Agua Fria Union High School District

In fiscal year 2002, the District’s per-pupil administrative costs were 22 percent higher than the comparable districts averaged, primarily due to having 27 percent more administrative staff. The District’s food service program was self-supporting and its $1.76 cost per meal was below that of the comparable districts. In addition, the District’s student transportation program costs were in-line with the comparable districts’ costs. However, the District had high plant operation and maintenance costs because it maintains larger facilities and had higher repair and maintenance costs than the comparable districts. These higher costs were primarily associated with the District’s contract to expand and improve its chiller system. Further, the District incorrectly classified the $800,000 chiller system contract’s operating and capital costs as an electricity expense.  After correcting these errors, the District exceeded its maintenance and operation budget by about $140,000 and its capital budget by about $660,000. While the District spent its Proposition 301 monies for allowable purposes, it did not retain documentation to demonstrate that eligible employees met performance pay measures. The District spent about $615,000 on its desegregation plan, with 55 percent being spent on instruction. Finally, the District’s corrected fiscal year 2002 classroom dollar percentage was 53.3; however, the state-wide average for that fiscal year was 58.2 percent.