ISD 197 SRAC (part 3 - cost)

(for those catching up: see and )

In , I wrote about the appropriate and required functions of the public schools.  The next question is: How much money is being spent?

The "output" of the district is the "education" of roughly 4,400 students in grades K-12.  A little simple math tells us that we are spending about $11,000 per student per year. ($50 million divided by 4,400 = $11,363)

If you read the ISD 197 literature about the levy, you might come away thinking that the cost is only the "local" property taxes, but the local taxes are only part of the story.  The state and federal governments pay 74% of the cost.  That is still our tax money.  It just took a trip to Washington or St. Paul.

A quick survey of a few local private schools tells me ISD 197 is about in the lower-middle of the cost curve.  The other schools I contacted ranged from $5,340/year to $18,600. No, these are not "apples to apples" comparisons.  The other schools vary in what they offer, and some are dramatically different, but these schools are offering an alternative education and are charging thousands of dollars for something the taxpaying parents of ISD 197 have already paid for.  One in four (28%) of the potential students in ISD 197 enroll in these private schools.  Some of these schools have waiting lists.  These schools offer something compelling that ISD 197 parents are willing to sacrifice mightily to get.  (Another 10% of students choose charters, or open enrollment in other districts, so only 62% of ISD 197 students attend ISD 197 schools.)

To provide an idea of where our tax money is spent, I encourage you to visit the ISD 197 web site.  The biggest question in my mind is whether this $11,000 is being spent on things that I consider essential for public schools, and how much is going to "shiny objects".  Core curriculum - reading, writing, history, geography - are not sexy, but in my view, they are the essential parts of public education.  (see )  Unfortunately, it is difficult to tell from the budget documents how tightly the schools are focused on this essential core.

My opinion has been guided by what I have learned about the non-core spending.  A look at this document - the 2011-2014 Technology Plan - gives an idea of where ISD 197's priorities are.  Note page 32, which details a $2.6 million cost for "technology".  Is this core to education, or a "shiny object"?

I do not pretend to know all the things being done in the district, but I know that there are programs that are not "core" to my vision of education, and I know that the members and leadership of of SRAC have resisted talking about setting firm priorities to guide that spending.  The priority in SRAC appears to be to satisfy all the constituencies that want different things from the schools.  This is not an environment dominated by fiscal discipline, but one dominated by politics.

Next up - ISD 197 SRAC (part 4 - yes or no?)