[Vision2020] not overspending

[cjs]

The following response to Cantrell's Letter to the Editor is posted over at
http://moscoweducation.org/archive/2005/04/24/635.aspx

Mac Cantrell wrote a Letter to the Editor in the Lewiston Morning Tribune
titled "Not Overspending". 

You can read the entire article over at
http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/2005-April/016443.html

Here is a few paragraphs:

A curious mixture of accurate information, twisted information and
completely incorrect information about Moscow's school district has appeared
in area papers recently. So I studied the latest data from the National
Center for Education Statistics. The most recent information (2001/2002)
shows our school district's current expenditures per student were $7,531.

The national average is higher at $7,734. Even when we are compared to peer
districts throughout the country, our expenditures are roughly halfway
between the lows ($5,000) and the highs ($10,700). So our spending is in
fact reasonable. 

We do spend more per student than most other districts around the state, but
that's because we have decided that we want to do better for our students
than the state average which is at the basement of 45th out of the 50
states.

The correct spending for all Idaho's school districts (02/03) is given on
page 13 the Idaho State Department of Education's website:
http://www.sde.state.id.us/finance/docs/02-03financialsum/02-03FinancialSumm
ariesTotalsandDistrictComparisons.pdf 

These data show MSD's current spending per student in average daily
attendance to be $8141. However, this figure underestimates the cost for MSD
because it includes both the traditional public schools and Moscow's
charters. Because the charter schools are more efficient, when they are
removed from the data MSD's current spending per student is about $8240. The
average across all school districts shown there is $6709, which is
(slightly) underestimated too since it also includes the charters. The
bottom line is that MSD spends about $1500 more per pupil in current costs
than the state average, and some $2500 to $3000 more per pupil than some of
the more efficient districts in Idaho, such as Preston, Bonneville,
Jefferson, and Shelley. Moscow Charter School spends about $4900 per
student.

> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com 
> [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
> On Behalf Of Tom Hansen
> Sent: Sunday, 24 April 2005 10:21
> To: vision2020 at moscow.com
> Subject: [Vision2020] Not Overspending
> 
> >From today's (April 24, 2005) Lewiston Morning Tribune with a special 
> >thanks
> to Mac Cantrell
> 
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Not overspending
> 
> A curious mixture of accurate information, twisted information and 
> completely incorrect information about Moscow's school district has 
> appeared in area papers recently. So I studied the latest data from 
> the National Center for Education Statistics. The most recent 
> information (2001/2002) shows our school district's current expenditures
per student were $7,531.
> The national average is higher at $7,734. Even when we are compared to 
> peer districts throughout the country, our expenditures are roughly 
> halfway between the lows ($5,000) and the highs ($10,700). So our 
> spending is in fact reasonable.
> 
> We do spend more per student than most other districts around the 
> state, but that's because we have decided that we want to do better 
> for our students than the state average which is at the basement of 
> 45th out of the 50 states.
> 
> All studies show our students excel academically. Despite the 
> incorrect numbers on student performance appearing in area papers, our 
> students are reaching their growth targets more often than the averages
around the state.
> And this even with our students having the fourth highest growth 
> targets in the state. But at this point their facilities sadly need
improvement.
> 
> I have been closely involved with the facilities debate and have been 
> pulled toward different sides of that debate, but many intelligent, 
> dedicated people have worked hard for years to come up with a good 
> plan for improving our facilities. The school district needs every 
> person who believes in public education in order to get a two-thirds
majority for this bond.
> 
> Mac Cantrell
> Moscow
> 
> ---------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Take care, Moscow.
> 
> Tom Hansen
> 
> Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there 
> will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, 
> ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the 
> journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and
glory of the climb.
> 
> -Sir Winston Churchill