School
Costs:
The Value of Small Schools in Missouri
National research shows that:
1)
Small schools do not
necessarily cost more to operate
2)
Administrator costs in
small schools do not necessarily absorb a larger portion of overall costs than
in large schools
Missouri-specific
research
Financial Distress:
<
Eleven Missouri school
districts were designated as “financially stressed” in 2002-03[1]
<
Of those 11 districts: 2
were small rural K-8 districts; 3 were rural K-12 districts under 200 students;
1 rural K-12 district of 700 students
was located within a metro area; 1 was a consolidated, rural, county-wide K-12
district with 3500 students; 2 were K-12 districts in large towns with more
than 1200 and 1500 students enrolled, respectively; and 2 were urban K-12
districts with enrollments of 3500 and 41,000 respectively. Financially stressed districts are found
throughout Missouri with schools of all size enrollments, in both rural and
non-rural areas.
Cost of Operation[2]:
<
The average 2002-03
current expenditure per pupil across all Missouri districts is $6633. The expenditure per pupil in K-8 districts
exceeds that in K-12 districts by only $497, despite an average difference in
enrollment of 1833 students
o
For K-8 districts the
current expenditure per pupil is $7058
o
For K-12 districts the
current expenditure per pupil is $6561
<
The median enrollment
across all Missouri school districts is 630 students. (Half of the districts
have more than 630 students enrolled; half have less than 630 enrolled.) Those districts under 630 enrollment spend
$775 more per student than do districts over 630 enrollment
o
For districts under 630
enrollment, the current expenditure per pupil is $7021
o
For districts over 630
enrollment, the current expenditure per pupil is $6245
<
Current expenditures per
pupil are $14 more in rural areas
than in non-rural areas.[3] But the current expenditures per pupil in
rural areas is $746 less than in
urban/suburban areas.
o
For K-12 districts
located in rural areas - $6566
o
For K-12 districts
located in non-rural areas - $6552
§
For
K-12 districts located in urban/suburban areas - $7312
§
For
K-12 districts located in non-metro towns
- $5821
<
The total cost per
graduate[4]
in rural districts is $6326 less
than in non-rural districts
o
In rural districts, the
cost per graduate is $95,907
o
In non-rural districts,
the cost per graduate is $102,233
§
In
urban/suburban areas, the cost per graduate is $116,800
§
In
non-metro towns, the cost per graduate is $88,227
Administrator Costs:
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The median size of K-12
districts in Missouri is 744 students
<
Those districts with
less than 744 students spend 10.67% of the total expenditures on administrative
costs, as currently defined; those districts with more than 744 students spend
8.51% of their total expenditures on administrative costs
<
But those districts with
higher administrative costs span all district sizes and locations in the state
<
As Core Data is
currently collected, administrative costs fail to take into account all
non-administrative duties carried out by small school administrators. Small school superintendents and principals
routinely take on duties typically carried out by support staff in larger
districts, thereby over-representing administrative costs in small schools.