Education Spending Trends

As you can see from the chart below school enrollment has remained flat, but staffing and the associated cost of salaries and fringe benefits have been the drivers of this budget.  Do you realize that 83% of the school budget goes towards salaries and benefits? (Page 1 of superintendent's summary) The $125.5 million budget represents a 6.5% increase in spending. The truth is that salaries and benefits are out of control. Teacher contracts were negotiated for a 5.25% raise this year!

The graph shows it all.

It is time to ask for a hiring freeze, a freeze on benefits and wages, and to have an independent external forensic audit done on all parts of the budget. An independent external forensic audit should be done by an independent committee to investigate the entire budget to demonstrate where and what the money is being spent on in such items as conferences and meetings, dues and fees, tuition, special allocation, mileage, office supplies and supplies and fees, rentals and contracted services. It seems many of these items have little oversight and are inflated year after year. (see Education Budget summary for the budget for those items)

ENROLLMENT IS FLAT!  (and that includes 91 extra Project Choice kids from out of town!)

STAFFING HAS RISEN !

BOARD OF EDUCATION SPENDING IS UP!