Overview
State results
District results
Glossary
Resources
Current Report 2020 Report
  • Overview
  • State results
  • District results
  • Glossary
  • Resources
  • Prior Years
    • Current Report
    • 2020 Report
  • Arizona Auditor General
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Reports
    • Resources
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Additional school district resources
    • School District Financial Risk Analysis
    • School District Performance Audit Reports
    • COVID-19 Guidance and Resources
School district spending analysis—Fiscal year 2021

Whiteriver Unified School District

District demographic information
County:
Navajo
Students attending:
2,017
Peer group: The “District peer groups” section on the Glossary page provides more information on how we create the groups and the districts within each group.
Operational 4
Size:
Medium-large
Legislative district(s):
7
5-year change in students attending:
5% decrease
Location:
Town
Special education population:
11%
Number of schools:
5
English learner population:
1%
Graduation rate (2020):
76%
Poverty rate (2020):
34%

District's spending by operational area

Classroom spending, 69.9%
Instruction, 50.0%
Student support, 6.8%
Instruction support, 13.1%
Nonclassroom spending, 30.1%
Administration, 9.4%
Plant operations, 12.7%
Food service, 4.0%
Transportation, 4.0%
For definitions of what is included in operational spending and each of the operational areas, see the “Spending areas” section on the Glossary page.

Every year, school districts must decide where to allocate their resources. This pie chart shows how Whiteriver Unified School District spent its funding by operational area, including the percentage it spent in the classroom and specifically on instruction.

We categorize districts with certain similar qualities into peer groups The “District peer groups” section on the Glossary page provides more information on how we create the groups and the districts within each group. in order to help create meaningful comparisons across districts. Whiteriver Unified School District’s peer group had an average instructional spending percentage of 54.3%. This number can help provide context for Whiteriver Unified School District’s own instructional spending percentage.

We have monitored instructional spending since fiscal year 2001. Below are highlights from Whiteriver Unified School District’s instructional spending trend showing the most recent year-to-year change and the years it spent its highest and lowest percentages on instruction.

Instructional spending percentage highlights (2001-2021)

Reviewing these instructional spending percentage highlights can provide insight into short-term (year-to-year comparison) and long-term (highest and lowest comparison) trends of a district's allocation of monies to instruction. Depending on how much a district spends in total, even small changes in a district’s percentage spent on instruction can equate to large changes in the actual dollars the district spent.

Current fiscal year (2021)

50.0%

Prior fiscal year (2020)

47.6%

Highest fiscal year (2007)

67.2%

Lowest fiscal year (2014)

46.1%

Why monitor school district spending?

Most school district funding is based on the number of students attending, and districts can choose how to spend most funding, so every decision a school district makes to spend on one operational area directly impacts its ability to spend on another.

The bar chart below, "Percentage point change in spending by area," illustrates how Whiteriver Unified School District’s spending by area has changed from the prior year and 5 years ago.

To put the spending percentages in context, it also can be helpful to review a district’s per pupil spending in dollars. For example, 2 districts may spend the same percentage of their resources on instruction, but on a per student basis, 1 district may spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars more than the other.

Percentage point change in spending by area

Change in classroom spending, 4.5%
Instruction, 2.5%
Student support, -0.7%
Instruction support, 2.7%
Change in nonclassroom spending, -4.5%
Administration, -0.7%
Plant operations, -1.3%
Food service, -1.5%
Transportation, -1.0%
Change in classroom spending, 5.3%
Instruction, 2.4%
Student support, -0.7%
Instruction support, 3.6%
Change in nonclassroom spending, -5.3%
Administration, -6.0%
Plant operations, 0.9%
Food service, 0.1%
Transportation, -0.3%

Per pupil spending by area

Area
Classroom spending
Instruction
Student support
Instruction support
Nonclassroom spending
Administration
Plant operations
Food service
Transportation
Total operational
Land and buildings
Equipment
Interest
Other
Total nonoperational
Total per pupil spending
District FY 2020
$6,114
$960
$1,227
$1,987
$1,513
$506
$550
$12,857
$2,314
$1,082
$0
$201
$3,597
$16,454
District FY 2021
$6,983
$951
$1,834
$1,310
$1,766
$564
$558
$13,966
$7,285
$1,089
$0
$193
$8,567
$22,533
Peer average FY 2021
$5,029
$838
$482
$986
$1,072
$397
$407
$9,211
$872
$739
$289
$48
$1,948
$11,159
State-wide FY 2021
$5,521
$905
$576
$1,041
$1,168
$396
$369
$9,976
$1,175
$722
$303
$155
$2,355
$12,331

Operational efficiency measures

Performance measures, such as those shown below, can be used in addition to instructional spending percentage to assess a district's operational efficiency. We have classified the District's spending relative to its peer districts’ average as very low, low, comparable, high, very high, or N/A (not applicable). High or very high spending when compared to peer averages may signify an opportunity for improved efficiency in that area.

N/A is presented for the nonspending related measures, for districts that did not operate a program in that area (i.e., food service or transportation), and for very small districts. For more information, see the “Operational efficiency measure calculations” section on the Glossary page.

Operational area Measure State average Peer average

We develop peer groups to help create meaningful comparisons across districts.

The “District peer groups” section on the Glossary page provides more information on how we create the groups and the districts within each group.

District District spending relative
to the peer average
Administration
Spending per pupil $1,041 $986 $1,310 Very high
Students per administrative position 63 65 70 N/A
Plant operations
Spending per square foot $6.84 $6.02 $6.44 High
Square footage per student 171 ft² 172 ft² 274 ft² N/A
Food service
Spending per meal $3.54 $3.52 $2.64 Very low
Meals per student 113 98 213 N/A
Transportation performance measures are compared using different peer groups because we have found there are other factors, such as the number of miles a district averages for each rider, that impact transportation spending. In fiscal year 2021, we did not develop transportation peer groups for comparison due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on district operations. For more information, see the “Summary of significant changes” section on the Resources page. However, we did still calculate the measures for each individual district. An N/A for a district’s individual measure may mean they do not operate a transportation program or did not operate one for the year, or they did not transport any riders on their routes in fiscal year 2021.
Operational area Measure State average Peer average District District spending relative
to the peer average
Transportation
Spending per mile $7.22 N/A $91.03 N/A
Spending per rider $2,862 N/A $46,901 N/A

Why monitor average teacher salary?

Teacher salaries are one of a school district's most significant costs and have been a topic of high interest in recent years in Arizona. Beginning in fiscal year 2018, the State budget included additional money intended to increase the State’s average teacher salary by 20 percent between fiscal years 2017 and 2021. The trend lines below show how Whiteriver Unified School District’s average teacher salary changed during this time, as well as how it compared to the State average.

We have also included a table that displays other student- and teacher-related measures that may provide additional context for how Whiteriver Unified School District’s average teacher salary may have changed. For instance, changes in a district’s teacher population Teacher population changes ​​​​​​​include retirement of tenured teachers with higher experience who are often paid higher salaries, hiring new teachers with little to no experience who are often paid lower salaries, and hiring teachers who are new to the district, which places them at a lower part of the salary scale. can impact the district’s average teacher salary.

Average teacher salary and other measures

District average teacher salary
State average teacher salary
District amount from Prop 301
Measure 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Students per teacher Students per teacher is total students attending divided by total certified teachers. Total certified teachers includes special-area teachers such as art, music, and physical education teachers. 16.6 17.8 16.7 16.6 15.0
Average years of teacher experience 12.4 10.0 9.5 8.3 8.0
Percentage of teachers in first 3 years 26% 37% 39% 41% 43%

Screen-reader friendly version of this page available for download

You may use the button below to download a text-based representation (TBR) of the numbers and other information presented in the graphics on this page. This file may be helpful to users who require the use of a screen reader or similar assistance.

Download TBR

This page is print-friendly and can be saved as a PDF

We recommend you take advantage of the interactive features of this webpage rather than printing it. However, you may use the button below to print this page. Many printer drivers will also allow you to either print to or save as PDF from the print dialog box.

Copyright © 2023 Arizona Auditor General

Additional school district resources

School District Financial Risk Analysis
School District Performance Audit Reports
COVID-19 Guidance and Resources

Arizona Auditor General

Home
Reports
Careers
About Us
Resources
Contact Us