Winslow Unified School District

In fiscal year 2012, Winslow Unified School District’s student achievement was similar to peer districts’, on average, and its cost-efficiency in noninstructional areas was mixed, with some costs higher and some costs lower than peer districts’, on average. The District’s per pupil administrative costs were 24 percent higher than peer districts’, on average, primarily because it employed more administrative positions than similarly sized districts and partly because it had some infrequent administrative costs that year. In addition to reviewing its administrative staffing levels, the District needs to strengthen its accounting and computer controls. The District’s plant costs were higher primarily because it maintained a large amount of excess school building space, which was likely not needed because most of the District’s schools operated far below their designed capacities. The District’s food service program operated with slightly higher costs than the peer district average, and the program was not self-supporting, requiring a subsidy of approximately $135,000. These higher costs may have been a result of the District not sufficiently overseeing the vendor operating the program. The District’s transportation program operated in a reasonably efficient manner, despite having higher costs per pupil, but the District needs to strengthen controls over fuel purchases, improve bus preventative maintenance, and accurately calculate and report the number of students transported.