June 27, 2006 - State Auditor Releases Report on School District and Charter School Finances - Enrollment Decline Continues, Costs Increase, Minnesota Office of the State Auditor.
In June 2005, the Office of the Minnesota State Auditor produced the report, Financial Trends of Minnesota School Districts and Charter Schools For the period 2000 to 2004.
Key Findings
The report analyzes school district finances from 2000 to 2004. It examines key factors that drive costs in education as well as revenue and expenditure trends. The report’s key findings include the following:
- Enrollment Declines Slightly, Spending Increases—Between 2000 and 2004, total operating expenditures of public school districts and charter schools increased an average of 18 percent, growing from $6.1 billion to $7.2 billion. Because enrollment declined slightly during these years, per pupil spending showed an even larger increase—20 percent.
- Major Cost Drivers—The report identifies five major factors driving the increase in total education spending. Especially noteworthy are a 31 percent increase in special education spending and a 32 percent increase in benefits paid to school employees. (chart)
- Class Sizes—The average number of students per teacher increased in regular school districts but decreased in charter schools. For school districts with more than 1,000 students, the ratio increased from 16.2 to 16.8. School districts with fewer than 1,000 students saw their ratio increase from 10.8 to 13.1. For charter schools, the ratio decreased from 16.9 students per teacher in 2000 to 14.2 in 2004.
- Increase in Special Population Students—While overall enrollment declined in Minnesota’s public schools, the number of students classified in various subgroups of total enrollment increased. Between 2000 and 2004, the number of minority students increased 22 percent, the number of non-English speaking students increased 50 percent, the number of students receiving special education services increased 6 percent, and the number of students classified as low-income increased 8 percent.
Rankings Available Online
Based on the data included in the report, all school districts were ranked in a number of categories on a per pupil basis. Citizens and policymakers can use this information to see how their revenues, expenditures and demographic information compare to other schools in the state.
Search and Compare your School District
Additional Resources
May 2006 - Public Pensions in Minnesota: Re-Definable Benefits and Under-Reported Performance, Minnesota Taxpayers Association Center for Public Finance Research.
September 2005 - School Funding: Facts and Figures (Power Point) (pdf), Association of Metropolitan School Districts:
The Percent of Districts with Operating Referendum has Grown Significantly.
Of the $800 million in new funding for schools, $139 million is projected to come from local levies.
Of this, the Minnesota Department of Education expects that $31.7 million will come from the passage of new referenda.
The Basic Formula Allowance Has Not Kept Pace with Inflation.
March 2005 - The Real Cost of Cuts: How the 2003 budget cuts have impacted real people, "A combined $622 million in cuts affected educational services from pre-school to adult basic education.... All the philanthropic dollars available simply cannot take the place of public investment in meeting the basic needs of Minnesota’s citizens," Emmett D. Carson, Ph. D., President and CEO, The Minneapolis Foundation.
September 2004 - Basic education funding formula continues to lose pace to inflation (page 3), Association of Metropolitan School Districts.
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