New Study Finds Increased K-12 Funding, but Smaller Percentage Gets into the Classroom
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.