Database Alert: DOE Spending Over the Past Decade

To help to put New York City education budget cuts in context, we have compiled a database of historical budget data available on the DOE's website. Included in our spreadsheet are some preliminary calculations, charts, decade comparisons, and yearly data that break down the DOE’s spending according to five main categories. 

 
Some preliminary findings:

Total spending per pupil — the total budget divided by total enrollment — grew 48 percent since 1999, adjusted for inflation. Total enrollment declined over the same period by 6 percent. The chart below shows the spending each year (unadjusted for inflation): 

 
The portion of the budget that grew by the largest percentage was total leadership and supervision compensation. The amount paid out to principals increased by 103 percent, adjusted for inflation, and the amount paid to assistant principals increased by 86 percent. This increase could be partially attributable to the proliferation of small schools during the Bloomberg administration which likely increased the number of administrators in the system. Overall, however, leadership makes up only 10 percent of all DOE funds that directly go to support schools.

As always, we welcome comments and suggestions for future areas of exploration!

Comments

[Dee Alpert]

Don't forget - USDOJ secured a settlement from NYSED and NYCDOE in July 2009 which required NYC to repay $300 million to Health & Human Services for fraudulent Medicaid claims. I'm not sure where that will get jiggered in the NYCDOE's budget, but it's a nice bit of change.

[Gideon]

Even adjusted for inflation, it looks like $1.3 billion more was being spent on teachers in 2008 than in 1999. Where is that increased spending going? I don't think the number of teachers has been increased substantially, since student population dropped 6% and I'm not aware of class sizes going down substantially. Can I assume we're paying more in teacher salaries and benefits without hiring more teachers, lowering class size or improving student achievement?

[Ellen Mc Hugh]

Is it possible to break down the section that includes Instructional Support, After School, Counseling, Parent Involvement to tell us how much was spent on Parent involvement and where the funding came from: Title One, etc., etc.
Thanks

[Kim]

Ellen -
If you look in the spreadsheet, you can see the amount devoted to parent involvement. During the 2007-2008 year, it was $122,932,000. Since 1999-2000, the amount spent on parent involvement has increased by 934%, adjusted for inflation. Where this increase has come from (i.e. district, state, or federal funds) is not reported. Hope that helps!

[Ellen]

Hello Kim, Thanks for the note. I am guessing that the increase was due to the hiring of parent coordinators?

[Ellen]

Hello again, unfortunately I am confused by the numbers of students listed as receiving services through special education. The chart show 98 thousand plus students. Conventional knowledge says that there are about 140,000 students receiving services. Am I reading the charts worng?

[BklynLifer]

Hi, Ellen - The 98,000 special ed students are "full time" special ed students, meaning those in self-contained classes. There are probably another 70,000 or so who receive some type of services through an IEP, plus more who receive "at risk" services without an IEP. According to the Mayor's Management Report, there are far more students receiving special ed services now than ever before!

What I find very interesting is how the DoE reports as a "System-wide cost" only ONE part of the cost of Central operations. System-wide costs appear to increase "only" 10%, from $351 million to $386 million, from 1999 to 2008.

But, hey, didn't Bloomberg abolish independent community school districts in 2003? Doesn't Central now control everything that "regions" (the term now used instead of "districts") used to control? So wouldn't it be more accurate to include the cost of these Central-controlled "regional" expenses in the "system-wide costs" category? That would mean adding $255 million (II.A. Regional Costs: Instructional Support and Administration) to "system-wide costs."

Furthermore, there is an $86 million item (I.F.Direct Services: Regional Support: Additions to Salary) that looks like the bonuses the DoE handed out to principals and school staffs to "incentivize" them to work harder and get higher scores. Isn't that a system-wide cost?

So, adding that all up, we have a 207% increase in System-Wide (Central) Costs, from $351 million in 1999 to $727 million in 2008. Bloomberg/Klein has MORE THAN TRIPLED the cost of running the school system!!

Does Tweed not insult our intelligence by portraying their cockamamey bonus idea as a "direct service" to schools worth $86 million? Shouldn't Tweed be spending that money on science labs in schools in low-income neighborhoods that STILL don't have them? Are bonuses to a handful of schools (some of which are being shut down as "failing schools" in the same year they get a bonus!!) a better way to spend scarce dollars than science labs?

Is Tweed intentionally throwing sand in our eyes to make it look like their "reforms" aren't deprinving the schools of HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year? Why not give that money Tweed claims is not a "system-wide cost" ($340 million) DIRECTLY TO THE SCHOOLS??

WHERE IS THE MAYOR'S ACCOUNTABILITY???

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