Glossary of key terms
Spending areas
Total spending:
Total spending represents districts' combined operational spending and nonoperational spending.
Operational spending
Operational spending includes costs school districts incurred for their day-to-day operations in these 7 categories:Instruction
Student support
Instruction support
Administration
Plant operations
Food service
Transportation
Nonoperational spending
Nonoperational spending includes costs school districts incurred to acquire capital assets (such as purchasing or leasing land, buildings, and equipment), interest, and programs such as adult education and community service that are outside the scope of preschool through grade 12 education, but excludes principal payments on bond debt.2 Nonoperational spending includes costs in these 4 categories:Land and buildings
Equipment
Interest
Other
District demographic information
County
Our analysis of Arizona Department of Education (ADE)-provided county data. For district boundaries encompassing more than 1 county, the county in which the district office resides is presented.
Peer group
To compare districts’ operational spending, we developed operational peer groups. See the District peer groups section below.
Legislative district(s)
Our analysis of school district and legislative district boundaries.
Location
Our analysis of the NCES’ fiscal year 2020 (the most recent year for available data) urban-centric locale codes that use geocoding and population information to assign a designation based on proximity to population clusters. The 4 main categories are city, suburb, town, and rural.
Number of schools
Our analysis of ADE-provided, district-reported attending average daily membership (ADM) reports and Arizona Department of Administration School Facilities Oversight Board (ADOA-SFOB) district-wide building reports.
Graduation rate
For districts serving high school students, the fiscal year 2020 (the most recent year for available data) 4-year cohort graduation rates obtained from ADE in August 2021. The State average is the fiscal year 2020 graduation rate reported by ADE.
Students attending
Our analysis of ADE-provided, district-reported attending ADM counts. ADM numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number.
Size
District sizes were categorized as follows:
Size | Students attending |
---|---|
Very small | Fewer than 200 |
Small | 200 to 499 |
Medium-small | 500 to 1,199 |
Medium | 1,200 to 1,999 |
Medium-large | 2,000 to 5,999 |
Large | 6,000 to 14,999 |
Very-large | 15,000+ |
5-year change in students attending
Our analysis of ADE-provided, district-reported attending ADM counts for fiscal years 2016 and 2021.
Special education population
Our analysis of ADE-provided, district-reported special education unduplicated attending ADM counts and ADE-provided, district-reported total attending ADM counts. The district and State percentages were calculated by dividing special education ADM by total ADM.
English learner population
Our analysis of ADE-provided, district-reported English learner unduplicated attending ADM counts and ADE-provided, district-reported total attending ADM counts. The district and State percentages were calculated by dividing English learner ADM by total ADM.
Poverty rate
Our analysis of U.S. Census Bureau fiscal year 2020 (the most recent year for available data) Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates published in December 2021. District and State poverty rates were calculated by dividing the number of children 5 to 17 years old who were living at or below the federal poverty level by the total number of children 5 to 17 years old living in the district or State.
District peer groups
Operational peer group number | Type | Location | Size | Number of districts |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Unified and Union High School | Cities and suburbs | Very large | 11 |
2 | Unified and Union High School | Cities and suburbs | Large | 11 |
3 | Unified and Union High School | Cities and suburbs | Medium-large and Medium | 13 |
4 | Unified and Union High School | Towns and rural areas | Large and Medium-large | 16 |
5 | Unified and Union High School | Towns and rural areas | Medium | 18 |
6 | Unified and Union High School | Towns and rural areas | Medium-small | 15 |
7 | Unified and Union High School | Towns and rural areas | Small | 17 |
8 | Elementary School | Cities and suburbs | Very large and Large | 11 |
9 | Elementary School | Cities and suburbs | Medium-large, Medium, and Medium-small | 18 |
10 | Elementary School | Towns and rural areas | Medium-large, Medium, and Medium-small | 11 |
11 | Elementary School | Towns and rural areas | Small | 8 |
12 | Elementary School, Unified, and Union High School | Towns and rural areas | Very small | 58 |
Spending area calculations
Spending by operational area
Our analysis of spending in each operational area divided by total operational spending, using district-reported accounting data and Annual Financial Reports (AFRs). The peer average instructional spending percentages were calculated by adding individual districts’ instructional spending percentages and dividing by the number of districts in each peer group. The classroom spending percentages were calculated by adding individual districts’ instructional, student support, and instruction support percentages. The nonclassroom spending percentages were calculated by adding individual districts’ administration, plant operations, food service, and transportation percentages. On the State results page, we also include a breakdown of the spending in the nonclassroom areas of administration, plant operations, food service, and transportation by category to help provide additional context as to what districts are generally spending on when allocating funds to those areas.
Instructional spending percentage highlights
Our analysis of district-reported accounting data and AFRs for fiscal years 2001 through 2021. When a district’s lowest or highest percentage value occurred in multiple years, the most recent year was reported.
Percentage point change in spending by area
Our analysis of the change in the percentage spent in each operational area between fiscal years 2016 and 2021, and between fiscal years 2020 and 2021 using district-reported accounting data and AFRs.
Per pupil spending by area
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District
Our analysis of fiscal years 2020 and 2021 operational and nonoperational spending divided by the number of students, using district-reported accounting data and AFRs, and ADE-provided, district-reported attending ADM data.
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Peer average
Our analysis of operational peer districts’ per pupil spending. The peer group averages exclude districts with extreme or unreliable values and were calculated by averaging individual districts’ per pupil spending in each operational and nonoperational area.
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State average
Our analysis of district-reported accounting data and AFRs, and ADE-provided, district-reported attending ADM data. The State’s per pupil amounts were calculated by dividing total spending in each operational and nonoperational area by the total ADM.
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National average
NCES’ fiscal year 2019 data, the most recently available national data.
Operational efficiency measure calculations
Operational measures relative to peer averages
We compared some district operational spending measures to peer group averages. We identified whether the district’s spending measures were very low/very high, low/high, or comparable to its peer averages and indicated the determination by a color bar for each spending measure. The operational measures and relativity to peer group averages are explained in more detail below. In addition, for the 58 very small districts, we provided comparative information but did not identify the relativity with a color bar because these districts’ spending patterns are highly variable and result in less meaningful group averages. The peer averages were calculated by averaging individual districts’ numbers for each measure. Some districts were excluded from peer averages for certain operational measures because their extreme values would skew the peer average. The following criteria were used to determine the operational measures relative to peer averages:- Very low—Lower than the peer average by more than 15 percent.
- Low—Lower than the peer average by 5.01 to 15 percent.
- Comparable—Within 5 percent of the peer average.
- High—Higher than the peer average by 5.01 to 15 percent.
- Very high—Higher than the peer average by more than 15 percent.
Administration
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Spending per pupil
Our analysis of administrative spending divided by the number of students, using district-reported accounting data and ADE-provided, district-reported attending ADM data. -
Students per administrative position
The number of students divided by the number of administrative full-time equivalent employees (FTEs), using ADE-provided, district-reported attending ADM data and district-reported information on the School District Employee Report.
Plant operations
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Spending per square foot
Our analysis of plant operations and maintenance spending divided by the total square footage, using district-reported accounting data and ADOA-SFOB-provided, district-confirmed, district-wide square foot totals. -
Square footage per student
Our analysis of the total square footage divided by the number of students, using ADOA-SFOB-provided and district-confirmed, district-wide square foot totals and ADE-provided, district-reported attending ADM data.
Food service
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Spending per meal
Our analysis of food service spending divided by the total number of meals served, using district-reported accounting data and AFRs. -
Meals per student
Our analysis of the total number of meals served divided by the number of students, using AFRs and ADE-provided, district-reported attending ADM data.
Transportation
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Spending per mile
Our analysis of transportation spending divided by the total miles driven, using district-reported accounting data and ADE-provided, district-reported transportation route reports. -
Spending per rider
Our analysis of transportation spending divided by the total eligible riders transported, using district-reported accounting data and ADE-provided, district-reported transportation route reports.