Duncan Unified School District

In fiscal year 2012, Duncan Unified School District’s student achievement was similar to peer district averages, and the District operated efficiently overall. Although the District’s administrative costs per pupil were slightly higher than the peer districts’ average, the District has taken steps to reduce its costs by reducing its number of administrative positions. The District’s food service and transportation programs were reasonably efficient with a slightly lower cost per meal and a lower cost per mile than peer districts’, respectively. In addition, the District’s plant operations costs per square foot were slightly lower than the peer districts’ average, in part, because it used inmate workers to perform maintenance at a very low cost to the District. However, the District needs to improve its purchasing and computer controls. The District also needs to accurately determine, and report to the Arizona Department of Education, its ridership information to help ensure the District is properly funded and to allow it the ability to calculate and monitor transportation performance measures such as cost per rider and bus capacity utilization. Further, although the District appears to properly supervise its inmate workers, it should ensure that it meets all statutory requirements for inmate worker documentation.