Audit report: Higley still spends majority of dollars in classrooms, board reviews five'year trends and test results
Loading...
Summary
Staff presented the Auditor General export showing Higley's fiscal 2024 classroom spending and district student achievement metrics. The report shows about 70% of operational spending classified as classroom-related and includes discussion of changes in state testing.
Higley Unified School District staff on Tuesday presented the district's fiscal 2024 classroom spending report, an Auditor General export that shows classroom'related categories accounted for about 70% of total operational spending. District leaders also reviewed embedded student achievement graphs tied to statewide and peer comparisons.
Finance staff said the report is the auditor'general export for July 1, 2023'June 30, 2024, and cautioned that peer groups and one'time items (textbook adoptions) affect year'over'year comparisons. "That report is public on the Auditor General's website," presenter Mr. Moore said. He said classroom spending — instruction, student support and instructional support — totaled roughly 70% of all district operational spending; instruction alone represented about 58.1%.
Why it matters: The figures give trustees a matrix showing how Higley compares to similar-sized districts ' the presentation showed that Higley's instruction percentage was above its peer group average. Board members asked about longer'term trends: Moore noted instructional spending had been as high as 65% in an earlier year when the district completed a large textbook adoption.
Student achievement context: Academic staff provided the new achievement metrics that the Auditor General has embedded in the report. Assistant academic staff explained testing changes since COVID and the shift to newer assessments. "With the AZSci... the new science test was supposed to be in effect... the new test is very different," said an academic presenter, noting the state science assessment now emphasizes deeper inquiry and interpretation of phenomena and charts rather than recall.
Board questions and follow'up: Trustees asked for more granular breakdowns of student'support spending and expressed interest in year'over'year trend figures. One trustee urged continued attention to instruction'to'student ratios and data showing how recent curriculum adoptions affect outcomes. Academic staff said scores have improved since the pandemic but cautioned comparisons across different test types can be misleading: science results before and after the state changed its assessment are not directly comparable.
What's next: Staff will provide additional breakdowns requested by trustees and will continue to publish the Auditor General's export; the board and staff said they will use the report to inform future budget and curriculum decisions.
