Wednesday, November 25, 2009

OUSD Expenditures Per Pupil: Charter vs. Traditional Public Schools

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This is a comparison between per pupil spending at Oakland Unified School District’s charter schools and its traditional public schools. The figures were obtained from the SARCs (School Accountability Report Cards) currently posted on the OUSD Web site, section VIII - School Finances.*

OUSD Charter Schools
Expenditures Per Pupil
(Fiscal Year 2006-07)
Expenditures
Per Pupil
(Basic)
Expenditures
Per Pupil
(Supplemental)
Total
Expenditures
Per Pupil
MEDIAN
$6950
$1200
$8764
RANGE
$5113-$8757
$276-$5505
$5931-13290
AVERAGE
$7063
$1693
$8740
OUSD Traditional Public Schools
Expenditures Per Pupil
(Fiscal Year 2006-07)
Expenditures
Per Pupil
(Basic)
Expenditures
Per Pupil
(Supplemental)
Total
Expenditures
Per Pupil
MEDIAN
$5015
$1613
$6492
RANGE
$4126-$6354
$241-$2899
$4630-$8886
AVERAGE
$4973
$1533
$6506
Charter Schools:
Highest Expenditures Per Pupil
(Fiscal Year 2006-07)
1. Oakland Military Institute
$13290
2. Oakland School For the Arts
$11000
3. Millsmont Academy
$10454
4. American Indian Public Charter School II
$9954
5. Monarch Academy
$9712


The highest expenditures per pupil in all of OUSD are at the two charter schools which were launched and are actively supported by former Oakland mayor Jerry Brown: the Oakland Military Institute (OMI) and the Oakland School for the Arts (OSA).
Spending at OMI exceeded the top per pupil spending at any traditional public school by $4404.
Spending at OSA exceeded the top per pupil spending at any traditional public school by $2114.
Traditional public schools:
Highest Expenditures Per Pupil
(Fiscal Year 2006-07)
1. Sankofa
$8886
2. Burkhalter
$8052
3. EnCompass
$8044
4. Acorn Woodland
$7995
5. Maxwell Park
$7847
6. PLACE
$7811
7. International Community
$7779
8. Think College Now
$7703
9. Reach
$7687
10. Rise
$7648
Charter Schools:
Lowest Expenditures Per Pupil
(Fiscal Year 2006-07)
1. Education for Change Achieve Academy
$5931
2. American Indian Public High School**
$6122
3. Education for Change at Cox
$7175
4. Oakland Charter High
$7438
5. Oakland Charter Academy
$7450
** Oddly, this amount does not reflect a Walton Family Foundation gift of $230,000 given to the American Indian Public High School in 2006 (2007 Form 990, for grants given in 2006). During 2006-07, this school's total student body was 72 students. This would mean an additional $3194.44 per pupil, that is, if the money was spent on students at the school it was designated for. Maybe this large amount of money would be reflected in per pupil expenditures for a different year. Or, perhaps the grantors place loose, or no, restrictions on how the grantees spend the money. It would be illuminating if the District, or some other entity, would investigate this detail.

Traditional public schools:
Lowest Expenditures Per Pupil
(Fiscal Year 2006-07)
1. Montera
$4630
2. Skyline HS
$4873
3. Joaquin Miller
$5065
4. Chabot Elementary
$5125
5. Edna Brewer
$5266
6. Thornhill
$5358
7. Oakland High
$5384
8. Hillcrest
$5440
9. Bret Harte
$5445
10. Roosevelt Middle
$5530
The complete tables are below.
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OUSD Charter Schools
Expenditures Per Pupil
(Fiscal Year 2006-07)
Expenditures
Per Pupil
(Basic)
Expenditures
Per Pupil
(Supplemental)
Total
Expenditures
Per Pupil
American Indian Public Charter School
Not specified
Not specified
$8297
American Indian Public Charter School II
Not specified
Not specified
$9954
American Indian Public High School
Not specified
Not specified
$6122
Aviation High School
$8276
$1408
$9684
BayTech
$5113
$3609
$8722
Berkley Maynard Academy
$6530
$2234
$8764
Civicorps Elementary
Not specified
Not specified
$7597
COVA
$7000
$1000
$8000
East Oakland Leadership Academy
$6709
$2125
$8834
Education for Change Achieve Academy
$5517
$414
$5931
Education for Change at Cox
$5431
$1764
$7175
Lighthouse Community Charter High School
$8757
$838
$9505
Lighthouse Community Charter School
$8757
$838
$9505
Lionel Wilson
Not specified
Not specified
$8974
LPS College Park
$7292
$276
$7568
Millsmont Academy
Not specified
Not specified
$10454
Monarch Academy
Not specified
Not specified
$9712
North Oakland Community Charter
Not specified
Not specified
$8769
Oakland Charter Academy*
$6900
$550
$7450
Oakland Charter High*
$6888
$550
$7438
Oakland Military Institute
$7785
$5505
$13290
Oakland School For the Arts
$7000
$4000
$11000
Oakland Unity High School
$8691
$677
$9368
Reems Academy
$6357
$1301
$7657
MEDIAN
$6950
$1200
$8764
RANGE
$5113-$8757
$276-$5505
$5931-13290
AVERAGE
$7063
$1693
$8740

*Addition error appears in SARC report. This is the correct total.

OUSD Traditional Public Schools
Expenditures Per Pupil
(Fiscal Year 2006-07)
Expenditures
Per Pupil
(Basic)
Expenditures
Per Pupil
(Supplemental)
Total
Expenditures
Per Pupil
Acorn Woodland
$5,440
$2555
$7995
Allendale
$4970
$1792
$6762
Alliance Academy
$4174
$1487
$5661
Ascend
$5035
$2214
$7250
Bella Vista
$5016
$1455
$6471
Bret Harte
$4367
$1077
$5445
Bridges Academy at Melrose
$4894
$1960
$6855
Brookfield Elementary
$4609
$1088
$5698
Burkhalter
$6210
$1842
$8052
Business and Information Technology
$4996
$1305
$6301
Carl Munck
$5036
$921
$5957
Chabot Elementary
$4884
$241
$5125
Claremont
$4743
$1827
$6571
Cleveland
$4844
$1314
$6158
Coliseum College Prep Academy
$4531
$2258
$6789
College Preparatory and Architecture Academy
$4907
$1584
$6492
Crocker Highlands
$5064
$560
$5624
East Oakland School of the Arts
$5116
$1361
$6476
Edna Brewer
$4126
$1140
$5266
Elmhurst Community Prep
$4231
$1668
$5899
Emerson Elementary
$4760
$1818
$6579
EnCompass
$5758
$2286
$8044
Esperanza
$5177
$2239
$7417
EXCEL
$4472
$1654
$6126
Explore
$4851
$1964
$6814
Far West
$5021
$919
$5941
Franklin
$4986
$1380
$6366
Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy
$5219
$1900
$7119
Frick
$4376
$1695
$6071
Fruitvale Elementary
$4924
$778
$5702
Garfield
$5143
$1674
$6817
Glenview
$5345
$1193
$6538
Grass Valley
$5390
$881
$6271
Hillcrest
$5003
$438
$5440
Hoover
$5179
$2011
$7190
Horace Mann
$5015
$2284
$7299
Howard
$5039
$917
$5957
International Community
$5711
$2068
$7779
Joaquin Miller
$4611
$453
$5065
Kaiser
$5133
$659
$5792
La Escuelita
$5218
$1646
$6865
Lafayette
$5289
$1948
$7237
Lakeview
$5214
$1302
$6516
Laurel
$5093
$1429
$6522
Lazear
$5087
$1906
$6994
Leadership Prep HS
$4717
$1530
$6248
LIFE Academy
$4320
$1653
$5973
Lincoln
$5125
$1642
$6767
Madison Middle
$4779
$1752
$6532
Mandela HS
$4700
$1549
$6250
Manzanita Community
$5043
$1917
$6960
Markham
$5065
$1424
$6489
Marshall
$4620
$1097
$5718
Martin Luther King, Jr.
$5526
$1931
$7457
Maxwell Park
$5795
$2052
$7847
Media College Prep
$4907
$1584
$6492
Melrose Leadership
$4611
$2899
$7511
MetWest
$5539
$913
$6452
Montclair
$5094
$528
$5622
Montera
$4282
$347
$4630
New Highland Academy
$4877
$1892
$6770
Oakland High
$4192
$1191
$5384
Oakland Technical HS
$4866
$851
$5718
Peralta
$5276
$1270
$6547
Piedmont
$5326
$1317
$6644
PLACE
$5552
$2259
$7811
Reach
$5676
$2011
$7687
Redwood Heights
$5159
$551
$5710
Rise
$5600
$2048
$7648
Robeson School of VPA
$4732
$1441
$6173
Roosevelt Middle
$4323
$1206
$5530
ROOTS International
$4299
$1833
$6133
Sankofa
$6354
$2532
$8886
Santa Fe
$5045
$1949
$6994
Sequoia
$5199
$1684
$6883
Skyline HS
$4182
$690
$4873
Sobrante Park
$5209
$2164
$7373
Think College Now
$5161
$2541
$7703
Thornhill
$5115
$243
$5358
United for Success
$4153
$1808
$5961
Urban Promise Academy
$4872
$2692
$7564
Westlake Middle
$4605
$1485
$6090
YES, Youth Empowerment
$4617
$1673
$6291
MEDIAN
$5015
$1613
$6492
RANGE
$4126-$6354
$241-$2899
$4630-$8886
AVERAGE
$4973
$1533
$6506
PLEASE NOTE: SARCs were not provided online for some charter schools which were in operation during the specified years. Some of the schools listed on 11/25/09 had SARCs which did not include expenditures for the specified year because they were not yet open. Also, I relabeled MEAN as MEDIAN, after someone corrected me about the use of those terms. Thank you, P.
The SARCs for 2008-09, which would cite expenditures for 2007-08, are not yet publicly available.
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* ASAM schools (Alternative School Accountability Model) were not included: Community Day, Street Academy, and Dewey, as well as the Sojourner Truth Independent Study program.

4 comments:

The Perimeter Primate said...

http://www.ibabuzz.com/education/2009/11/24/the-charter-movement-5000-new-schools-in-18-years/comment-page-1/#comment-22943

Steven Weinberg Says:
November 27th, 2009 at 5:35 pm

Thank you Sharon for your informative postings on this subject. I was impressed by the fact that even the lowest funded charter schools spent more per student than the average district school.

You asked for details about the differences between basic and supplemental funding, and why they would vary so much from school to school. For regular OUSD schools the basic funding is General Fund money that is alloted to each school based on Average Daily Attendance. It varies by grade level, with K-5 schools getting the most, because of the state’s class size reduction program in grades K-3. High schools get a little more than middle schools because of the complexity of the master programs at that level. In addition, the district gives some additional basic money to very small schools, since every school, regardless of size, has some fixed expenses: principal, secretary, custodial, etc. (EnCompass, Sankofa, and Burhalter all made the highest expenditure list because they are small schools.)

Most basic funds are used for teachers, site administrators, custodial staff, one secretary, and perhaps an attendance clerk, and basic supplies, textbooks, and office equipment.

Supplemental funds come from various funding sources and have limits as to how they can be spent. The largest program is the federal Title One program. These funds are allotted to schools based on the number of students who qualify for the free and reduced price lunch program.

Schools with too small a percentage of students in this category receive no Title One funds. (This probably explains all the schools on the lowest expenditure list.) The state has its own comp ed program that follows the same rules for allotting funds. These funds usually provide for extra teachers or classified staff to give students additional assistance. They can pay for staff development to improve teacher skills. They can pay for Teachers on Special Assignment to train and support the rest of the staff in meeting the needs of underperforming students. They can pay for books and materials that will help those students.

The state also provides extra funds for each English Language Learner at a school. This money must be spent to improve the education of those students.

There are many other smaller state programs. Nineteen Oakland schools have Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA) grants that provide an extra $600/K-5 student, $900/6-8 student, and $1,000/9-12 student. These funds are used primarily for class size reduction. QEIA schools were based on need, as shown by low state test scores. (Maxwell Park and ACORN made the highest expenditure list because they are QEIA schools.)

I am not sure what is included in these categories for charter schools, but Ben Chavis of American Indian Charter once told me that Title One funds for his school were based on the percentage of low income students at nearby regular schools. I’m not sure if that was really the case, or if it still is, but if it is that seems unfair.

I’m sorry this post is so long, but even at this length it oversimplifies the school budgeting process and rules, which were always complex, and this year have become more so as a result of state funding cuts and federal stimulus money.

nikto said...

And Charter Schools keep finding more ways to appropriate Public Moneys away from Public Schools and INTO their own voracious Charter-Maw.

This just might make you nauseous:

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/5301

marsha said...

Thanks for your information on American Indian Public high School SAT scores. My son attends the school. So, I followed up on what you wrote regarding the SAT test results. I learned that "every student" at AIPHS must take the PSAT and SAT at the school. The cost for any test are paid by AIPHS. I asked to look at the 11th grade SAT test results for this year which is my son's grade level. These students had an average SAT score of 1826.5 for all 11th graders. I recommend you contact the school and see for yourself. We LOVE the school!

The Perimeter Primate said...

Just to clarify.

The SAT scores posted on CDE were only for the 12th grade class, the enrollment of which was 23 students (but only 19 kids took the test).

The SAT scores do not reflect a set of scores which are combined with those of other grade levels, something which one commenter on Katy Murphy's blog once stated as a way to explain why they were so low.

Based on what you're saying, Marsha, the 11th grade crop of kids should reflect a different range of scores in a higher tier. It's a shame the CDE takes so long to post those results to the public.