Tracking the Public School's Dollar

In a recent article, Mary Ann Whiteker, superintendent of Hudson ISD, shared some insights taken from a study concerning the funding of public schools in Texas. I think she has done a wonderful job in presenting a summary of this information, and I believe that you will get a lot of information from reading part of her article. The following is from an article that was printed in the Lufkin Daily News:

Moak Casey & Associates released their newest version of “Tracking the Education Dollar in Texas Public Schools” on behalf of the Texas Association of School Administrators and Texas Association of School Boards.  Contrary to public school critics, the 2013 school expenditures reflected 60.8% of the $52.4 billion in state funds were spent on direct instruction for the 4.9 million children in Texas Public Schools.

Direct instruction includes teacher salaries and benefits, instructional materials, teacher aides, librarians.  Add another 21.4% for instructional support, which includes principals, counselors, and nurses. Approximately 14.9% of a district’s funds provide transportation, food service, student safety, technology support, building maintenance and upkeep, grounds maintenance, utilities and a vast number of ever increasing state mandates. The remaining 2.9% of a district’s revenue is budgeted for central administration, which includes all central office staff, legal services, audit and accounting services and the costs of tax appraisal and collections. 

Every school district must account for expenditures using codes that allow for extensive analysis of what is purchased, how it will be used and the source of revenue for the expenditure.  The budget process and expenditures are subject to in-depth audits annually to insure compliance with all state and federal guidelines.

“Tracking the Education Dollar” features the “average” cost for a typical student per day with incremental costs equaling $1.00

Bus ride to school                                                                $.03
Clean and well maintained building                                     $.09
Heat / Cooling                                                                      $.03
Security / Health services                                                    $.02
Classroom teacher                                                              $.49
Instructional aides/instructional supplies                             $.09
Curriculum, professional training, instructional leadership  $.03
Lunch in cafeteria                                                                $.01
Counseling and guidance assistance                                  $.04
Well run campus with instructional support services           $.06
District support structures to insure effective operations     $.03
Bus ride home or extra-curricular activities                          $.03

Although there may be some slight variances from district-to-district, overall, this is how the education dollar is spent in Texas public schools. This is contrary to what many would have you believe. I think it is important to arm you with the facts.