Queen Creek Unified School District

In fiscal year 2010, Queen Creek Unified School District’s student achievement was similar to peer districts’ and much higher than state averages, and it operated efficiently overall with similar or lower costs in all operational areas other than transportation. The District’s per-pupil administrative costs were 24 percent lower than peer districts’ primarily because it employed fewer administrators and paid some positions lower salaries. However, the District should strengthen controls over access to its computerized accounting and student information systems. The District’s plant operations costs were similar, and its food service program operated efficiently with a cost per meal that was 9 percent lower than peer districts’. Queen Creek USD controlled food service costs by closely monitoring the program, including regularly calculating meals per labor hour and making corresponding adjustments to the number of hours employees worked. The District’s transportation costs were higher per pupil and per mile than peer districts’ in part because its routes were likely inefficient, which contributed to its need to subsidize the program with $270,000 that otherwise potentially could have been spent in the classroom. Additionally, Queen Creek USD over-reported its fiscal year 2011 route miles and was overfunded by $63,000 in state transportation funding.