St. Johns Unified School District

St. John’s USD fiscal year 2006 $1,045 per-pupil administration costs were 14 percent higher than the comparable districts’ average costs. Further, the District lacked adequate controls to protect its computer hardware, software, and network. The District’s fiscal year 2006 transportation costs of $953 per rider were 39 percent higher than the average costs for the comparable districts because of inefficient bus routes, high fuel costs, and additional costs associated with paying parents of open enrollment students to transport their children to a district bus stop. In addition, the District may have over-reported parent-provided transportation route mileage, resulting in approximately $255,000 of extra transportation revenue. St. Johns USD’s per-pupil plant operation and maintenance costs of $1,234 were 32 percent higher than the comparable districts’ average, primarily because it operated and maintained larger facilities. The District spent its Proposition 301 monies for purposes authorized under statute, and eligible employees received pay increases totaling $4,137 each. The District’s fiscal year 2006 classroom dollar percentage of 55.5 percent was almost 3 percentage points below the state average. However, the District spent $1,825 more per pupil in total and $826 more per pupil in the classroom than the state averages because it received additional monies through transportation funding, budget overrides, and excess utilities, and because it had more special needs students. The District’s ELL program consisted of providing bilingual aides to assist students in mainstream classes. However, this program will need to be substantially expanded to conform to new state requirements. The District also incorrectly reported its number of ELL students, resulting in insufficient funding to cover incremental costs during fiscal year 2007.