Arizona Public School Districts' Dollars Spent in the Classroom, Fiscal Year 2003

Based on our analysis of fiscal year 2003 data, Arizona school districts spent 58.6 percent of their dollars in the classroom, a slight increase from the 58.2 percent for fiscal year 2002. However, the most recent national average was 61.5 percent, and the ten districts closest to Arizona in per-pupil spending averaged 61.6 percent. The primary factor associated with higher classroom spending continued to be larger student populations. Higher plant, transportation, and administrative costs were associated with lower classroom percentages.

Within Arizona, higher per-pupil total spending does not equate to higher classroom dollar percentages. In fact, districts that spend the most per pupil have lower classroom dollar percentages, on average.

Districts spent Proposition 301 monies almost solely for instructional staff’s salaries and benefits, complying with the requirement to spend at least 60 percent of the monies for that purpose. On average, districts reported that Proposition 301 monies accounted for 10 percent of teacher pay.

The report also contains alphabetically organized one-page information sheets on individual districts, summarizing each district’s classroom spending and administrative costs, its reported Proposition 301 program results, and other comparative information.