This data comes from a school district spending analysis for fiscal year 2022, in which auditors focused primarily on school district operating expenses, including classroom instruction, administration, student and instruction support, meal services, and transportation. is guessing.

Unlike TUSD, the report shows that more than half of Arizona school districts have decreased the percentage of money they spend on classroom instruction compared to the previous year.

Ricky Hernandez, TUSD’s chief financial officer, told the district’s board of directors on March 14, “Our classroom spending, in percentage terms, was the highest we’ve invested in classrooms in 15 years.

“Fiscal 2022 had the lowest percentage of government spending ever,” he added in a state auditor report dating back to 2001.

The State Comptroller General has tracked school district spending in Arizona since 2001. The latest report showed that 118 of the 206 school districts saw a decrease in their education spending percentage in 2022 compared to 2021.

Education expenses refer to money invested in paying for teachers, aides, substitutes and other educational staff, resources and activities.

According to the state report, TUSD’s education spending totaled 54.3%, the highest since 2007 when the district invested the same percentage.

It’s also roughly on par with the statewide average for fiscal 2022 education spending, which was 54.5% across Arizona.

The state report categorized school districts into operational peer groups so that meaningful comparisons could be made across school districts. TUSD’s peer group consists of 11 very large urban or suburban school districts with more than 15,000 students, including Mesa, Phoenix Union, Scottsdale and Chandler school districts, Hernandez said. .

TUSD’s education spending was lower than the industry average of 57%.

Among Pima County’s nine major school districts, TUSD ranks sixth on the list, with Amphitheater, Vail, and Sunnyside school districts showing lower percentages.

TUSD’s highest education spending percentage recorded by auditors was 55.4% in 2005.

Other categories that also counted in overall classroom spending included student supports such as counselors and nurses, and instructional supports such as librarians and curriculum development services.

In 2022, a total of 9.7% of TUSD’s budget was spent on student support and 7.9% on educational support.

Adding these sums to TUSD’s education spending gives a 71.9% share of total classroom spending.

In 2022, TUSD’s share of administrative spending was 8.6%. This was lower than the statewide average of 10.2%.

TUSD was also the Pima County school district with the lowest percentage of administrative spending. Other school districts with the lowest percentage of administrative spending were Marana at 8.7%, Flowing Wells at 9.6%, and Amphitheater at 9.8%.

TUSD Board Member Natalie Luna Rose said, “Given that there is always talk of ‘too many admins and too many people getting paid more than six figures,’ I appreciate the information on administration costs.” I do,” he said.

Administrative expenditures refer to money paid to superintendents, principals, and other administrative staff and services.

The report did not include TUSD’s peer group administrative fee percentage, but school districts spent more dollars on administrative fees compared to peer group averages. On average, the peer group spent about $921 per student on administration fees, while TUSD spent an average of $1,026 per student.

Hernandez said there are several factors that contribute to this higher number compared to its peers.

“The thing to consider is that administrative costs include school administrators, principals and office managers,” Hernandez said. has the most school campuses in