Paradise Valley Unified School District

In fiscal year 2011, Paradise Valley Unified School District’s student achievement was similar to peer districts’, and it operated efficiently overall. The District operated its administration with lower per pupil costs because it employed fewer administrative staff and paid some administrators lower salaries. The District’s per pupil plant operations costs were similar to peer districts’ despite its having a lower cost per square foot because the District maintained a large amount of excess building space. The District should continue to review options to address its excess building capacity. Additionally, the District entered into solar power system contracts in an effort to help lower its electricity costs. However, the contracts are unlikely to meet expectations for saving energy costs because of high initial contract rates for the solar power and several systems were sized too large, resulting in excess electricity that the District sells at a loss. To its credit, the District negotiated with its vendor to recover $1.34 million of estimated financial losses and reduce the size of some of its solar power systems. The District’s food service and transportation programs operated efficiently with lower costs than peer districts’. However, the District needs to strengthen controls over its computer systems.