School District Comparison Report: Corpus Christi ISD vs. United ISD - Research Paper Example

? School District Comparison Report: Corpus Christi ISD vs. United ISD Table of Contents Index Page Introduction 3 Objective 3 Scope 3 School District Description 4 Student Population 4 Teacher’s Salary 8 Taxes 10 Revenue 13 Expenditure 14 Summary of Finance 20 Introduction The purpose of a report is to convey information of a research and analysis of data or issues. This report intends to provide certain information in a comparative form about two different schools districts; Corpus Christie ISD and United ISD. Report’s structure is selected based on the assumption that the reader should be able to locate easily desired area of information and view the comparison between the two school districts. This should enable the reader makes own decision using provided data. Objective The main purpose of this report is to establish a comparative study between two Independent School Districts in the following areas: Student population Teachers salaries Property taxes and values Revenues Total expenditures Summary of finances. Scope This is an information type report. Information report provides verbatim content (information). Comparison of stated above information about these two school districts will be presented without drawing conclusion or providing any recommendation. Data for compiling the report are obtained from a public domain (Academic Excellence Indicator System). Data are grouped in tubular and graphical forms per areas mentioned in the objective section. Comparison of data if necessary is described in text forms. The following structure is adopted for this report: Student population, By school grade By ethnicity By social status Teachers’ salaries, By years of experience With respect other school staffs Property taxes and values, Adopted tax rates Tax value by category Revenue information, From all sources Expenditure information, By object By program By function , and Summary of finances. School districts description Corpus Christi School District (CCISD) is located in the city of Corpus Christi of Texas and was established in 1999. District serves over 38,000 students at 58 campuses within 68 square miles. Out of 58 campuses; 37 elementary schools, 11 middle schools, 6 high schools, and 4 special campuses. Total employees of the school district are little over 5,000, and 2011 – 2012 annual budget was $259,9 million (Corpus Christi Independent School District). United ISD (UISD) is located in the city of Laredo of Texas and was established in a 1961. District serves about 42,000 students at 42 campuses within 2,844 square miles. Out of 42 campuses; 26 elementary schools, 10 middle schools, and 6 high schools. Total employees of the school district are close to 6,000, and 2011 – 2012 annual budget was $ 367 million (United Independent School District)). Student population Student populations for both districts shown below are categorized by school grade, by ethnicity, and by social status. Student population by school grade Total student counts for the Corpus Christi ISD is 38,242. Total student counts for the United ISD is 41,709. Grades for both school districts are categorized according to; Early childhood education Pre-kindergarten Kindergarten Grade 1 – Grade 12 Corpus Christi ISD (38,242 total) United ISD (41,709 total) Grade classification Student population Percentage to the total (%) Student population Percentage to the total (%) Early childhood 76 0.2 43 0.1 Pre-kindergarten 1,320 3.5 1,999 4.6 Kindergarten 2,938 7.7 2,957 7.1 Grade 1 3,144 8.2 3.216 7.7 Grade 2 2,979 7.8 3,317 7.5 Grade 3 3,128 8.2 3,225 7.7 Grade 4 3,129 8.2 3,197 7.7 Grade 5 3,039 7.9 3,141 7.5 Grade 6 2,841 7.4 3,191 7.7 Grade 7 2,765 7.2 3,111 7.5 Grade 8 2,769 7.2 3,044 7.3 Grade 9 2,840 7.4 3,305 7.9 Grade 10 2,606 6.8 2,988 7.2 Grade 11 2,376 6.2 2,786 6.7 Grade 12 2,292 6.0 2,475 5.9 Table 1: Student population by school grade. (Source: TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Total student populations of these districts are distributed as: High school - Corpus Christi 26.4 %, United ISD it is 27.70 %. Middle school - Corpus Christi 21.8 %, United ISD 22.50 %. Elementary school - Corpus Christi 48.0 %, United is 45.2 %. Graph 1. Student population by school grade (Source: TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Student population by ethnicity Student ethnicity is categorized according to; African American Hispanic White American Indian Asian Pacific Islander Two or more races Corpus Christi ISD (38,242 total) United ISD (41,709) Ethnicity Student population Percentage to the total (%) Student population Percentage to the total (%) African American 1,614 4.2 49 0.1 Hispanic 30,196 79.0 40,974 99.2 White 5,306 13.9 490 1.2 American Indian 72 0.2 30 0.1 Asian 623 1.6 139 0.3 Pacific Islander 32 0.1 1 0.0 Two or more races 409 1.1 26 0.1 Table 2: Student population by ethnicity. (Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Student population by ethnic category shows that Hispanic students represent overwhelming majority in both school districts with compare to other ethnic groups. However, 99.2 % of total students in the United ISD belong to Hispanic ethnic group. Graph 2. Student population by ethnicity. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Student population by social status Social status are categorized according to: Economically disadvantaged Limited English proficiency (LEP) Student with disciplinary placement At-risk Corpus Christi ISD (38,242 total) United ISD (41,709) Social status Student population Percentage to total (%) Student population Percentage to total (%) Economically disadvantaged 26,370 69.0 33,657 75.9 Limited English Proficient (LEP) 1,778 4.6 17,666 42.4 Students w/ disciplinary placement 1,072 2.6 651 1.5 At-risk 20,091 52.5 26,231 62.9 Table 3: Distribution of student population by social status. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Student population by social status shows that large percentages of students in both school districts come from economically disadvantaged families. The number for United ISD is 75.9 % against 69 % of Corpus Christi. In United ISD 42.4 % students come from LEP families, while for Corpus Christi it is 4.6 % only. This might be the result of the reason that 99.2 % of students in the United ISD comes from Hispanic family. It is also important to note students from at-risk social group constitutes large number in both school districts; United ISD 62.9 %, Corpus Christi ISD 52.5 %. Graph 3. Student population by social status. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Teachers’ salary Teacher’s salary for both school districts shown below are categorized by years of experience and with respect to other school stuff Teacher salary by years of experience Teaching experience in years Corpus Christi ISD (Total teachers 2,401) United ISD (Total teachers 2,555) Beginning $ 42,253 $ 42,976 1-5 years $ 43,777 $ 45,473 6-10 years $ 46,392 $ 47,119 11-20 years $ 49,943 $ 49,995 Over 20 years $ 59,836 $ 61,276 Table 4. Salary distribution by years of experience. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) United ISD teacher’s salary at different level of experience is 2 % - 4% higher than Corpus Christi. Teachers with 20 plus years of experiences in both school districts make 42%-43% higher salaries than beginning teachers. In both school districts growth of teachers salaries according to the years of experience is 6 % - 10 % with respect to the beginners salaries. Graph 4. Teacher’s Salary by Experience. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Teacher salary with respect to other school staff School staffs Corpus Christi ISD (Total staff including teachers are 4,924) United ISD (Total staff including teachers are 6,018) Teacher $ 50,103 $ 49,097 Professional support $ 60,610 $ 61,817 Campus administration $ 70,952 $ 74,044 Central administration $ 75,469 $ 83,860 Table 5. Teacher salary with respect to other staffs. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Teachers’ salaries of United ISD and Corpus Christi ISD are almost equal. However, in both school districts teachers make the lowest salaries than other staffs. For example, in Corpus Christi ISD central administration staff makes 50 % higher than a teacher, and in United ISD it is 70 %. Campus administration staffs, in Corpus Christi ISD makes 40 % higher than the teachers. The same staffs, in United ISD draw 50 % higher salary than the teachers. Professional support staffs, in Corpus Christi ISD make 20 % higher than the teacher, while the same staffs at United ISD draw 25 % higher salaries. Graph 5. Different school staffs salaries. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Taxes Adopted tax rates and property taxes of two school districts are shown below. Property taxes by adopted tax rate Tax rates Corpus Christi ISD United ISD Maintenance and operation (M&O) $ 1,060 $ 1,040 Interest and sinking fund $ 0,177 $ 0, 155 Total $ 1,237 $ 1,195 Table 6. Adopted tax rates. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Texas school districts funds are allocated thru Foundation School Program (FSP). This program determines the amount of state and local funding due to school districts under Texas school finance law and that provides the state share of this funding to districts, and state funding (Funding of Texas Public Schools). Local school district property taxes, state funds, and federal funds are primary sources of school funding. Property taxes are evaluated based on school district’s M&O and interest and sinking fund. There are no significant differences in tax rates between the two school districts. Total tax rates for Corpus Christi is just 3 % higher than the tax rate of United ISD. M&O tax rate of Corpus Christi ISD is only 1 % higher than United ISD. However, interest and sinking fund tax rate of Corpus Christi ISD is 14 % higher than United. Tax by category Category Corpus Christi ISD (Total taxes $13,013,621,944) Percent to total taxes (%) United ISD (Total taxes $ 10,446,177,723) Percent to total taxes (%) Business $5,079,943,811 39 $3,693,347,812 35 Residential $7,532,007,227 58 $4,845,122,049 46 Land $239,457,224 0.02 $719,633,312 0.07 Oil and Gas $104,785,730 0.01 $1,103,010,970 0.11 Other $57,427,952 0.00 $85,063,580 0.01 Table 7. Tax from different categories. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Total property taxes of 2009 – 2010; collected by the Corpus Christi ISD is $13,013,621,944, and by United ISD 10,446,177,723. For both school districts, vital part of total taxes come from residential property taxes; for Corpus Christi, it is 58 %, and 46 % for United ISD. It should be noted, that the total adopted tax rate for both districts is remarkably close to each other. United ISD enjoys 11 % of the total tax from Oil and Gas industry. When compared, it shows that Corpus Christi received 38 % higher fund from business taxes than United ISD. At the same time, United ISD got 10 times higher fund from Oil and Gas sector than Corpus Christi ISD. Graph 7. Tax from different categories. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Revenue from all funds Sources Corpus Christi ISD Percent to total (%) United ISD Percent to total (%) Local Tax $137,833,285 37.5 $111,686,015 29.4 Other local and Intermediate $8,646,808 2.4 $6,408,979 1.7 State $161,849,616 44.1 $225,796,659 59.5 Federal $58,796,225 16.0 $35,559,482 9.4 Total $367,125,934 1000 $379,451,135 100 Table 8. Revenue from different funds. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Total revenue from all funds for both districts is close to each other. Both school districts make highest revenue from state taxes. Though, adopted tax rates for school districts does not differ much, but United ISD makes 59.5 % local taxes against 44.1 % of Corpus Christi ISD. Corpus Christi ISD received 70 % higher revenue from Federal taxes than United ISD. Graph. Revenue from different funds. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Expenditure Total expenditure in this report is subdivided into following categories; expenditure by object, expenditure by program, and expenditure by functions. School districts total revenue consists of general fund, food service fund, and debt service fund. Expenditure of two school districts will be compared against all funds. Expenditure by object Objects Corpus Christi ISD Percent to Total (%) Per student United ISD Percent to Total Per student Payroll cost $265,232,203 64.6 $6,972 $294,787,035 72.5 $7,237 Other operating cost $91,152,501 22.2 $2,396 $59,124,610 14.5 $1,452 Debt service $28,327,157 6.9 $745 $30,654,278 7.5 $753 Capital outlay $26,147,899 6.4 $687 $22,292,314 5.5 $547 Total $410,859,760 100 $10,800 $406,858,237 100 $9,988 Table 9. Expenditure by object. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Total expenditure of both schools does not differ much from each other. United ISD has about 4,000 more students than Corpus Christi ISD. Hence, the payroll cost for United is higher than Corpus Christi. Considering higher number of students of United ISD, expenditures by objects of both ISD are in the same range. Same trend is observed when compared expenditure by objects per student for all cases except for other operating expense. United ISD has 65 % higher cost per student for other operating costs. Graph 9. Expenditure by object. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Graph 10. Expenditure by object per student. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Expenditure by program Educational Program Corpus Christi ISD Percent to Total (%) Per Student United ISD Percent to Total (%) Per Student Bilingual / ESL $1,256,431 0.5 $33 $7,049,980 2.7 $173 Career & Technical $7,884,705 3.2 $207 $8,510,820 3.2 $209 Accelerated $39,985,794 16.2 $1,051 $33,802,388 12.9 $830 Gifted & Talented $936,560 0.4 $25 $863,012 0.3 $21 Regular $142,049,748 57.7 $3,734 $163,971,729 62.4 $4,026 Special $40,901,870 16.6 $1,075 $38,744,525 14.7 $951 Athletic activities $5,855,092 2.4 $154 $5,104,518 1.9 $125 High School allotment $3,003,898 1.2 $79 $2,248,340 0.9 $55 Other $4,410,591 1.8 $116 $2,402,870 0.9 $59 Total $246,284,689 100 $6,474 $262,698,182 100 $6,449 Table 10. Expenditure by program. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Both school districts have 9 different educational programs. These programs intend to provide educational and athletic opportunities. Total funds spent on these programs per student by both districts are within the same range. However, there are distinctions in some areas where one spent more money than the other one. For example, United ISD spent more funds on regular education, while Corpus Christi ISD spends more funds accelerated and special education. United ISD spends 5 times higher funds for ESL program than Corpus Christi, due to more Hispanic origin student in the school. Expenditures for other programs of both ISD are within the same range. Graph 11. Expenditure by program. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Graph 12. Expenditure by program per student. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Expenditure by function Operations Corpus Christi ISD Percent to Total (%) Per student United ISD Percent to Total (%) Per student Instruction $191,418,300 54.2 $5,032 $201,382,376 57 $4,944 Instructional related service $13,060,369 3.7 $343 $7,380,819 2.1 $181 Instructional Leadership $8,759,033 2.5 $230 $7,647,250 2.2 $188 School leadership $17,155,341 4.9 $451 $20,316,365 5.8 $499 Support service student $17,155,341 4.9 $456 $19,225,027 5.4 $472 Student transportation $5,469,891 1.5 $144 $12,719,250 3.6 $312 Food services $15,382,360 4.4 $404 $21,740,489 6.2 $534 Cocurricular activities $7,435,798 2.1 $195 $8,179,926 2.3 $201 Central administration $7,598,320 2.2 $200 $9,770,109 2.8 $240 Plant M&O $62,449,344 17.7 $1,642 $35,836,178 10.1 $880 Security services $2,533,843 0.7 $67 $6,398,309 1.8 $157 Data processing $4,469,974 1.3 $118 $2,680,680 0.8 $66 Total $353,083,719 100 $9,282 $353,276,778 100 $8,673 Table 11. Expenditure by function. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Both school districts have 12 different categories of function. These services are designed to provide students academic, transportation, health, security, and safety etc. services. Instruction service deals with activities among teachers and students, while instruction related services deal with curriculum and staff development. Total per student expenditure by all functions for both ISD does not differ much from each other. Though, both ISD spent almost equal amount per student for instruction services, but instruction related services of Corpus Christi ISD were higher than United ISD. Instructional and student leadership services are offered by both ISD. Instructional leadership services are designed for staffs responsible to provide instructional related services. School leadership is managing school. Expenses in these areas are within the same range for both school districts. Support services are designated to arrange student with outside support, such as, health services, student counseling, and social works. Student support services for both ISD are within the same ranges. United ISD spent twice more money on per student transportation than Corpus Christi ISD. Cocurricular activities deal with services not covered by instruction services, such as, school sponsored activities during and after school. In this are both districts spent funds within the same range. It should be noted that Corpus Christi ISD spent two times higher funds per student for plant maintenance and operation than the United ISD, while United spent twice per student for security services than Corpus Christi ISD. Graph 13. Expenditure by function. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Graph 14. Expenditure by function per student. ( Source. TEA AEIS 2010 – 2011) Summary of Finances School district funding is allocated from primary sources; local, state, and federal. Actual revenue funded to a school district depends on various characteristics, which is beyond the scope of this report. In general, revenue from local funding depends on district tax rate, from state funding depends on various regulation, and from federal funding from grants and compliances. Total revenue received by Corpus Christi ISD from all sources during the year 2009 – 2011 is $367,125,934, and the same for United ISD is $379,451,135. Total expenditures incurred by the school groups are: Corpus Christi $410,859,760, and United $406,858,237. General fund revenue, ignoring revenue from Food Service Fund and Debt Service fund, for Corpus Christi is $284,626,184, and for United is $315,286,648. Total expenditure from the general fund for Corpus Christi ISD is $271,928,838, while for United ISD is $318,130,592. The above information is demonstrated below in tubular form. Corpus Christi ISD United ISD All fund General fund All fund General fund Revenue $367,125,934 $284,626,184 $379,451,135 $315,286,648 Expenditure $410,859,760 $271,928,838 $406,858,237 $318,130,592 Difference in Revenue / Expenditure ($43,733,826) $12,697,346 ($27,407,102) ($2,843,944) The table shows that expenses for Social work service, Food service, and Community service in Corpus Christi ISD were higher than Revenue received from other sources for this purposes. It created a deficit of $56,431,172. United ISD ended up with negative balances for both allocated funds. However, total deficit for United is lower than Corpus Christi ISD. References Academic Excellence Indicator System. TEA. Retrieved from http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/aeis/ Corpus Christi Independent School District. (n.d.). ccisd.us. Retrieved from http://echalkweb.ccisd.us/www/CorpusChristi/site/hosting/Communications/CCISD%20NEW%20WEBSITE/home.html Funding of Texas Public Schols. (2011). Texas Education Agency. Retrieved from http://www.google.com.ua/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDQQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tea.state.tx.us%2FWorkArea%2Flinkit.aspx%3FLinkIdentifier%3Did%26ItemID%3D2147495107%26libID%3D2147495104&ei=Jsd3UIGWF-Hm2AXWyIH4BQ&usg=AFQjCNE_CqqKEwd_7r700QOYE3zMOsJe4w United Independent School District. (n.d.). usid.net. Retrieved from http://www.uisd.net/ Read More