Miami Unified School District

Miami USD’s fiscal year 2007 per-pupil administrative costs were 31 percent higher than the comparable districts’ average per-pupil costs. The higher costs occurred primarily because the District paid 100 percent of full-time employees’ health insurance costs and $271 a month to subsidize the health and life insurance premiums for each of 50 retirees. The District’s per-rider student transportation costs were 20 percent lower than the comparable districts’ average costs because the District did not employ a transportation director and it had lower costs associated with its buses. Miami USD had lower-than-average plant operation and maintenance costs because it employed fewer plant positions, and its employees performed more maintenance and repairs rather than contracting out for these services. Eligible full-time employees received up to a total of $5,380 each in Proposition 301 monies. However, the District inappropriately used about $34,000 of these monies to supplant other district monies. Miami ESD’s fiscal year 2007 classroom dollar percentage of 51.6 percent was more than 6 percentage points lower than the state average. Although the District did not have a Structured English Immersion (SEI) program for its English Language Learner students in fiscal years 2007 or 2008, it has an approved SEI program for fiscal year 2009.