Student Spending in GCSD

As Garfield School District continues to work on building the new Budget for the 2013-2014 school year, I would like to pass along a comparison between the State funding model for education and Garfield County School District.  In the State of Utah, the average student receives $6,452 of this money approximately 86.8 % or $5,600 is spent on salaries.  The money spent on supplies for students comes in on the State level at about 7% or $450 of the $6,452.  As a comparison, Garfield County School District spends approximately $10,149 per student.  Of the $10,149 the District spends on each student, 66% is spent on salaries and benefits which totals $6,698.  The money spent on supplies in the District accounts for about 3% of the $10,149, which is about $304 per student.  One expense Garfield School District has that is typically larger than other districts in the State is transportation.  Transportation accounts for approximately 4% or $405 per student. The remaining percentages are small in comparison which include technology purchases and custodial services to name a few. The increased costs per student in Garfield School District, when compared to the state, are very typical for smaller districts.  In order for small districts to fund education, they experience smaller classes and challenges with geographic location.  The District currently has three high schools supporting 356 students; it simply costs more money to educate students in Garfield School District when compared to other places in the State.  One major advantage for our students is they experience smaller classes when they walk in our doors. A student in the Garfield School District on average will have a class of 16 students to one teacher.  An average student in the State of Utah will have a class of 22 students for every teacher.  Smaller class sizes mean more individual instructional time with the teacher which in turn will produce better educations for our students.