Somerton ESD Performance Audit Highlights

Az Auditor General

Informations

• Publié par: Mifog
• Nombre de lectures: 42
• Langue: English

Extrait

Somerton Elementary
School District
REPORT
HIGHLIGHTS Administration
PERFORMANCE AUDIT
Subject
Somerton has more administrative
The Somerton positions and higher administrative costs
Elementary School
than the comparable districts. Somerton'sDistrict is located in the
per-pupil administrative costs of $905southwestern corner of
Arizona in Yuma County, were 51 percent higher than the average
and includes the city of for comparable districts and 41 percent
Somerton and parts of higher than the state average. Desert Sonora Elementary Schoolthe cities of Yuma and
Source: Photo taken by Auditor General staff.
San Luis. In FY 2006, the
Administrative Cost Per PupilDistrict served 2,678
students, the majority Fiscal Year 2006  Somerton ESD had two more administrator
(66 percent) of who were
$1,000 positions dedicated to acquiring and
$905English Language
managing grant programs. Somerton
$800Learners (ELL), and $731
spends about $5 million in federal and$634 $561 $557 $600about one-third of who
$600 $519 state grants while the comparable districtswere migrant.
$400 average about $1.5 million.
Our Conclusion $200  It has positions that most of the
comparable districts don't have, including$0Somerton has very high
Somerton Blue Ridge Santa Cruz Lil eton Liberty Mohave Average an assistant superintendent and an
administrative and plant ESD USD Valley ESD ESD Valley
assistant finance director. The District alsoUSDoperation and
employed more clerks, secretaries, andmaintenance costs. It
accounting staff.also has high student More administrative staff—There
transportation costs. As a are three primary causes for Somerton
result, the District spent Weak accounting system
ESD’s having more administrative staffonly 50 percent of each controls—The District did not
than the comparable districts:dollar in the classroom–8 adequately limit some users' access to
points below the state
 It had more school administration staff than safeguard its accounting system.average of 58.3 percent.
comparable districts because it operatedSomerton did not
more schools that averaged fewer studentsseparately account for its
per school. Its newest school served justincremental ELL costs in
300 kindergarten and special needsFY 2007.
preschool students.
Recommendations
The District should:
 Review administrative positions and duties to determine how staffing can be
reduced.
 Implement proper access controls over its accounting system.2008
May • 2008Student Transportation
During FY 2006, the District's per-mile Nondriving time—The District
transportation costs were 11 percent scheduled its drivers to spend 5 hours
higher than the average for comparable per week fueling and cleaning the buses.
districts. This contributed to the District’s Other districts that auditors have reviewed
spending $116,000 more on transportation typically do not schedule such time.
than it received in funding. Although bus drivers need some
nondriving time for tasks such as busInefficient routes—Contributing to the
inspections and trip preparation, thehigher cost for transportation was the
amount of time Somerton ESD allowed forinefficiency of some bus
this activity appeared excessive. Further,routes. While the DistrictTransportation Cost Per Rider because each bus travels an average ofaveraged about 70Fiscal Year 2006 only 50 miles per day, the buses shouldn'tpercent utilization, some
$700 need a full cleaning and fueling each day.$634 routes had 10 or fewer
$600
$514 $496 $482 students. Somerton Performance measures—The
$500
$443 $437
$384 drivers transported 23 District also has not established and$400
percent fewer riders and$300 monitored performance measures to
$200 drove 30 percent fewer evaluate its transportation program.
$100 miles, on average, than Measures such as cost per mile, cost per
$0 comparable districts' rider, driver productivity, and bus utilization
Santa Cruz Blue Ridge Somerton Liberty Mohave Lil eton Average
Valley USD USD ESD ESD Valley ESD ESD drivers. can help evaluate efficiency and identify
cost savings.
Recommendations
The District should:
 Review and modify bus routes to increase efficiency.
 Limit the nondriving time it pays its bus drivers.
 Establish and monitor performance measures.
Plant Operation and Maintenance
Somerton's $6.64 per-square-foot plant staffed similarly to the other districts,
operations and maintenance costs were Somerton would have about 6.5 fewer
38 percent higher than the $4.81 average positions.
for comparable districts.
High communication costs—Plant
More employees— costs are also high because the DistrictCost Per Square Foot
Somerton's high plant costs has high communications costs. The
Fiscal Year 2006
are largely due to having District paid 159 percent more for its data
$7.00 $6.64
more plant employees, and voice communications lines because
$6.00
$5.49
$5.27 $4.81 including more supervisors, of the rural location of its schools and the
$5.00 $4.61
$4.33 $4.34 and each employee’s number of lines used.$4.00
$3.00 maintaining fewer square High electricity costs—Somerton's
$2.00 feet than employees in the
electricity costs were 45 percent higher
$1.00 comparable districts. If
per square foot than comparable
$0.00
Somerton Blue Ridge Mohave Lil eton Santa Cruz Liberty Average
ESD USD Valley ESD ESD Valley USD ESD
2pagegroups. This included Saturday readingdistricts’. Contributing to this higher use of
classes, adult education programs, andelectricity was significant usage of facilities
community college classes.after school by students and nonstudent
Recommendations
The District should:
 Review staffing levels to determine whether staffing levels can be reduced.
 Evaluate its communications system to determine how it can reduce its cost.
 Evaluate energy usage and implement an energy conservation plan.
Proposition 301 Monies
Proposition 301 increased the state-wide  $1,628 in performance pay
 $1,124 in menu pay sales tax by 0.6 percent for 20 years
beginning in FY 2001. Proposition 301 Performance pay—Although 10
designates the money for teachers' base
percent of the performance pay was based
pay increases, performance pay, and
on student attendance, most of the
certain menu options such as reducing
performance pay was awarded based on
classroom size, providing dropout
activities that employees were already
prevention programs, and additional pay
expected to perform. These included
increases. In FY 2006, the District
developing instructional calendars,
distributed $928,867 in Proposition 301
monitoring student progress, and attending
monies to employees. Eligible employees
weekly team meetings. Further, about half of
could receive up to a total of $3,594
the student attendance goals for the
consisting of:
performance pay were not met, but all
 $842 in base pay
eligible employees still received that portion
of the performance pay.
Recommendations
The District should:
 Establish meaningful performance goals for activities not already required.
 Only award performance pay if the related goals are met.
Classroom Dollars
Somerton's classroom dollar percentage such as administration, plant operations,
was 50 percent, almost 10 percent lower instructional support services, and food
than the comparable districts’ and 8.3 services.
percent lower than the state average of Somerton spent more per Per-Pupil Expenditures
58.3 percent. Therefore, even though the pupil mainly because of Fiscal Year 2006
District spent more total dollars per federal and state grant
Total Classroom student, it still spent fewer dollars in the monies it received. The
Somerton ESD $7,006 $3,506 classroom. District received many of Comparable districts 5,951 3,561
State Average 6,833 3,981 The District's classroom dollar percentage these grants because of its
National Average 8,576 5,274
was low because it spent more per pupil high number of ELL
on almost all of its noninstructional areas students, migrant students,
and students living below the poverty level.
Recommendation
The District should:
 Analyze its spending in noninstructional areas and determine if it can redirect money
into the classroom.
page3English Language Learner (ELL) Programs
English language learners are students language development, provide that
whose native language is not English and instruction with qualified teachers, and
who are not currently able to perform group students by English proficiency
ordinary classroom work in English. They levels and grades.
are identified through a state-adopted ELL costs and funding—Districts
test. Sixty-six percent of Somerton's
are required to track the incremental costs
students are ELL, one of the highest
for ELL students. Incremental costs are
percentages reported by any district in the
those that are in addition to the normal
State.
costs of educating English-proficient
District's ELL program—In FY 2006, students. Somerton did not separately
the District identified 1,757 ELL students. track ELL costs in FY 2007, and District
The majority of these students were officials did