Most school districts don’t meet spending threshold
Gov. Mary Fallin's call for the consolidation of services in Oklahoma school districts that spend less than 60 percent of their budget on student instruction could affect nearly 500 districts, figures provided by the governor's office show.
Fallin on Tuesday signed executive orders that could force consolidation of some K-12 public school and university administrations.
The public school administration consolidation order directs the state Board of Education to compile a list of every district that spends less than 60 percent of its budget on instructional expenditures.
Schools on the list — due annually on Sept. 1 — would then voluntarily plan for consolidation or annexation. If they do not, the state can intervene.
According to preliminary data from the National Center for Educational Statistics — data the state now uses to define per-pupil expenditures — all but 44 of Oklahoma's 519 school districts would qualify for consolidation or annexation because their instructional costs are less than 60 percent.
The executive order doesn't force entire districts to consolidate. Rather it considers administrative services like
superintendent duties, budgeting, maintenance and equipment, bonding and other responsibilities.
Even if all administrative expenses were shifted into instruction, most districts still would not meet the 60 percent threshold, according to The Oklahoman's analysis of the NCES data.
Student instruction is defined by NCES as activities directly associated with teacher-student interaction, including teacher salaries and benefits, classroom materials and purchased instructional services.
"This idea completely discounts the total cost associated with educating a child," said Jason James, the superintendent of Alex Public Schools in south central Oklahoma. "Fuel costs money, buildings and building repairs cost money. To be an efficient school we have to not only invest in teachers, but teacher aides, librarians, custodians and social programs."
Alex, a district of 309 students, spent nearly $1.5 million, or 56 percent of its budget, on instruction, NCES data shows.
"To just use instruction as the threshold for efficient education is a lack of understanding on what it takes to educate a child," James said. "It's a slap in the face of a counselor because she is not included in the instruction category."
Many education leaders across the state echoed those thoughts Wednesday, with some accusing Fallin of looking to score political points.
"It's just a political attempt to bring on voters for the revenue bill," said Shawn Hime, executive director of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association.
Fallin's executive order comes less than a week after she vetoed most of the Legislature's special session budget bill.
School consolidation has long been a target for some of the state Legislature's most conservative members. Some have refused to vote in favor of a slate of tax increases the governor has pushed in an effort to fill a major budget hole.
Fallin said she will call another special session and hopes lawmakers will raise enough revenue to fill the remaining $110 million
gap in this year's budget and an expected $678 million that next year's budget will be short.
Hime, meanwhile, said Fallin's 60 percent target would be impossible to meet in most districts without removing critical positions.
"Some schools are hiring more teacher assistants so they can have larger class sizes," he said. "But teacher assistants are in the instructional category and removing them would result in larger class sizes (without enough staff)."
When asked about the difficulty in having most school districts reach the 60 percent threshold, Michael McNutt, communications director for the governor, said the state Board of Education and state superintendent could come up with their own definition of instructional expenses.
McNutt said the ultimate goal is to get more dollars in the classroom.
"The goal is to find efficiencies throughout the budget through administrative consolidation and shared costs that can be found in administration as well as operations and student and staff support,” McNutt said in a statement. “These areas might include transportation and professional development.”
Steffie Corcoran, executive director of communications for the state
Education Department, said in a statement Tuesday the governor's office "did not consult or seek input" from state schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister or agency staff.
"We were surprised this afternoon to learn that the governor was issuing an executive order related to school finances," Corcoran said. "We were notified simply that an executive order was forthcoming about 90 minutes before it was issued. We will be reviewing the matter in the coming weeks."
The 475 districts that don't meet the 60 percent threshold include rural and urban systems — many with enrollments below 1,000 students. Others, like Oklahoma City Public Schools, enroll more than 41,000 students, not including those attending charter schools.
Oklahoma City, the state's largest school district, spends 52 percent of its budget, or $196,180,000, on instruction, according to NCES data.
Figures provided Wednesday by the district show it spent 60.13 percent of funds on instruction in fiscal year 2017, an example of how some schools might have a different definition of instructional costs.
Chief Financial Officer Jean Bostwick said the raw data can be "particularly confusing and/or misleading" for large districts.
"If this proceeds, it is critical that the process for calculating is thoughtfully developed with consideration taken for large district activities including the significant dollars reported as both revenue and expenses related to charter schools that can skew percentages," she said. "As always, OKCPS looks forward to being part of this dialogue."