Pearce Elementary School District

In fiscal year 2011, Pearce Elementary School District’s student AIMS scores were similar to peer districts’ averages. Although per pupil costs were high in some operational areas, the District was reasonably efficient overall. Pearce ESD’s per pupil administration costs were similar to the peer districts’ average, and although its plant operations, food service, and transportation program operated with higher per pupil costs than peer districts, these areas operated in a reasonably efficient manner overall. Pearce ESD’s plant costs were higher, in part, because the District’s buildings were twice as old as the peer districts’, on average, and its transportation costs were higher per pupil because the District drove nearly twice the number of miles per rider than peer districts. Also, auditors did not identify any overstaffing or unusually high salaries or food waste in the District’s food service program. Although relatively efficient, the District should strengthen some of its accounting controls, including ensuring proper separation of duties for its payroll and purchasing processes and ensuring purchases are properly approved before they are made. The District should also strengthen some of its computer controls, such as the requirements for network passwords.