[Vision2020] not overspending

Mon Apr 25 00:21:07 PDT 2005

"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."

First of all there is only one in-town charter school, Moscow Charter.

Secondly, the only other in-town charter school, Renaissance Charter, was 
put out of business last year by the State due to its inability to be 
fiscally efficient as well as being unable to provide any kind of quality 
education for the kids.

The third charter school that is operating in Moscow is Idaho Virtual 
Academy - and its Federal funding just got taken away this last month - due 
to inefficiency and inability to provide adequate education to the kids.

All of this has been covered by and is on the State of Idaho Board of 
Education and the newly created Idaho Charter School Commission web sites.

>From: cjs <cjs at turbonet.com>
>To: vision2020 at moscow.com
>Subject: [Vision2020] not overspending
>Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2005 23:56:31 -0700
>
>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
>
>
>
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