Lake Havasu Unified School District

Lake Havasu USD’s fiscal year 2007 per-pupil administrative costs were slightly higher than comparable districts’ primarily because of purchased professional and technical services and printing and binding costs. Also, the District needs to increase its monitoring of district credit cards and cell phones and better protect sensitive electronic information. The District’s student transportation costs per rider were more than twice the comparable districts’ average partly because it transported its riders 2½ times farther than comparable districts, and partly because its routes were inefficient. As a result, the District subsidized its transportation program by about $217,000. Also, the District’s lack of adequate controls over the use of its fuel cards made them susceptible to fraudulent fuel purchases. Lake Havasu USD’s plant operation and maintenance costs were 11 percent lower than the comparable districts’ primarily because it had fewer plant employees and Lake Havasu City paid for the District’s water. However, the District could reduce its plant costs further by reducing its electricity costs, which were 41 percent higher than comparable districts’ average. Lake Havasu USD’s performance pay plan was incomplete in that it did not specify the amount of performance pay employees could earn. Additionally, some performance monies were paid to employees for regular duties. The District’s classroom dollar percentage of 60.2 percent was about 2.5 percentage points above the comparable districts’ and State’s averages. Lake Havasu USD identified approximately 5 percent (334 students) of its students as English language learners (ELL) and has begun making changes to its ELL program to meet new state requirements.