Comparing School Financial and Academic Performance Part 3

"Part 3" covers how money is spent on "Instruction" versus "Support Services." In general, "Instruction" is classroom-related spending such as teachers, materials, and textbooks, while "Support Services" can be viewed, to some degree, as administrative overhead. Although there are some aspects of "Support Services" which provide necessary services, like Operations and Maintenance of the Plant (Facilities), Transportation, Health, and Food Services. In addition, there are some "Support Services" administrative functions which are required as well. The first chart, "Instruction vs Support Services Spending," covers the overall spending for the counties. The column on the left of the chart shows the categories of spending included in each of the "INSTRUCTION" and "SUPP SVCS" items the TDOE rolled into the "Total Current Expenditures (Table 50 ***)" spreadsheet. While the chart is somewhat busy, there are some key takeaways:

• The widening gap between "INSTRUCTION (blue line)" and "SUPP SVCS TOTAL (dark red line)" indicates FCPS spends more on "Support Services" and less on "Instruction" compared to other counties. Henry County is the closest in enrollment, budget, and number of schools, yet Henry County spends $4,429,860 less on Support Services and $672,684 more on Instruction.
  
• The "SUPP SVCS SALARIES (bright red line)" is a summary of all Support Services salaries included in the chart. Henry County spends $3,594,478 less than FCPS on these salaries.
  
• A significant observation is that, in every area but one, FCPS spends noticeably more than any other county in the study. This is particularly true of "SUPP SVCS OTHER (green line)."
  
• "SUPP SVCS OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE (PLANT)" is the only area where FCPS spending is on par or less than the spending of other counties in the study.

Something which is also conspicuous, for both Fayette and Hardeman counties, is higher "Support Services" spending. This is meaningful because it has academic implications which will be covered in "Part 4."

One of the spending categories which stands out is "SUPP SVCS OTHER." One significantly disparate component is "Student Transportation." The chart "Support Services Transportation Buses and Personnel vs Cost" shows how much counties spend on Student Transportation. "TRANSPORTATION TOTAL (grey line)," the total of all transportation items which shows that FCPS spends between $768,707 and $996,750 more than other counties. Even though Fayette County covers more square miles, all of the counties in the study spend similar amounts on "FUEL AND LUBRICANTS (green line)." There is some variance in "PARTS, OTHER MATERIALS & EQUIPMENT (blue line)," but those differences can be attributed to the age and number of buses in the counties. However, there is a large disparity in the number of "TRANSPORTATION PERSONNEL (light blue bar)" as well as "SALARIES SUPERVISORS/DIRECTORS and OTHER (dark red line)." Hardeman County has 105 buses and 57 transportation personnel, while FCPS has 53 buses and 78 transportation personnel. The salary differential between Hardeman and FCPS is $517,066. Even more striking is the difference compared with Henry County, the most similar in size and budget, which has 92 buses and 40 transportation personnel. The transportation salaries in Henry County are $664,915 less than FCPS. One other area that seems incongruent is "OTHER (orange line)." FCPS spent $206,802, but the spending across other counties was between $34,847 and $41,018. While these are not large numbers, it is statistically unusual and, when coupled with the extraordinary spending in personnel salaries, the difference is noteworthy and warrants further review.

In addition, though FCPS has 78 transportation personnel and 53 buses, there are students that must catch a bus at 5:27 AM. Even worse, they must endure a 1 ½ hour bus ride to and from school. One and one half (1 ½ ) hours is the limit according to Tennessee state law (TCA 49-6-2105 Maximum time in transit). The need to get up early enough to catch a bus at 5:27 AM in conjunction with the length of time on the bus has clear implications with regard to mental acuity and, consequently, academic performance. This is also worthy of additional scrutiny.

In "Part 4", it will shown that there is a correlation between lower 3rd Grade ELA scores and higher "Support Services" spending.

*** - https://www.tn.gov/education/districts/federal-programs-and-oversight/data/department-reports/2022-annual-statistical-report.html