The past several months, we have been expanding our analysis of K-12 expenditures to cover all the districts for which complete data are available in the state. Our analysis of K-12 public school district expenditures in California has four major findings. The first major finding is that, statewide, K-12 public school district expenditures per student in California increased more rapidly than per capita personal income (PCPI) from FY 2003-04 through FY 2008-09. Per student expenditures (excluding capital expenditures) increased from $7,734 in FY 2003-04 to $9,673 in FY 2008-09, an increase of 24.9 percent. This 24.9 percent increase in per student expenditures was substantially greater than the 15 percent increase in California PCPI during this period. Notably, average daily attendance statewide decreased 2.4 percent during this same timeframe.
The second major finding is that from FY 2003-04 through FY 2008-09 per student expenditures for administrative personnel salaries increased more rapidly than per student expenditures for teacher salaries. Per student expenditures for teacher salaries increased about 20 percent during this period, while per student expenditures for classified (non credentialed) administrator and supervisor salaries increased about 43 percent, and per student expenditures for certificated administrator and supervisor salaries increased 27 percent.
The third major finding is that expenditures for teacher salaries and benefits statewide declined as a percentage of total expenditures (excluding capital expenditures) from FY 2003-04 through FY 2008-09. In FY 2003-04 expenditures for teacher salaries and benefits were 50 percent of total expenditures (excluding capital expenditures). By FY 2008-09 expenditures for teacher salaries and benefits had declined to about 48 percent of total expenditures.
The fourth major finding is that there is remarkably wide variation in total expenditures (excluding capital expenditures) of the individual public school districts in California, as well as wide variation in the percentage of each district’s expenditure for administrators, teachers, and classroom related teaching materials. Some districts allocate over 60 percent of their funds to teacher salaries and benefits, others less than 40 percent. Nearly three-fourths of districts statewide saw expenditures for administrative salaries increase faster than the change in California PCPI during this period, and nearly thirty percent of those districts (almost 200 districts statewide) did not see comparable increases in expenditures for teacher salaries and benefits during the same period. In about 15 percent of districts statewide , just the opposite occurred as administrative costs grew more slowly than PCPI while teacher salaries grew faster. Some districts had many more teachers than the number necessary to achieve their reported average class size, in other districts the reported average class size corresponded much more closely to the ratio of teachers to students. Finally, there was a wide range between districts in the total expenditures per student, with 25 percent of districts spending more than $10,744 per student and 25 percent of districts spending less than $8,297, showing the uneven distribution of education funding throughout the state.