Email, Lynn Moak, partner, Moak, Casey & Associates, Sept. 9 and 12, 2014

From: Selby, Gardner (CMG-Austin) [mailto:wgselby@statesman.com]

Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2014 9:52 AM

To: Lynn Moak

Subject: Spending per pupil inquiry for a fact check

Thanks for taking a look at this:

In this opinion column, Republican consultant Matt Mackowiak said Texas spends an average $12,000 a year on public schools. He told us he got to his figure by drawing on this Dallas Morning News story stating Texas spends nearly $60 billion a year on the schools; he divided that by 5 million students.

Below that same News story is a chart indicating Texas spent $5,809 a year in 2013-14, a figure attributed to the LBB.

Separately, the National Education Association issued its annual report on this in March stating Texas schools spent $8,275 per student in 2012-13, which the report said was the fifth-lowest amount among the states. Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah and Arizona spent less while nationally the average was $10,938 per student, the report said. According to another chart in the report, Texas was expected to spend at least $8,399 per student in 2013-14.

When we asked the Texas Education Agency about this topic, we were pointed to the web pages compiled here. We looked at actual expenditures for 2012-13, which shows a range of per-student expenditures extending up to $12,106.

How would you break out spending per student in the vein of Mackowiak’s opinion column and why?

Thanks.

g.

W. Gardner Selby

Reporter / News

Austin American-Statesman

11:55 a.m.

Mr. Mackowlak properly identifies the core issues for the legislature next year. Texas does need to establish the cost of an adequate education. Further, he indicates that equity and local discretion must also be addressed. If Texas had $12,000 per pupil to address these problems, the answers would be easy. Sadly, the $12,000 number is overstated, includes double counted funds, and is highly restricted by state and federal law.  

TEA  reports for 2012-13 total disbursements of $61.2 billion for 2012-13 or $12,106 per enrolled pupil. This number includes, $1.0 billion of “equity transfers” or recapture funds, $6.3 billion “other uses” which primarily counts refunding of bonds to achieve lower interest rates, and $.5 billion of “intergovernmental charges” which includes funds used for buying services from another district. So as a base number, total expenditures are reported as $53.4 billion or $10,549 per pupil. The three other accounts represent double counting of money already classified as an expenditure. From an accounting perspective, these allocations of cash must be tracked. From a policy perspective they have little to do with the cost of education.

Of the $53.4 billion, $10.8 billion is for debt service or capital outlay. Most of these funds may only be spent for either building and equipping facilities or paying interest and principal payments on existing school district facilities. A portion of this amount is also double counted over time because principal repayments represent  the same funds used for capital outlay. Without these restricted capital and debt funds, operating expenditures were $42.6 billion or $8,467 per pupil ($70% of total disbursements.

Federal funds are generally for restricted programs. If most of these categorical funds are excluded, general fund operating expenditures were reported as $36 billion or $7, 127 per pupil  (59% of the total disbursements) .

From: Selby, Gardner (CMG-Austin) [mailto:wgselby@statesman.com]

Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2014 6:30 PM

To: Lynn Moak

Subject: Following up

I understand your $42.6 billion figure …  it’s unclear how you got to the figure $36 billion and $7,127, at least from the web page.

9:34 a.m.

Sept. 12, 2014

...Look at the first column (general fund)on the TEA totals then look under Total Expenditures By Object.  Add payroll and other operating to obtain total operating costs of  $36,047,289,897 Divide by enrollment of 5,057,960 for $7127

...