Combs’ commitment to responsible use of public tax dollars

The discussion of public school districts and their accountability for taxpayer money is ongoing in various circles, including political, business and media. 

Every March, the Arizona Auditor General releases a report called “Arizona School District Spending,” which has been released annually since 2000. This report describes a detailed analysis of how traditional school districts spend their allocated funds. 

The report primarily focuses on the amount of money spent in the classroom, but this narrow focus can create an inaccurate narrative. It examines seven key areas where school districts allocate funds, as defined by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics. 

The seven areas and their focus include:

1. Instruction. Teacher, teacher’s aides, substitutes, instructional aides, coaches, club sponsors.
2. Student Support. Counselors, speech therapists, nurses, social workers and attendance staff.
3. Instructional Support. Librarians, teacher training, curriculum planning, special education directors, technology for instruction.
4. Administration. Superintendents, principals, business operations, clerical staff and human resources.
5. Plant Operation. Building maintenance, custodians, groundskeeping, security, utilities.
6. Food Service. Supplies and costs for preparing and serving meals.
7. Transportation. Costs for buses, transporting students.

The report combines the funding spent on the first three categories to determine classroom spending. However, this approach tends to overlook the importance of the other areas that also directly impact students, such as transportation and food services. For example, transportation costs cover bussing students to and from school and various activities, while food service costs ensure students have access to healthy meals. The majority of buildings (plant operations) in a school district are schools.

A key area of concern, particularly for politicians, is administrative costs. In Arizona, the average cost of administration is approximately 10.5%. Within that, about 5.5% is allocated to school-level administration and 4.5% to district office staff, including payroll, human resources and administrators. The district office staff includes payroll, benefits, human resources, as well as upper level administration. 

So the real story is this: On average 95.5% of traditional public school funding goes directly to serving students. While spending percentages vary slightly by each district, overall taxpayer money ultimately goes where it’s intended - to benefit students. 

The J.O. Combs Unified School District adheres to similar percentages and consistently ensures that our taxpayer funding is utilized to the full benefit of students. Additionally, the district undergoes other state and national audits as well as annual independent audits, which have resulted in national recognition for transparent financial reporting for over a decade.

It’s worth noting that other educational institutions that receive public taxpayer money such as charter schools and private schools receiving vouchers, are not included in this analysis and are not subject to the same rigorous auditing standards. However, the J.O. Combs Unified School District remains committed to responsible allocation of taxpayer funds to the benefit of our students to ensure they receive the very best education every day.