Washington Elementary School District

Washington ESD’s fiscal year 2007 per-pupil administrative costs were lower than the state average but slightly higher than the comparable districts’ average per-pupil costs. The slightly higher costs occurred primarily in purchased services and are related to information technology service and support costs and consulting costs for activities such as marketing and analyzing employee benefit costs. The District’s student transportation cost per mile was 56 percent higher than the comparable districts’ average, and its per-rider costs were 59 percent higher. Transportation costs were high primarily because the District employed 36 percent more bus drivers than the comparable districts, and it paid out over $100,000 in incentives to its transportation employees. Washington ESD’s plant operation and maintenance per-pupil costs were 10 percent lower than the comparable districts’ average and 21 percent lower than the average for all elementary school districts state-wide. A recently implemented preventative maintenance program could further reduce the District’s plant operation costs. The District spent its Proposition 301 monies for purposes authorized by statute. Washington ESD’s fiscal year 2007 classroom dollar percentage of 60.1 percent was more than 2 percentage points higher than the state average. The District’s desegregation agreement with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, requires it to ensure equal educational opportunities for its English Language Learners (ELL). Washington ESD spent about $6.1 million, or $1,031 per ELL student, in desegregation monies in fiscal year 2007. However, the District did not have a formal plan describing the needs and goals of the desegregation program or how it will spend desegregation monies. In fiscal year 2009, the District will need to expand its ELL program to comply with instructional models being implemented under a 2007 Arizona statute. The District separately accounted for its ELL costs, but not all of these costs were incremental.