(05-15-2013 06:25 PM)Chipdip Wrote: Honestly, I've never grasped how a school can't afford to pay their bills. Keep in mind, most buildings have been paid for for years or decades.
Each student is worth about $6700 from the state foundation grant.
A school of 400 takes in about 2.7 million a year from just the foundation grants. That doesn't include federal dollars from Title I, and local bond issues.
Basically that school needs about 15 teachers. I'll error on the high side and say the average teacher costs about 85k with bennies. That works out to about 1.3 million of a 2.7 million dollar budget. Electric, phone, janitorial, gas, secretarial, lunch help, specials teachers (music, band, art). I doubt that makes up the other 1.4 million.
Our superintendent makes $340,000. We have several assistant superintendents making in excess of 125k. Administration is VERY TOP HEAVY, and yes, one super could handle more than one school district (which is happening in a few local districts).
I've always believed schools could EASILY fund themselves. The problem is the administrators are making the money decisions. I can't tell you how many times administrators have adopted a new text series when the old one was perfectly fine and had a lot of years left in it. That costs hundreds of thousands. But it gives the impression that they're doing something to justify their overblown salaries.
Schools aren't funded purely in a vacuum like your example. They also are not largely funded by building. (Albion's decision to cut the HS is because the HS is the most expensive of the buildings, costs more per student there, than in an elementary)
Your scenario isn't quite hitting all the expenses of said HS. You'll need more teachers than that trust me. You'll either need to be able to find some teachers that are dual certifited in Art/Science (which is hard to find) or you'll have to have some that teach smaller classes just to offer the right classes. Also teachers will get a prep period for planning etc. So where you had 15 teachers, you'd at most only have 12 teaching at one time which would equal classes of 33-34 kids if you had the right certification fits. Odds are your 400 kid school would probably have close to 20 full time teachers, and possibly a couple part timers. So taking your 85K number that turns into roughly 1.7-1.8 million in teaching staff alone. Account for say 2 counselors, 2 secretaries, 1 asst principal at 75 K, 1 principal at 100K + their benefits and you are looking at least another 500K. (hopefully the district has contracted out janitorial, and bussing services, but if not that's another cost to add to the school, but let's assume it is and that's spread through the district bottom line)
So let's say we are at a cool 2.25 million. The school has made it clear it has some debt to pay down so they will take another 200K to do that. 2.45 million.
Now you have to pay electric, gas. Change burned out lightbulbs, fix desks or windows, replace books, etc....easy to expect bills in the 300K range per year. So we very quickly have passed the 2.7 number.
Then you add in athletics (hopefully there is a pay to play, but most Albion families probably are exempt from that fee). Coaching salaries, equipment, travel, officials, security etc. Very quickly at a school like Albion you are looking at nearly a 200K number. Meaning we are looking at a realistic budget if operating correctly of at least $3 million.
Elementary schools and middle schools don't have quite the same bottom dollar. Albion stated they believed they were in a $1million dollar hole for that building next year, so to me they could've done a better job, and it's probably do to extra staffing they don't need anymore. This is the problem for shrinking districts, they have larger staffs than they need, and reducing them is a difficult call. And the staff you reduce are your lowest paid numbers anyway, the big checks stick around. The larger the district the easier it is to share resources.
When you see how much money Supers make, and their staff, and assistant supers....it's ridiculous.
The state needs to step in and place a law on max salaries, and benefits for Supers, and limit how many Supers/asst supers a district can have based on it's size.
A lot of tax payers like to point to teachers as making too much, (summer break and all), but it's the Supers that are the biggest winners in the game. Supers are valuable, and vital. But you don't need 4 supers for a district of 3000 kids.
