Piñon Unified School District

In fiscal year 2015, Piñon USD’s student achievement was similar to the peer districts’, and it operated with much higher per pupil costs in all noninstructional areas. Specifically, the District’s administrative costs were much higher than the peer districts’ average primarily because of higher staffing and salaries. In addition, the District lacked adequate controls over its credit card purchases and computer systems. The District’s plant operations costs per pupil and per square foot were much higher than the peer districts’ averages because the District maintained more square footage per student than the peer districts averaged, and it employed more custodians. The District’s food service program was reasonably efficient with a slightly lower cost per meal than the peer districts’ average. Finally, the District’s transportation costs per mile and per rider were much higher than the peer districts’ averages likely because of higher staffing and overtime payments. In addition, the District had much higher supply costs associated with the repair and maintenance of its bus fleet. In addition to much higher costs, the District could not demonstrate that its buses received required preventative maintenance in a timely manner, which may have also contributed to its higher supply costs.