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Phoenix Elementary School
District (September 2005) |
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The District’s per-pupil administrative
costs were 61 percent higher than those of other districts with a similar number
of students. These higher costs were most evident in salaries and benefits, as
the District had 43 percent more administrative positions than the comparable
districts. The District’s food service cost-per-student was 36 percent higher
than the comparable districts’ average. While these higher costs are partly
explained by the greater number of meals the District served, auditors also
identified a number of inefficiencies relating to the District’s central
kitchen, inventory procedures, and delivery process. The District’s
cost-per-rider was nearly 42 percent higher than the comparable districts’
average, and its cost-per-mile was about 22 percent higher. Contributing to
these higher costs, the District’s routes were not efficient, and its drivers
transported fewer riders and drove fewer miles than the comparison districts’
drivers. Although the District’s per-square-foot plant costs were similar to
comparable districts’, its per-pupil plant costs were 33 percent higher. This
occurred primarily because the District maintained 33 percent more building
space per student and operated several more schools than the comparable
districts. The District spent its Proposition 301 monies in accordance with
statute, but made minor errors in calculating performance pay. While the
District’s classroom dollar percentage of 54.1 percent was 4.5 percentage points
less than the state average, the District spent $641 more per pupil in the
classroom than the state average. In fiscal year 2004, the District spent over
$9.4 million to address two past findings by the Office of Civil Rights. The
District does not track the effectiveness of many of the programs currently
funded with desegregation monies.
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