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SUMMARY
The Office of the Auditor General has conducted a performance
audit of the Gilbert Unified School District pursuant to A.R.S.
§41-1279.03(A)(9). This performance audit examines six aspects of the District’s
operations: administration, student transportation, plant operation and
maintenance, expenditures of sales taxes received under Proposition 301, the
accuracy of district records used to calculate the percentage of dollars spent
in the classroom, and the District’s English Language Learner programs.
Administration (see pages 5 through 7)
Gilbert Unified School District’s fiscal year 2007
administrative costs were lower than the comparable districts’ and state
averages. The District spent 7.5 percent of its available operating dollars on
administration, lower than the comparison districts’ average of 8.1 percent and
the state average of 9.5 percent. The District’s administrative costs were lower
primarily because it employed significantly fewer assistant principals than the
comparable districts did. While the District has low administrative costs, it
should improve the security of its computerized accounting system by requiring
users to periodically change their passwords.
Student transportation (see pages 9 through 13)
The District spent slightly more per mile and a larger
percentage of its available operating dollars on transportation than comparable
districts. As a result, the District subsidized its transportation program with
$2 million that potentially could otherwise have been spent in the classroom.
Several factors contributed to the District’s high per-mile transportation
costs, including the District’s inefficient bus routes and high costs related to
contracted transportation services. The District also failed to review its
transportation vendor invoices and contracts to ensure that it was being billed
correctly. Auditors’ review of one vendor’s invoices found that the District had
been incorrectly billed 79 percent of the time, amounting to overbillings of at
least $9,000. Further, the District has not established performance measures
that would allow it to identify program inefficiencies. Conversely, the
District’s practice of testing oil samples from about half of its buses results
in cost savings by allowing oil changes at 7,500 to 10,000 miles rather than
every 5,000 miles. Because oil testing costs are low ($6.50 per oil sample) and
there is the potential for cost savings, other school districts should explore
the feasibility of implementing this practice.
Plant operation and maintenance (see pages 15 through 17)
In fiscal year 2007, Gilbert USD spent 11.5 percent of its
available operating dollars on plant operation and maintenance costs, slightly
more than the 11 percent spent by the comparable districts and by districts
across the State. However, the District’s per-pupil and per-square-foot plant
costs were similar to the comparable districts’ averages. Further, the District
has made program changes since fiscal year 2007 to further increase efficiency,
such as implementing a preventative maintenance program, and opening a
centralized maintenance facility that will allow maintenance crews to respond to
any district site’s request more efficiently. In addition, the District
implemented an informal energy conservation plan, but not all aspects of the
plan are followed by each school.
Proposition 301 monies (see pages 19 through 22)
In November 2000, voters passed Proposition 301, which
increased the state-wide sales tax to provide additional resources for
educational purposes. For fiscal year 2007, the District spent its Proposition
301 monies according to its plan and for purposes authorized by statute. On
average, each eligible employee received $856 in base pay, $1,700 in performance
pay, and $1,678 in additional compensation increases from menu monies for a
total average increase of $4,234. However, the District did not ensure that
proper documentation was maintained to demonstrate that some eligible employees
met the criteria for one of its performance pay goals.
Classroom dollars (see pages 23 through 25)
Statute requires the Auditor General to determine the
percentage of every dollar Arizona school districts spend in the classroom.
Therefore, auditors reviewed the District’s recording of classroom and other
expenditures to determine their accuracy. The District’s fiscal year 2007
classroom dollar percentage was 62.1 percent, which is higher than the
comparable district, state, and national averages. Although it spent a higher
percentage of its operating dollars in the classroom, Gilbert USD spent less per
pupil than the comparable districts and the state average primarily because it
received less federal and other monies, such as budget override monies. Further,
the District spent less on instructional support services because it employed
fewer positions, such as librarians and media technicians.
English Language Learner programs, costs, and funding (see
pages 27 through 31)
Statute requires the Auditor General to review school
district compliance with ELL requirements. In fiscal year 2007, the District
identified approximately 2 percent of its students as English language learners
and provided instruction for them in several different types of programs,
including Structured English Immersion (SEI) and Compensatory Instruction (CI).
Since fiscal year 2007, Gilbert USD has adjusted its program to address state
requirements that were adopted in September 2007. Although the District
separately accounted for its ELL program costs, many of the costs assigned to
the ELL program were not incremental. Incremental costs are costs incurred in
addition to those associated with teaching English-fluent students.
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