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Board reviews auditor general spending analysis, teacher pay and accountability indicators
Summary
Staff summarized the Auditor General's FY23–24 district spending analysis, reviewed internal budget and capital spending, and walked trustees through Arizona's school accountability (AF) system and college-and-career readiness indicators; staff also reported average district teacher salary exceeds the state average.
YUMA — Yuma Union High School District staff reviewed the recently published Auditor General school-district spending analysis and provided updates on district finances and state accountability measures at the April board meeting.
A staff presentation on the FY2023–24 Auditor General report highlighted changes in how the state classifies certain expenditures and noted COVID-era funds have ended. Staff said the district’s classroom spending as reported to the state showed a modest decrease while non-classroom spending rose because of state-mandated reclassifications.
In the financial review, a staff member reported that the district’s total budget is $109,027,008 and that year-to-date spending stood at $56,757,003. The capital budget line was discussed separately; staff said capital equipment spending for the year included gym construction and other one-time projects and that the district spent $7,848,718 from capital allocations during the year.
On personnel, staff reported the district’s average teacher salary is $74,244, which the presentation said is $9,131 higher than the state average of $65,001.13. Presenters noted that the percentage of teachers in their first three years has fallen to 22%, which staff framed as an indicator of improving retention.
The board also heard a detailed account of Arizona’s AF accountability system from Ms. DeGrantrial, director of assessment and accountability. She summarized the components that make up a school’s letter grade: proficiency (state ACT/test results; 30% of the grade), graduation (20%), growth (20%), English-learner measures (10%), and college-and-career readiness indicators such as AP, dual enrollment, industry credentials and other measures (20%).
Ms. DeGrantrial explained that college-and-career readiness is itself composed of multiple indicators — AP scores, CTE technical assessments and credentials, ASVAB performance, FAFSA completion and other items — and that schools can earn points across those sub-measures. She said the district administers the ACT to juniors and the ACT Aspire to ninth graders to measure growth between tests.
A board member asked whether the district’s letter grade is calculated from school-level grades; a presenter said the district grade is computed like a GPA from the individual school letter grades and that the state rounds results when calculating district ratings.
Ending — Trustees did not take immediate action on budget items during the presentation; staff asked the board to use the report as context for mid-year adjustments and for planning upcoming budget and staffing decisions.
