Since Fiscal Year 2001, as required by Arizona Revised Statutes 41-1279.03, the Arizona Auditor General has been monitoring Arizona school district spending at both the State and individual district levels to determine the percentage of every dollar they spent in the classroom.
This information is of great interest to taxpayers because the percentage of tax dollars spent on education is well over 50% at both the state and county levels, leaving less than half to fund everything else, like healthcare, law enforcement, and public works.
The analysis for FY2025 was released on February 26, and may be accessed HERE
The news is not good, since this is the third year in a row that the portion spent in the classroom has declined, as reported in the opening paragraph of the analysis:
“Compared to FY 2024, districts spent nearly $53 million less on instruction and the State-wide instructional spending percentage (ISP) fell for the third consecutive year to its lowest percentage since we began monitoring in FY 2001. The ISP declined by 0.5 percentage points to 52.1%, despite total school district spending increasing by $300 million to $13.4 billion. The increased spending was entirely directed to nonoperational areas, including capital improvements and new school construction primarily at 10 districts.”
The issue of new school construction while enrollment has been declining was addressed in a recent ADI article. It included reference to a thorough analysis by the Common Sense Institute and a list of failed attempts by the legislature to remedy the situation. That article may be accessed HERE
This year’s legislative effort to address this issue is in the form of a House Bill HB4103 which would restrict a school district governing board from calling a bond election if the ratio of the school district’s enrollment to its enrollment capacity is less than 50%. That bill recently passed the House, but without a single Democrat vote, which makes it unlikely that it will become law. Democrats have an uncanny aversion to sensible use of taxpayer money.
The Auditor General’s office has taken the position that significant progress may be made if some common-sense actions are taken and has issued a list of those actions in their FY2025 analysis.
“By implementing our recommendations for reducing waste and increasing efficiency, districts could reduce their operational spending and direct any savings toward instruction—teacher salary increases, instructional supplies, class size reductions—or other district priorities.
Our reports issued between 2021 and 2025 found that by increasing efficiency and eliminating misuse and wasteful spending, districts could have saved over $9 million, of which at least $3.6 million could be saved annually.”
Here is a list of those recommendations
| DISTRICT PRACTICES AND ISSUES CONTRIBUTING TO HIGHER COSTS | IDENTIFIED SAVINGS |
| Noninstructional staffing levels and/or compensation rates that are higher than peer averages; employees paid for potentially unnecessary overtime or for hours not worked; and inadequate oversight over payroll processes resulting in unsupported payments and errors | $2,782,191 |
| Operating schools far below designed capacity and maintaining excess space | $2,550,200 |
| Not charging or collecting adequate tuition and fees or obtaining grants or donations to cover costs of community programs and facilities it leased to others | $1,980,036 |
| Disadvantageous solar contract terms, and higher utilities rates and usage in comparison to its peers | $660,000 |
| Inadequate oversight of accounting processes resulting in theft and/or misuse of public monies, overpayments to vendors and others, unauthorized purchases, and penalties and interest paid to credit card companies or the Internal Revenue Service | $609,136 |
| Incurring unnecessary and/or wasteful travel expenses and/or reimbursing employees and governing board members in excess of State travel policy allowances for meals and other travel costs | $405,161 |
| Not appropriately charging for meals; excessive food waste or higher costs; overproducing meals or not monitoring meal production; and inadequate oversight over participation in federal reimbursement programs | $163,893 |
| Providing food and beverages at district events without governing board approval | $27,921 |
| Total potential cost savings | $9,178,538 |
But implementing ay such recommendations may be quite difficult because the governor and most Democrat legislators have the ear of organizations like Save Our Schools and the AZ Education Association, whose only remedy to every problem is to increase spending.
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