in
total and $7,117 per pupil in the classroom, higher than both the state and
national averages. The District was able to spend a larger amount per pupil
because Arizona statute allows small school districts to increase their budgets
without voter approval, beyond typical school district budget limits by the
amount needed to meet planned expenditures. Ash Fork JUSD used this small school
budget adjustment to increase its allowable expenditures and revenues by $1.7
million to meet its fiscal year 2007 operational and capital expenditures. In
addition, small school budget adjustments are typically paid by local property
taxes. In fiscal year 2007, the District’s local primary tax rate of 9.5 percent
was nearly 2½ times higher than the comparable districts’ average primary tax
rate of 4 percent. The District’s high spending on administration and plant
operation and maintenance could be reduced and more dollars redirected to the
classroom. In addition, cost reductions could potentially lower the District’s
primary tax rate.
English Language Learner programs, costs,
and funding (see pages 31 through 36)
Statute requires the Auditor General to review school
district compliance with English Language Learner (ELL) requirements. In fiscal
year 2007, Ash Fork JUSD identified 20 percent of its students as English
language learners and provided instruction for them using a mainstream approach.
Since that time, the District has begun making changes to its ELL program to
meet state requirements adopted in September 2007. However, despite receiving
almost $13,000 in ELL-related revenues, the District did not track or report any
ELL expenditures.
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