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CFO: York County spends less per pupil than regional peers but posts top SOL results
Summary
CFO Bill Bowen told the board YCSD ranks low among comparators on FY24 per-pupil expenditures but outperforms state averages on SOL tests; Bowen noted many recent increases elsewhere were driven by one-time ESSER and state 'all-in' funds.
Bill Bowen, York County Schools chief financial officer, presented FY24 per-pupil expenditure data and regional and statewide comparisons during the board's Oct. 27 work session.
Bowen said the Code of Virginia requires school divisions to submit annual expenditures to the Virginia Department of Education and explained the report's calculation includes operational expenditures (food service, summer school and pre-K) but excludes debt service and capital outlay. Using end-of-year average daily membership for the denominator, Bowen reported YCSD's per-pupil expenditure at approximately $14,826 and that the division ranked ninth among the nine regional comparators used by the division and roughly 100th of 131 divisions statewide.
"When you consider about the number of students, we have 13,000 students and a thousand dollars. That would translate into 13,000,000 additional dollars to make up that difference," Bowen said when illustrating the effect of per-pupil gaps.
Bowen attributed much of the year-to-year increase in per-pupil spending in other divisions to one-time federal ESSER funds and state one-time allocations during FY23 and FY24. He said York County has pursued grants, including security grants and Impact Aid for students with severe disabilities, and noted success depends in part on a strong grants team and accounting support.
Board members asked whether all employees' salaries are included; Bowen confirmed all operating-salary expenses are in the calculation. Bowen closed by comparing SOL results to spending and pointing out York County's SOL outcomes exceeded state averages in reading (York 88 vs. state 74) and writing (York 89 vs. state 76) and in other tested subjects.
Bowen said staff will continue to plan FY27 priorities and encouraged the board to consider long-term, stable funding rather than relying on one-time allocations.
