The Numbers: Crunched and Explained

An Analysis of Vermont's Education Spending
by
Hugh Kemper

As a follow up to Art Woolf’s recent column, the following tries to make per pupil spending more transparent. For tax year 06/fiscal year 07 (the most recent year for which comparable data is available) per pupil costs are calculated at the state and local school district level. Explanatory notes and web links follow this text.

State Per Pupil Spending Calculations (TY06/FY07):

(1) Current Expenditures/Students in Membership

SASRS (Summary of the Annual Statistical Reports of Schools) provides annually a statewide average current expenditure per student in membership. The numerator is current expenditures (per the Federal definition) and the denominator is essentially the number of full time equivalent students. The FY07 per pupil cost was $13,287 ($1,200,652,855/90,363). Since FY97 current expenditures have grown at a 5.8% annual rate. As enrollment has declined, however, this cost per pupil has grown at a 6.8% annual rate.

(2) Current Expenditures/Fall Enrollment

The USDOE’s preferred calculation divides current expenditures by Fall Enrollment (as of October 1st of each year). For FY07 Vermont’s per pupil cost equaled $12,575 ($1,200,652,855/95,481). This per pupil cost has grown at an annual rate of 7.0% since FY97.

Local Per Pupil Spending Calculation (TY06/FY07):

The calculation most familiar to Vermonters is the equalized per pupil cost utilized in determining local property tax rates. This calculation divides local education spending by a school district’s total equalized pupils. For FY07 the equalized per pupil cost for Vermont equaled $10,463 ($1,015,001,864/97,002.60). Its annualized growth rate also approximated 7.0% p.a. (since FY00).

It’s understandable that confusion prevails among Vermonters discussing per pupil and education spending in general. At the local level we’re seeing approximately 85% of the actual costs incurred and we’re dividing that number by, on average, a higher number of pupils.

One final thought:

Between FY97 and FY05 (the most recent year of comparable spending data) Vermont’s per pupil spending grew at an annual rate of 7.4%, the highest growth rate in the US (which grew at a 4.9% annual rate).  The principal cost driver in Vermont was staff wages/benefits which comprise 80% of total current expenditures and reflect, in part, a 22.3% increase in staffing while enrollment declined 7.5%. Vermont’s FY05 Pupil/Teacher (P/T) ratio at 11.3 (vs. 15.8 for the US) and Pupil/Staff (P/S) ratio at 5.2 (vs. 8.1 for the US) were the lowest in the US. With continuing increases in staff and declines in enrollment the P/T and P/S ratios were 11.1 and 4.9 respectively in FY08.

Notes on the Terms and Methodology

Elementary/Secondary Public School Enrollment
Enrollment as of October 1st (a.k.a. Fall Enrollment)

Average Daily Membership
Average Daily Membership (ADM) is a count of resident and state-placed students who receive an elementary or secondary education at public expense; data are listed by town according to a student’s residence. Resident students are counted during the period from the 11th to the 30th day of the current school year, while state-placed students are counted for the school year prior to the current census period. Data are used in calculating equalized pupils which are used to determine the homestead tax rates.

Student in Membership Count
The student count is calculated by combining the number of Attendances and Absences for each Public School and dividing by the number of Session Days the school was officially in session. Students attending less than full time are prorated into full time equivalent (FTE) totals.

Equalized Per Pupil Spending
A key calculation in determining a school district’s ultimate education property tax rate is education spending/equalized pupils. Education spending is essentially a school district’s total education budget less (a) state/federal reimbursement of SpEd costs, (b) state reimbursement of transportation costs and (c) other income (e.g. federal food subsidies).  Equalized pupils is a relatively complex calculation that incorporates an equalizing ratio. The equalizing ratio’s numerator is the long term (i.e. two year) unweighted ADM of resident and state placed students. The denominator is the long term weighted student count, i.e. for FY09- EEE/pre-K at 0.45, secondary students at 1.13, poverty students at 0.25 and LEP students at 0.20.  The equalizing ratio is applied to each school district’s weighted long term student count to determine its total equalized pupils. For FY09 Vermont’s equalizing ratio was 0.92754 (95,047.02/102,471.65). As the components of the calculation have changed at times equalized pupil counts in one year are not necessarily comparable with those in other years. 

Comments

[GB]

State spending in VT is expected to change when? Who is going to change it? As bad as it may seem Vermont still has a long way to fall. Vermont's economic situation is not going to change and it is insane to endure Vermont's standard of living waiting for relief that will not happen. Anyone with half a brain and an ounce of productivity should take it somewhere else. Love the suck or leave the suck.

[Paul]

I remember a few times in my years ago teaching days when the principal popped in and said to get a count of my 6th grade class. "And get that count as high as you can!" I never knew what that meant. I figured it had something to do with funding. I wasn't sure if I was being asked to lie in my counting or if was supposed to be the actual number. Makes me wonder if that message still goes out...."Get that count as high as you can!"

[David Bumgardner]

Thanks, Geoff - David